Facility&Operations
>> BRIGHT HOUSE FIELD, home to the Clearwa-
ter Threshers, maintained by Opie Cheek.
ning start on pulling off the tarp, which
gets the water moving and we dump it in
the outfield. Then we put it back on the infield before folding it up.
KEITH WINTER,
Fort Wayne Tincaps
Game day management—when in
doubt, pull it! Compile the best and most
trusted weather information you have at
30 SportsTurf | March 2013
your disposal, then trust your instincts.
The longer you are in this business, the
more you learn that your instincts are one
of your greatest assets. On game days,
when hundreds of thousands of dollars
may be at stake, it is always better to be
safe than sorry. The worst thing that can
happen is you take a dry tarp off a field if
it doesn't rain. Also, as you get closer to
game time, be prepared! If BP is going on,
talk to both teams about your tarp pull
contingency plan so the field can be
cleared as quickly as possible. Minutes
equal dollars when it comes to protecting a
game-day field.
We wrap a rope in our tarp and pull out
the roll with a utility vehicle. This is faster
than pushing the roll out by hand and doesn't necessitate having to get people in place
to push. Once the tarp is rolled out, we can
get it in position with 6-8 strong armed
bodies, but I prefer 12-15 so that placement
is perfect and time is saved. Our record
from pull out to placement is about 90 seconds for an in-game pull.
Once the tarp is rolled out,
we can get it in position with
6-8 strong armed bodies, but
I prefer 12-15 so that placement is perfect and time is
saved. Our record from
pull out to placement is
about 90 seconds for an
in-game pull.
OTHER TARP MANAGEMENT
IDEAS FROM KEITH WINTER
We inflate our tarp EVERYTIME with
two large fans to keep air circulating under
the tarp. Not only is this a turf disease prevention step, but the water also runs off
the inflated tarp to the edges, making it
quicker and easier to get the tarp back off
the field. When the rain stops, we move
excess water off with roller squeegees, and
in most cases, don't have to take the time
and drag all that infield conditioner
www.sportsturfonline.com
