these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

Back in the early eighties, conditions
for the groundstaff were, to say the least,
primitive compared to today. “When I
started here in 1981, the groundstaff had
one shed to house the machinery, tools
and equipment, which was pretty basic,”
says Eric. “We had a set of Lloyds gang
mowers, a Leyland tractor with no cab, a
few hand tools and a old crank start
diesel roller for rolling the cricket
pitches.”
“There were no dedicated budgets; it
was a case of going cap in hand to the
Bursar and asking. Now, we have an
annual budget which I manage,
allocating specific amounts to different
facility needs and areas. For example, I
sets aside a separate budget for the
sports pitches, gardens, contractors and
materials. I also attends regular meetings
with school heads of department, the
bursar and the headmaster. Things have
changed a lot in thirty years.”
Over the years, Eric has overseen the
building of many new sports facilities.
“In 1989, a new sand filled Astroturf
pitch was put in that was officially
opened in 1991. This work gave us the
opportunity to relay two new rugby
pitches on the newly formed plateau,
now known has Middle Charford. These
pitches have served the school well,
however, in 2007 they needed further
work to enhance the drainage, with a
local contractor employed to install new
secondary drainage slits, recultivated to
address surface levels and overseeded.”
Since then, the school has invested in a
second sand-dressed pitch, installed by
Rugby based Bernhard’s Sports Surfaces
in 2006. This one has a full under-pitch
drainage system, geotextile membrane,
300mm stone foundation, and two layers
of macadam. In 2010, the school had the
original artificial resurfaced. Both pitches
are available for use by the local
community.
“One of our more recent projects has
Schools & Colleges
L-r: Simon Macualay, Tim Stephens, Paul Minett, Scott Devereux, Matt Stoneystreet
“Of course, people are more important than buildings,
and brilliant teachers should be able to run a good
school in a pig sty, but mercifully it’s a point we don’t
have to prove at Bromsgrove”
Chris Edwards MA, Headmaster, Bromsgrove School
been the refurbishment of an area of the
1st team cricket outfield, to provide a
winter games grass hockey pitch,”
explains Eric. “In the past, this area of
the outfield was regularly used for rugby
matches. However, with the demand for
hockey at an all time high, I needed to
introduce another pitch. We often had
problems going from rugby to cricket, as
the playing of rugby often cut up the
surface. The opportunity to use it as a
dedicated grass hockey pitch meant that
I could improve the outfield, as the wear
and damage is much less severe.”
“Obviously, hockey requires almost
perfect levels so, last July, we put down
60 tonnes of topdressing to restore levels,
and we then overseeded with a finer
grass seed mix. The results have been
very good.”
Eric has eight staff under him to
maintain the extensive grounds, five
groundsmen and three gardeners. Paul
Minett looks after the larger areas, gang
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012 PC 87