Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Southampton FC training camp at Footes Lane Footes Lane marked out for rugby
agricultural and horticultural suppliers,
the company has had to divesrsify into
amenity products as the other two sectors
have declined.
Once the football and rugby seasons
are over, the stadium pitch is marked out
for athletics field events. During the
summer Shane spends much of his time
at the stadium, mowing 2-3 times a week.
This is the peak time for usage.
The States of Guernsey recoup some of
the costs of the facility by charging up to
£360 a day to hire the stadium.
Shane also oversees the work on two
bowling greens. The sward is maintained
at a winter height of 10-12mm and,
between April and September, they are
cut every other day at 5mm.
One of the greens has a unique
characteristic - it has Cotula (Cotula
squalida) growing in the sward. This
southern hemisphere evergreen plant is
used as a grass substitute, often on
bowling greens, in New Zealand. Many
years ago, the Cotula was introduced
onto the green, by a previous
greenkeeper, and has now become quite
established. Shane did try to eradicate it
a couple of years ago, by spraying the
whole green with glysophate and heavily
deep scarifying the base of the plant in
the hope of killing it. However, it
managed to re-establish itself and is now
back with a vengeance.
The cost of digging up the whole
green and relaying a new one is
prohibitive, so it looks like a case of
having to live with it. In New Zealand,
Cotula is used extensively for playing
bowls on when cut below 2mm, so Shane
is considering changing his maintenance
regime to favour the Cotula and let it
become the dominant playing surface.
Guernsey could end up with one of the
only Cotula bowling greens in the
northern hemisphere.
Disease, worms and moss problems are
treated with appropriate chemical
Other facilities visited...
Beau Sejour Leisure Centre, which was
successfully revamped between 2001-03,
now offers facilities and services of the
highest quality for sports and leisure
pursuits.
The Centre’s Manager, Martyn
Boourgaize, is responsible for promoting
and delivering a wide range of activities
and events on a daily basis and has a
dedicated team of staff who have helped
the centre gain a much deserved ‘Highly
Commended’ accreditation by Quest (see
right). This puts the centre into the upper
echelons of leisure centres in the UK.
The Northern Athletic FC pitch is tended by
Jose Alvarez, one of the island’s football
and tennis coaches, who undertakes work
on the ground in his spare time. Jose helps
to mow and mark out the pitch every week,
spending up to twenty hours a week at the
club. He is assisted by Gary Cortez, the
club’s fixture secretary, who also has
committed many years to the cause of
looking after football facilities on the island.
The States of Guernsey provide a
vertidrain and seeder for end of season
renovation.
products such as lawn sands, moss killers
and fungicide treatments when required,
Shane likes to adopt a more cultural
method of control by carrying out
effective regular maintenance operations
such as brushing, aeration and scarifying
to keep the sward open and free
draining. Feeding is kept to a minimum
to promote the finer grasses he sows
each year.
There are few pests on the island - no
moles. foxes or badgers - just rabbits,
that tend to be a problem everywhere!
The States of Guernsey are also
responsible for maintaining all the school
playing fields (sixteen junior and six
secondary), road verges, parks and open
spaces.
These are overseen by Contracts
Manager, Peter Jackson, who has a large
team of groundsmen and gardeners in
his charge. Peter also undertakes
contracts work for the various sports
clubs on the island.
GuernseySport What is Quest?
Quest is the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and
Leisure.
Quest is a tool for continuous improvement,
designed primarily for the management of
leisure facilities and leisure development.
Quest defines industry standards and good
practice and encourages their ongoing
development and delivery within a customer
focused management framework.
There are two models to use for your team:
1.The Facility Management (FM) model is
aimed at the management of any facility
which provides an activity for customers;
public, private, trust and voluntary sector.
2.The Sports Development (SD) model is
aimed at the management of any team which
provides or facilitates participation in an
activity; public, private, trust and voluntary
sectors.
Although initially designed for the sports and
leisure industry, the good practice is flexible
enough to relate to all cultural activities.
Each of the areas identified above has both a
self-assessment improvement programme,
and the opportunity for an independent
external assessment.
To kick start the assessment process you will
need to purchase a Quest Pack. This purchase
includes subscription to the members only
area of the website where you can access all
the best practice guidance documents as well
as benchmarking data and case studies.