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/96775
From the Sidelines Eric Schroder Editorial Director SportsTurf eschroder@m2media360.com 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone 847-720-5600 Fax 847-720-5601 717-805-4197 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Managers Association Five trends in sports turf I F I NEVER HEAR "POLL NUMBERS" AGAIN IT'LL BE TOO SOON. The combination of the media's need for content and all the data being produced by surveys of too many people on too many topics overwhelms my senses and I usually ignore the results. Here are some decidedly non-scientific results from a one-man survey* on trends in sports turf: High expectations: Everywhere you look there are high-definition televisions and sports mean great ratings. When's the last time you dined out where there wasn't a game on TV available, at least at the bar? And lots of people have HD at home. All those viewers see top-end fields in high-definition every game. This is raising standards locally (sometimes without a corresponding appreciation for good maintenance). Many more turf managers should expect to encounter a higher bar for field appearance AND improved playability. Government debt. Another numbers trend is toward governments looking to spend less money in a time of record government deficits, which seem to be an ever-looming threat of budget cuts in parks & rec departments. Most states are also looking at cutbacks in education spending that will affect higher ed and K-12 districts. Private resources are providing more cash for school athletic programs every year; perhaps fundraising will become part of the curriculum in turf classes. Safety. The National Football League is very popular and therefore influential. The NFL's recent focus on keeping players safe regarding head injuries and concussions has the nation asking, "How safe is our favorite game?" No doubt that field hardness will continue to be of concern to turf managers for all sports. This new attention to concussions hopefully will lead to better standards nationwide. Measuring hardness and keeping records also might turn into more budget to keep surfaces safe as possible. More synthetic fields. Google news feeds do not lie when it comes to what's in the news and synthetic turf fields are proof. Hundreds of communities across the US are investigating, seeking funding for, and building synthetic turf fields because they are durable and possible moneymakers through rentals and tournaments. In addition, many fields built when the infill generation began are now 8 years old and older, and their reclamation, reuse, and/or related problems replacing them will be affecting many more communities. Water. Preserving water and making conscientiously green decisions about water is not only common sense and good business but also a duty for turf managers. Educating yourself to save water at work could look pretty good on your review, too. Water-saving practices and equipment will continue to improve but are turf managers doing their best? *No robocalls were conducted in connection with this survey. ■ Correction In our article from the October issue, "Three keys to managing high traffic, high quality athletic fields," there was an error in the ninth paragraph on page 10. The author intended to say "Soil organic matter can serve as an important source of carbon and nitrogen as it decomposes over time." We regret the error. 6 SportsTurf | December 2012 President: James Michael Goatley, Jr., Ph.D. Immediate Past President: Troy Smith, CSFM President-Elect: Martin K. Kaufman, CSFM Secretary/Treasurer: David Pinsonneault, CSFM, CPRP Vice-President Commercial: Rene Asprion Professional Facilities: Allen Johnson, CSFM Academic: Jeffrey Fowler Parks & Recreation: Debra Kneeshaw Higher Education: Jeffrey Salmond, CSFM K-12: Michael Tarantino, CSFM Commercial: James Graff At Large: Jay Warnick, CSFM At Large: Ron Hostick, CSFM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Kim Heck STMA Office 805 New Hampshire Suite E Lawrence, Ks 66044 Phone 800-323-3875 Fax 800-366-0391 Email STMAinfo@STMA.org www.STMA.org Editorial EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Charles Forman EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Eric Schroder TECHNICAL EDITOR Dr. James Brosnan ART DIRECTOR Brian Snook PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Kalinyak STMA Editorial Communications Committee Jim Cornelius, CSFM, Jason Henderson, PhD, Paul Hollis, Clayton Hubbs, Joshua McPherson, CSFM, Brad Park, David Schlotthauer, & Grant Spear SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by m2media360, a Bev-Al Communications company at 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. For subscription information and requests, call Subscription Services at (845) 856-2229. Subscription rates: 1 year, $40 US & Poss.; 2 years, $65 US & Poss.; 1 year, $65 Canada/Foreign Surface, 1 year, $130 Airmail. All subscriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. Phone: (845) 856-2229. Fax: (845) 856-5822. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Park Ridge, IL and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2012, SportsTurf. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form without the written permission of the publisher. www.sportsturfonline.com