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Contributors
Karen Maxwell Managing editor
Adapting to change The weather this spring has played havoc with the preparation of pitches for summer sport, not least our cricket pitches. There have been a few cancelled matches but, by and large, our cricket groundsmen have thankfully managed to catch up with their preparations. There’s some timely advice on rolling regimes in this issue (page 30) and this sort of article is ideal to cut out and keep for future reference. The future for sport, however, is forever changing. Grassroots 11-a-side adult football is showing a marked decline in participation, and those playing golf have also reduced – male numbers dropped by 692,000 between 2012 and 2016, and there were 19,000 fewer females enjoying the sport during the same period.
Colin Hoskins Features editor
Chris Bennett SALTEX press officer
Lifestyle and societal change both play a part in who plays sport, as well as when, where and how. And with people generally working longer hours, that means less time for simply relaxing, let alone playing sport. In response, sports bodies are looking at their offerings. The Football Association has set targets to double female participation levels – these numbers would accompany the increasing popularity of five- and seven-a-side games, a growth that has no doubt been facilitated by the increase of multi-pitch 3G facilities at leisure centres.
Frank Newberry Conference speaker and careers counsellor
Cricket is moving from five-day Test matches and 40-overs games to the 20-20 and 100-overs formats. But has anyone considered how the new formats will impact the lives and working week of cricket groundsmen? How much increased pressure will this cause? And will such changes lead to an increase in mental health issues? In a changing sporting landscape, what will the turf industry do to survive? How will we adapt? This summer we have the Ryder Cup (golf), England versus Pakistan and the ODIs against Australia (cricket) as well as the FIFA World Cup (football). Our industry is at the heart of every event being played in front of a global audience. It’s an increasingly pressurised environment for the teams of groundsmen and women who create such wonderful surfaces for sports, season after season, year after year.
John Coleman UK managing director, MTD Specialty Turf Products
Recognise their efforts now by nominating those deserving of an IOG Industry Award (read more on p16). The awards ceremony will be held on the opening day of SALTEX (31 October at the Birmingham NEC), where you can catch up on industry innovations and new products. Darren Symonds Regional pitch advisor
Geoff Webb Chief Executive The Institute of Groundsmanship
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Alex Vickers Independent consultant