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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/282941
Rugby is a unique sport in that the game must go on. Games are played regardless of any limiting factors. There could be a foot of snow on the ground and they will still play. The culture of rugby is that the players are tough and if there is an injury that is just part of the game. For example, during a rugby game if a player is hurt the play does not end until the ball is kicked out of play. Editor's note: Noel Harryman and his colleagues in Glendale also won the Sporting Grounds category last year. We asked Harryman to comment on his success and the interesting dynamic between his facility and the City of Glen- dale. Here is his response: "Glendale is a unique city to work for and is a town where change is always expected. The city is always looking for ways to make our city dif- ferent and looking for future opportunities to set us apart. Our crew is no exception to this status quo; we are responsible anything and every- thing that happens within the public works department. This includes the water distribution system, parks, streets, pitch, and my personal fa- vorite, the sanitary and sewer collection system. Since we are responsible for collection and distribution throughout the city we are also required to hold licenses in both these areas. "Our crew is crossed trained and very capable of taking on any task in any of these given areas. One week we might be doing a water line re- pair and asphalt and the next we might be forming and pouring concrete. This also presents some very major challenges since we tend to have mul- tiple crews running five different directions in order to accomplish every- thing that we set out to do. One reason that this is a challenge for me is maintaining consistency of how things are done on the pitch. The way that I have worked through this challenge is to always document sprayer calibration, fertility programs, mower height, aeration, and everything else under the sun. I think that documenting not only gives a record of what we have done in the past for success but more importantly what strategies failed and how to change our process to make them successful. "For me this Field of the Year is recognition of our crew and their tire- less dedication to hard work and their pursuit of perfection. There have been countless hours spent making sure that everything is perfect for games and practices as well. Our goal is to give our athletes the best prod- uct possible to make them successful. Our city management team trusts us to make decisions on the playing surface and is always concerned how many hours the field is being used. This trust allows us to make the best decision possible not only for the short term but also future of our facility. Our coaching staff also plays a key role in maintaining a quality surface. The coaches that we have are more than willing to move drills around and even use a practice field whenever possible. There is a great deal of pride in the facility and what are small city has to offer. "I was asked, 'What do you different that makes you successful?' I am surrounded by people that all have the same goal as me. We all want to continue to promote the sport of rugby and we want to make sure that we have a world class facility and experience when playing here." n 42 SportsTurf | April 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Infinity Park