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/605094
was a monumental move within STMA. It was the first time in the history of STMA that the association hired its own full-time employee to run the association. I remember it being a very ner- vous time for the Board, not fully confident whether or not the association could afford this bold move. As it turned out, it was the best thing for STMA. With Kim's leadership, the leadership of the many sports turf managers that have volunteered for Board and committee service along the way and the support of the many commercial members, STMA has now grown into a financially sound pro- fessional association with a very active Board of Directors and numerous committees all promoting the education and pro- fessionalism of STMA … something that all of the old timers envisioned in the beginning. SPORTSTURF: What are the most important changes you've seen in sports turf management over those 30 years? Wightman: Wow! Looking back to 1973 when I joined the sports turf industry, it's amazing to me to see all of the changes that have come along. We used to use gasoline and a match to dry out the pitcher's mound and wet infield areas before a game (certainly not OSHA approved)! Now we have drying compounds and cal- cined clay. We used to over-seed everything and hope and wait for the turf to establish. Now we sod areas the morning of a football game without the fear of sod movement. We used to use heavy mill tarps with large portable heaters that were positioned underneath to heat the field surface in the winter. Now we have sub-surface heating systems that keep the rootzone at the proper temperature preventing frozen fields in cold weather climates and extending warm-season turfgrass growth in other climates. There were no domed stadiums and most stadiums were combination baseball/football. Now there are many domes and fewer multi-sport venues. Every field was natural grass constructed with whatever soil was there on site. Consequently, nearly all fields were worn out halfway through the season. Now, most all fields are engineered with specified rootzone mixes that promote optimum drainage and turfgrass growth. Also, many fields today are 3rd and 4th generation synthetic surfaces that support numerous types of field events in open-air stadiums and inside domed stadiums. There have been many changes in sports turf management over the past 30-40 years, for sure. However, I think the most significant change that I have seen in managing sports turf has been in the academic world. Colleges and universities now have degreed sports turf programs. And, most of those colleges and universities have applicable ongoing research focused spe- cifically on sports turf. Along with increased formal educational opportunities in sports turf management at the college level, I, also, feel that the computer age has opened up a whole new world for the sports turf manager in educating one's self with easily available infor- mation. Anyone can now go online and find information on virtually any subject matter with just the click of a button. There were no computers when I first got into this business. That's hard to imagine! It's scary thinking about that because now I feel much older than when I started answering these questions! SPORTSTURF: If you watch old footage from NFL Films what memories are stirred up when you see some of the turf situations from "back in the day"? Wightman: Seeing old footage of football games 20-30 years ago does bring back memories of how we used to manage fields back then. There was very little information available to a field manager in the "old days." It was pretty much up to the field manager to figure it out himself. There were no scientifically engineered rootzones and many fields did not have tarps because they did not have the man- power to move them. Consequently, the field managers were left to battle the elements with very little help in terms of man- power and equipment. As a result, the fields became quagmires during rain and snow events making it hard to recognize which team was which by the end of the first quarter. However, there were many innovative and enormously talented field managers who did figure out how to effectively manage fields in the early years. They made many of the tools necessary to do their job better. They educated themselves in the scientific aspects of turfgrass growth. They became meteorologists, climatologists, soil scientists, agronomists and engineers. They succeeded because they wanted to be the best at what they did and created the means with which to accom- plish it. They were our industry's pioneers, for sure. Many of those shared information with others in the indus- try and the industry began to grow and field conditions began to improve. And, because of these pioneers and their willing- ness to share their experiences and information, STMA was born. Those that were influential in helping me at the beginning of my career included the founding fathers of STMA: Harry Gill, George Toma, Dick Ericson and Dr. William Daniels. There were others that were very influential, as well, including Dr. Jackie Butler, Dr. James Watson, and Dr. Kent Kurtz, among others. "Back in the day," field conditions were every bit as impor- tant as they are today. Seeing old footage only reminds me of how far we have come as an industry in managing sports fields. We have so much more information available to us today. Sports today have become a much larger business than it was in the old days. Professional and collegiate sports are now a multi-billion dollar business. Field expectations are greater today. Resources available to the field manager today are greater and the industry, as a whole, is stronger. I see a bright future of continued grow and prosperity for the sports turf industry. www.stma.org December 2015 | SportsTurf 31 Continued on page 43