itch maintenance is essential,
particularly at this time of year.
It’s of utmost importance that
the playing surface is fit for purpose
so that players can avoid nasty injuries
and games can proceed as scheduled.
With the season about to kick off and
the winter months drawing closer,
there’s arguably no better time to assess
your pitch to ensure it can cope with
the demands of a season’s worth of
competitive rugby action.
Natural grass sports pitches require
regular programmes of maintenance and
renovation to ensure they become and
remain high quality playing surfaces. It is
important to restore the damage done to
your playing field and to complete this
with minimal impact to the club’s playable
days.
This becomes even more crucial as
temperature begin to drop, with the
weather threatening to do its best to
postpone matches. During the winter
months a sports club's main concern
therefore is the state of their pitch.
Water logging is one of the most common
reasons for a rugby pitch to be deemed
unplayable. One of the best solutions for
drainage issues caused by water logging
and compaction is deep tine aeration.
This is often done by machines that
provide the most effective method of
aeration by clearing the surface water
from the pitch and not damaging the soil
beneath the grass.
Top aerators can have an outstanding
work depth of up to 40mm and a
variable working speed, which results in
exceptional quality of work and offers a
real solution to the impact a wet, warm
winter has on your sports pitch. This could
be a seriously worthwhile investment
that is worth considering, because poor
pitch quality can have very far-reaching
consequences beyond what happens in
80 minutes of play.
But proper maintenance can be done in
smaller remedies and without the use of
advanced machinery too. In fact in some
conditions using machines is actively
discouraged. The real trick is developing
a maintenance schedule and sticking
to it while being aware of the various
external factors that will alter procedure
throughout the season.
At the start of the season mowing the
field is a simple measure that is highly
recommended if not essential, preferably
to a height of 50-70mm. Chain harrowing
the pitch after the weekend’s match or
matches is also a useful solution.Doing this early in the morning, when
the grass is a little moist can create
great grass patterns too. Winter fertiliser
can start to be considered towards the
end of October, but as with all fertilisers
make sure it can be washed off after it is
applied.
As winter approaches and the weather
deteriorates the pitch will require more
attention. This is when aerating comes
into play, but chain harrowing is a possible
alternative. When particularly cold, the
pitch reacts best to minimal use but
this isn’t always possible depending on
the match schedule. To avoid the pitch
completely freezing over, hand fork any
standing water.
Once March rolls around, end-of-season
preparations begin and the field needs
to be fertilised. Grass will be ready to be
mowed at 40mm before the whole pitch
gets reseeded, fertilised and irrigated
at the end of April. It’s then a case of
regularly mowing and watering the playing
surface, and thus the cycle repeats itself.
If these steps are followed, results will
literally begin to show on the pitch. A
consistently quality playing surface could
provide that little boost that every club
needs.P
PITCHES NEED
REGULAR
MAINTENANCE TO
AVOID LONG-TERM
PROBLEMS
152 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019
GROUNDCARE