GMA UPDATE | LEARNING
GMA LEVEL 2 WINTER PITCHES LAUNCHING ONLINE THIS MONTH The GMA will this month add Level 2 Winter Pitches to its online courses to help grounds staff and volunteers to achieve maximum results when maintaining pitches during colder, wetter months
Jason Booth GMA director of technical and learning
THE LEVEL 2 Winter Pitches course includes football, rugby league, rugby union and sports in the Gaelic Athletics Association. It can be completed in around six hours, which includes 10 lessons, and gives participants the chance to learn more about basic turf care techniques. Modules cover the surface, influencing pitch playability, safe working practices, soils and drainage, how to identify a few of the most common turf grasses, and basic control methods for common weeds, pests, and diseases. The course also touches on planning annual work schedules, which is essential to support grounds management and keep natural turf pitches playable – helping to avoid match cancellations and minimise the risk of injury. Winter can be a tough time of year to maintain pitches, even more so with the current challenges we’re facing as a nation and industry. This course is as much about gaining the skills to work reactively during Winter, as
10 GROUNDS MANAGEMENT | OCTOBER 2020
well as proactively planning ahead for any out-of-season maintenance. The course has been designed to help improve knowledge and efficiencies so that grounds staff and volunteers have the confidence to get pitches playable in unfavourable weather conditions using their time effectively. This new online course gives people the opportunity to access the vital information from anywhere and at any time. ■
Find out more about Level 2 online courses at www.thegma.org.uk/learning/training Bespoke offline courses are available by contacting learning@thegma.org.uk