How to Manage Sports Pitch Wear Q&A with Roy Rigby, in this informative blog Roy shares his experience on how to manage sports pitch wear. Roy also gives his views on why even the elite sports pitches are struggling to manage wear post a very wet winter and much more!
Tell us a little about your career path?
Roy Rigby, I worked for the Blackburn Parks Department from leaving school at the age of 16 years old where I was as a young Apprentice Groundsperson/ Greenkeeper working on football pitches and bowling greens fine turf for roundabout 14 half years, then I took up the position working at Blackburn Rovers has head Groundsperson at the training ground for 10 years.
I then progressed to Manchester City football club in 2001 as head of grounds and Landscaping manager and oversaw our sister clubs abroad for 22 years before I retired in 2023. I am now a part – time independent adviser on nature grass and hybrid playing surfaces.
I still do work for FIFA abroad, seeing football pitches at stadiums and training grounds for FIFA tournaments and still doing part time work in the UK in spring/ summer months.
What are the biggest factors contributing to wear?
A pitch being overused, playing in the same areas, playing in wrong conditions like very wet / cold weather frost conditions will reduce grass wear, along with the grass plant being cut to short in winter months in November till end of February.
What can a grounds person do to help manage wear?
Rotate grass areas as much as possible, keep goalkeepers out of main goals use portable goals rotate the areas to keep better grass cover.
Compaction can really lead to high wear, in what ways can we reduce compaction?
Aeration use machinery like verti-drain / pro-core / sisis, spiker, and keep heavy machinery like tractor rollers or heavy mowers when conditions are wet after long spells of rain could lead to complication in areas where training as took place over number of times in the same area over the playing season.
Take a look at our guide on aeration HERE
How important is nutrition and good basic cutting practices in creating a deep-rooted plant?
Using the right fertilisers will keep the grass plant stronger and healthier so a 12 months fertiliser/ chemical treatments program needs to be in place which will help with nutrition also.
Good cutting practices make sure the mower’s blades are sharp and consistent. This needs to be checked every time before mowing/ cutting can start which should only take a few minutes if checked regularly. density and deep rooting there is a product called Primo – Maxx will help to move this in the right direction.
Premier league pitches for the first time in years are showing signs of wear, why is this?
This could be a number of different things, been over used with training hours, ground staff may not be in a position to put growing grass lights on to help the recovery of grass wear , not having enough grounds people because of different reasons , stadium pitches wear is down to few things like the stadium roof – stands been very high not letting much sun/light in them areas more in the winter months when grass starts to slow down because the ground temperatures been lower that 10 degrees.
Ground staff can not apply the growing lighting because of back-to-back home matches playing in different competitions, sand profile pitches will give you problems to a degree with the pitch construction being free draining and the fertiliser soon disappear in the profile after heavy rain, but without the sand base profile playing surfaces there would be bigger problems with games/matches been postponed.
I feel overall we are in a better position now than where we were before looking back 15-20 years ago with pitch construction, using sand profile and hybrid pitch construction less games/matches are getting called off because of waterlogged pitches now and better drainage being used.
Are there any seed mixes, possibly tetraploids mixes or cold start seed mixes that can really help fill in those bare areas?
There are a lot of rye seed mixes on the market right now different it’s down to people choice which they prefer, I see more people using pre-germinated seed to fill in them thin bare areas in. More grounds people are using germination grow sheets more when time allows when growing temperatures are low to help germinate seed to get more established.
Do you have any tips or advice in regards to managing wear on sports pitches?
Repairing divots right away. All year-round fertiliser/chemical treatment program in place, working round the weather plan pitch works, making sure the machinery is well maintained, mowers are cutting right and at the right height, taking the height of cut up on the mowers in the autumn / winter months will help the recovery and help the wear on the grass plant stronger.
If anyone ask you the question about the grass plants are looking thin in them areas, you have the data available and this will help you and the club to understand the reasons why.
Roy Rigby
Keeping up to date records of fertilisers / chemicals materials applied, and monitor and keep records of playing hours on the grass areas for the season so you can compare to other seasons which will help you moving forward, and if anyone ask you the question about the grass plants are looking thin in them areas, you have the data available and this will help you and the club to understand the reasons why.
Roy
