Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

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“It is a huge challenge to produce good pitches in these conditions, and the long hours can be tough. But, like most football groundsmen, I’m here because of my love of the club. As a big Aberdeen FC fan, it’s my ideal job” Paul Fiske, Head Groundsman, Aberdeen Football Club
Fiske’s Tale... Scottish Premier League club, Aberdeen, battled the worst winter in thirty years, with snow falls of more than a foot, and weeks of sub zero temperatures. Head Groundsman, Paul Fiske, battled to keep the pitch playable and to renovate the damaged turf in its wake, reports Jane Carley Eastern Scotland was one of the worst affected parts of the country during t<strong>his</strong> winter’s big freeze, yet Aberdeen Football Club lost just one fixture - and that was due to police closing the icy roads around the Pittodrie Stadium rather than the condition of the pitch, which Head Groundsman, Paul Fiske, reports was fully playable that January night. But, the severe weather, and the demands placed by the team training on the club’s only heated pitch, inevitably took its toll. The pitch at Pittodrie was reconstructed five years ago, after a half a season’s ground sharing with Inverness Caledonian T<strong>his</strong>tle doubled the wear on the 100 year-old facility. Contractors, Greentech of Stirling, took the surface down 16in, relevelled and installed a drainage system with 10m laterals. Then 8in of sand and 8in of rootzone was used to construct the pitch, with the work finishing just six weeks before the first game. From frequently losing games to waterlogging, the new pitch represented a dramatic improvement, until the most severe winter for thirty years struck. Paul, who joined Aberdeen Football Club fourteen years ago from a greenkeeper’s job at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth, explains: “The first snow fell on 16th December, but we had to prepare the pitch for one match and four training sessions in fourteen days, and kept the undersoil heating on for twentytwo days.” In January the snow lay for three weeks and, from the middle to the end of the month, temperatures averaged minus 10 O C. In total, Aberdeen endured eight weeks of snow, yet Paul managed to produce playing conditions for four training sessions and four matches in one three week period. “When the team were training for the Scottish Cup match on Friday 8th January, the temperature was minus 11 O C at ten o’clock in the morning,” Paul recalls. “The pitch was so white that you could not see the lines yet, due to the heating, it was soft enough to train on. Afterwards, we brushed the surface and put the covers back on ready for the next day’s game with Heart of Midlothian. On Sunday, the team trained again and, although there was grass coverage, you could see that the sward had gone.” The pattern was repeated three weeks later. Paul had to clear the stadium itself, snow ploughing and gritting as well as preparing the pitch for the game with Motherwell on 30th January, and a fixture with Falkirk on 2nd February was followed by two days’ training in sub zero temperatures, once again giving the grass a battering.
Page 1 and 2: SERVING THE TURFCARE INDUSTRY FEATU
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME TO pitchcare The best in th
Page 5 and 6: Roger Ward, Horsham Cricket Club Cr
Page 7 and 8: Racecourse Groundstaff Awards York
Page 9 and 10: One day event will showcase latest
Page 11 and 12: 2005 Feb Toro BUY Hayter Toro BY Ha
Page 13 and 14: Issue 5 Issue 11 inimitable Laurenc
Page 15: Not sure which way to go? Ransomes
Page 18 and 19: Jim Buttar and Darren Baldwin on th
Page 20 and 21: Darren’s integral role in the Tot
Page 24 and 25: “We were able to maintain stabili
Page 26 and 27: Field of Dreams AFC Wulfrunians hav
Page 28 and 29: Pitch looking like a farmer’s fie
Page 30 and 31: Security and Theft Most crime reduc
Page 32 and 33: FIVE YEARS The views of our readers
Page 34 and 35: DON’T BE HELD BACK BY YOUR EQUIPM
Page 36 and 37: A brand new cricket facility at Wes
Page 38 and 39: £25,000 for practice nets £25,000
Page 40 and 41: Memorial garden View from the pavil
Page 42 and 43: Cricket is just one in a thriving s
Page 44 and 45: Grass tennis courts “The contract
Page 46 and 47: Roger with his ‘exit strategy’
Page 48 and 49: Talking cricket with Karl Brotherho
Page 50 and 51: No more punctures …ever! No hassl
Page 52 and 53: SawPoints “Golf courses tend to h
Page 54 and 55: Occasional users wishing to fell ma
Page 56 and 57: employee may be exposed to on any s
Page 58 and 59: about tree removal from an ecologic
Page 60 and 61: “Why the hell is he doing that wh
Page 62 and 63: Seaclose Park prior to the festival
Page 64 and 65: Employer’s Liability Products Lia
Page 66 and 67: ALAN Hamilton looks after two crick
Page 68 and 69: Shane Moon Iwas invited to visit Gu
Page 70 and 71: L’Ancresse Golf Course TWO clubs
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Mother Nature throws all kinds of p
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One of the many ‘douits’ that c
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Paul Bishop is Estates Manager at t
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76 Bunker work has been ongoing A g
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The dynamic duo become the fantasti
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Our aim was for everyone to underst
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values was still strong. This means
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The Drain Brain! Sustainable draina
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Diagram 1 - Pre and post developmen
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“It was difficult to get others t
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Stewart has built relationships wit
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grade Mansfield sand. The site was
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Ups on the Downs Report by Tom Jame
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“We start at 4.30am on the mornin
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98 “Some groundsmen I’ve spoken
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Mark Cornford The mention of Plumpt
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“Frost covers certainly have a bi
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I’ve been in the sports turf indu
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No testing ground can reproduce the
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Perhaps the most sustainable crop o
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The importance of bed-knives and ho
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cones reels and can damage reel bea
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important that both, or all sides,
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water, to mark the spot for drillin
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the bedknives relative to the reel
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travel over on the night sailing fr
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tasks that should be carried out wi
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A fox will average between 2-6 year
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lawns give every appearance of bein
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Quote me happy “For the first nin
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Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

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