£2,000 is the top prize in a new, innovative industry award.

The Technical Merit Award 2003, run in association with Tillers Turf, will be launched by Pitchcare in February.

Monthly prizes, in addition to the main annual award, will also be on offer.

Full details of the award will be available from Saturday 1st February on the Pitchcare and Tillers Turf websites.

Once again we can report another record level of membership. Since the beginning of the year we have passed the 3,000 mark, recorded our highest weekly new members intake (82), beaten our best daily figure (21), and are well on the way to a new monthly record.

A great deal of thanks goes to all our existing members who have been spreading the news about Pitchcare. Word of mouth is now responsible for 40% of new membership.

"A glance at a couple of the headlines in the 'Recent News and Articles' section of Pitchcare is enough to tell you that here is one interesting site."

A comment from the Observer in their review of Sporting Websites worth a visit.

Full review click here.

Sports Diaries – a monthly article on each of the major turf sports, detailing maintenance schedules and tips.

Company Review – background information on the industry’s key players.

National News – direct link to some of the national stories relating to groundsmen and greenkeepers.

General Sports – articles on racing, sports clubs, pitches and general sports news.

Tea Break – a bit of fun whilst you're drinking your cuppa.

Downloads – some wallpapers for you to choose from, or add your own to our selection if you wish.

Also improved - the login procedure, the Barter room, the Chat Room, the Jobfinder section and the Search facility which now enables you to find related articles and reports.

Planning some renovation work? Need some fertilizer or seed?

Don’t forget, we have deals in place with many of the leading manufacturers and producers.

Email us at sales@pitchcare.com with your requirements and we'll get you a price.

We have just put several PDF files full of Scotts Technical Support and Information, that will help you to choose and use Scotts products. Visit the Scotts News section of the site, or click here to view the files.

The Ransomes Jacobsen directory is the place to discover how Ransomes Jacobsen can help you and your pitch/green/surface.

At Pitchcare, we like to know that the data we store about our members is current or up to date. This not only allows us to target our advertisising more efficiently, but also means that we comply fully with the Data Protection Act. To see the data we have stored about you, and update it go here, and if you would like to change the password that you use to access Pitchcare, click here.

• English Cricket Board advisor and Sports Turf consultant, Jon Buddington, will be the guest in our next live Chat Forum. Jon has a wealth of knowledge on sports turf and the preparation of cricket wickets, in particular. The forum will take place on Friday 31st January commencing at 6.00pm. Make a note in your diaries.
• BTME News and reviews
• Computer help with Web Monkey Al
• The inside story on the replacement of Chelsea's pitch

Pitchcare are now able to provide on-site accredited courses on a full range of subjects. The courses include basic maintenance, team building, manual handling, pesticide certification, safe and effective machine training, chainsaw use, turf management and development for all members of staff. The courses are certificated and prices are dependant on numbers attending each course. For further details see our health and safety section on the website or contact David Saltman on +44 (0)1902 824392 or by e-mail: courses@pitchcare.com

As we write this newsletter, our membership sits at 3089 members; not too bad at all in 16 months. However, if we want to drive the industry forward, providing advice, shared knowledge, better conditions, education and pay, then the bigger the membership the more strength we have to achieve this. Our industry deserves to be viewed as professional, so we are asking you to recommend Pitchcare to at least 1 of your colleagues. To send this newsletter to them fill in their email address and name:

Pitchcare was designed and is run by fellow Groundsmen and Greenkeepers for Groundsmen and Greenkeepers. Remember, Pitchcare is your site.

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Advertise here and use the power of the internet
to get your company message to Pitchcare's database of
3600 Groundsmen and Greenkeepers

Contact adverts@pitchcare.com

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