Technical Merit Award in association with Tillers Turf
Doesn’t time pass when you’re having fun (or is it just my age?). We are in the very last month of the Award which commenced in February of this year. There has been an interesting array of monthly winners choosing prizes as diverse as a Champagne Hot Air Balloon Flight and a Relaxing Spa Day.

Of course, the £2000 main prize has yet to go. There are a few more days to get your entry in. This month’s topical issue is:- Discuss the possible implications of global warming on turfgrass establishment, maintenance and management in the UK in the foreseeable future.

What are you waiting for? A considered response and you could be off on the holiday of a lifetime.

Live Forum
Delighted to welcome to our next Live Forum, Peter Mark Craig, Grounds Manager at The Hurlingham Club, Putney, London.

Peter will be joining us in the Interview Room on Wednesday 3rd December from 7pm onwards. We shall be discussing the winter management of the summer sport surfaces including tennis, bowls, croquet and cricket.

You are more than welcome to come and ask Peter questions about summer sports maintenance, live on Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday, access the Interview Room here

AerationTime
Don't be caught out. The hard ground has made aeration almost impossible this year but, with the long overdue change in the weather, it is the ideal opportunity to get on with this important task. It's easy enough if you have your own machinery but, if you don't, Turfcare Contracts might just be the answer.

Machinery for hire supplied with tractor and operator:

• Wiedenmann XP160 deep tine aerator
• Imants Shockwave 1.5m decompactor
• Imants Rotoknife R6

For a free quote, send an email giving your contact details to:
turfcare@sportsworldamenity.com

Survey Update
The campaign to get some formal guidelines for pre match warm ups is gathering pace. We are collecting stories and photos from Groundsmen to present to the authorities in support of our case. Spurs’ Grounds Manager Darren Baldwin has sent photos of the damage caused by Middlesbrough – they sunk the ground 2 inches in places! More reports and photos are needed, so keep them coming.

We have now received letters from the Football Association and the Football League, after sending them a reminder, saying that they are looking into the matter. Let’s hope that they will come back with some positive and welcome news. We will of course keep you all informed of the progress.

View the original survey results here

Uninformed Criticism….
... is something that Groundsmen and Greenkeepers know a great deal about. It is part and parcel of their working life. And, as regular visitors to the Message Board will have noticed, Pitchcare is not immune from it either.

Earlier in the month we had a member, operating under his pseudonym, claiming that our membership was fictitious, that there was no content to speak of on the site and that, basically, we were conning advertisers. Rather than get involved in an unsavoury war of words on the site (although a fair number of our membership did) we contacted a few of the companies who advertise with us and asked for their experience of working with Pitchcare and our ‘fictitious’ membership.

Their comments can be viewed here.

Win an Integrate Body Warmer
Win yourself an impressive Integrate body warmer, just in time for winter, courtesy of Rigby Taylor. There are 10 body warmers on offer to Pitchcare members, and entering the competition couldn’t be easier.

Simply answer the 5 questions on this webpage, fill in your contact details and click 'Enter Competition' to send your entry. You do have to be a Pitchcare member to enter and logged into the site.

Enter the competition here

Hot off the Press
Industry companies presented with top BALI awards. In particular, J.Mallinson (Ormskirk) Ltd were awarded the Principle Award for the reconstruction of the Lords Cricket Ground outfield last winter. Baylis Landscape Contractors also received recognition for their creative turfing at the LABAN Dance Centre, Deptford, London.

A fascinating insight into the breeding of new grass species. Pitchcare accompanied Jon Chippendale of British Seed Houses to the headquarters of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) in Aberystwyth, and witnessed part of the lengthy and complicated process of creating new, top quality grasses. Read it here.

Flying the UK flag in Denmark are Chris Haspell and Ian Tomlinson, both Golf Course Managers and both dumbfounding the experts by eradicating Poa from the greens of their respective courses. Managing without chemicals, read how their back to basics greenkeeping approach is winning the war against Poa. Read it here.

Up to the minute results from The City of Manchester Stadium, where the latest trials continue on portable lighting rigs. Read it here.

Barter Room    Used Machinery
The Barter Room section on the site has now been renamed Used Machinery. In addition, a Used Machinery icon has been added to the quick links at the top of all pages. We have a selection of very competitively priced machines that are updated weekly. If you’re looking to add to your fleet, why not have a look at what’s on offer. If you can’t find what you want, ring us on 01902 824392 and tell us what machines you’re after and we’ll see if we can source them for you.

Visit the Used Macinery section now

Artificial Lawn Company
Grass, as the saying goes, doesn’t grow on busy streets. Nor, for that matter, does it grow too well on overworked gardens, where the dog runs riot, where the kids enjoy racing their wheeled chariots, or where a barbeque takes preference over the lawnmower!

Until recent years, there was no cost effective alternative but to endure parched and patchy areas represented as a mud bath in winter or a mini dust bowl in summer.

Then came artificial turf, which in its infancy won scant praise, as it wore quickly and was painful if you happened to fall down onto it. Many sports field players declared it a no–go: One famous player saying "If horses won’t eat it – I won’t play on it!" Commercially it struggled.

Enter the Artificial Lawn Company!

It takes a special type of company to tackle such problems, but the boffins knew they could be overcome. They experimented; found new dimensions in endurance, they won praise with their realistic products. By refusing to accept anything but the finest materials and utilizing their own secret ingredients, they applied science to aesthetics.

The Artificial Lawn Company now distributes products that not only look wonderful but can also be impact absorbing for safety surfaces and last a very long time. That they are pleasant to walk over and comfortable to play upon are a decided bonus.

If you are interested in becoming an authorised installer or contractor, or wish to learn more about our products and services, contact the Artificial Lawn Company on 01474 364 320.

View the full article on the Pitchcare site
View related article about Baylis Landscapes

New Site Features
Several new features have been added to the site in recent weeks.

You now have a site map to give an overview of Pitchcare, a page full of informative statistics about Pitchcare, when you view the member's home page, an overview of today and tomorrow's weather is shown (If the postcode in your member profile is valid - UK only), and a new poll question has been added, so vote now.

About a month ago, the Managing Director of Pitchcare was interviewed live on talkSPORT radio - you can listen to a 5 minute MP3 recording of the interview here.

Finally, we are about to go live with a new section of Pitchcare, The Glossary. Keep an eye out for this exciting new area of the site, coming soon!

Weather
With the onset of winter, the weather isn’t going to get any better. Take advantage of the free weather service available on the Pitchcare site, and if you need anything more detailed we have a complete range of professional packages from as little as £25 per month. Why not have access to our duty forecasters, for that up to the minute accuracy, for as little as £99 per month.

To view the range of weather services click here.

Bowdry
Be prepared for the rain and surface water by getting one of our Special Offer Bowdrys. The thick foam roller has a 60 litre holding tank and picks up water, dew, liquid mud, or any other floods or spills. Selected by the UK Design Council as a Millennium Product and available to Pitchcare members for only £475 +VAT.

To purchase your Bowdry at this special rate, click here. Have your credit card ready, if ordered before 2pm on a working day, next day delivery will be arranged.