SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/678624
IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE 8 SportsTurf | June 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com FIELD SCIENCE T ournaments or larger events can be intimidating to think about and overwhelm you and your staff if you are not properly prepared. As a parks superintendent in northeast Utah, my team and I have had the great opportunity to host several important tournaments including Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth Pacifi c Regionals, and the largest annual adult softball tournament in Utah. We were able to make our facilities shine for these events because we took the approach that tournament preparation was a yearlong en- deavor and not a one-week crash course. The most important consideration when tasked with holding a large event at your facilities is not to panic. This is an opportunity to showcase your facility, your community, your staff and yourself. When you are planning a trip the fi rst thing you do is locate the destination and map out a route to reach your target. Planning for a tournament is very similar with one large exception: map your course in reverse. You fi rst want to set a goal and once that goal is established you need to set all your benchmarks to reach this goal. If you want to accomplish x, y, z you have to plan out and schedule a, b, c. Inform your staff as soon as possible the event's dates, the dates of benchmarks leading up to it, and that these dates may be blocked out for vacation. This should go a long way in helping them balance their home and work lives and allow for optimal buy in. Make sure that user groups and your higher ups are also well informed and have bought in. Remember that your facilities are there to serve your user groups and this is in all likelihood their tournament and they want it to be as successful as possible. The problem is they know where they want to get to; but they do not know how to get there. The same thing can often be said about your higher ups, particularly your board mem- bers. While they may be great people who want only the best for your community and facili- ties, never forget that you are the expert and you were hired to lead. Use this opportunity to work with your decision makers and educate them. Many times these tournaments are decided upon after your budget has been set. Be prepared to show your board the economic impact this event will have to your community and justify the extra funds needed to make it a success. Setting your cultural calendar for the year will have the largest effect on your event's success. Do as much as you possibly can; this event may be the excuse you needed to get things done that you previously did not have means to do. Ask for more money; if you don't ask the answer is always "no." Beg, borrow, and steal (okay, don't steal); but maybe the local golf course or school district has a piece of equipment that you can borrow, maybe your vendor can let you demo some equipment or trade use of equipment for advertising at the event. The point is that if you know something needs to be done, fi nd a way to make it happen. Most small commu- nities have an "us against the world" mentality; play to this and make this a community event but be prepared to return the favor. If you still don't have all the necessary resources then implement the "fi eld within a fi eld" philosophy and do the areas that you can. Below is the cultural calendar that we followed annually: I like to dethatch my turf in early spring using the spring tines on a groomer. I try to do it shortly after the snow has ■ BY NEIL CATHEY TOURNAMENT FIELD PREPARATION FOR PARKS AND REC FACILITIES UINTAH RECREATION DISTRICT: ASHLEY VALLEY BASEBALL INPUTS MAR APR MAY JUN JULY AUG SEPT OCT Fertilization: 1.5lbs N; rotary walk spreader organic Ext Rel organic Foliar Fertilizer: Based on soil test; bi-weekly Growth Regulator: Bi-weekly; low rate Wetting Agent: Bi-weekly Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Topdressing: 1/2 - 1/2" per application Sand Compost Dethatching: 2x before mowing begins Interseeting; High traffic, stressed areas Oversdeegin: Drill seed; two directions Post-emergence herbicide Soil Testing: Depentent on soil temparature organic Ext Rel organic Fertilization: 1.5lbs N; rotary walk spreader organic Ext Rel organic organic Ext Rel organic organic Ext Rel organic organic Ext Rel organic organic Ext Rel organic Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Compost Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Topdressing: 1/2 - 1/2" per application Sand Aeration: 2" spacing as deep as possible Core Solid Core Topdressing: 1/2 - 1/2" per application Sand