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We partnered with the GMA (Grounds Management Association) to collaborate on some essential tips for staying on top of your field maintenance, and the importance of doing so.
It’s important to cater your maintenance schedule to the type of field you have and the usage it gets per week so that you can ensure proper care. If you’re ever unsure, talk to your field supplier or maintenance contractor to ensure you are fulfilling the needs of your surface.
There are 3 types of field maintenance –
Many sports clubs and facilities undertake a mixed approach when it comes to maintenance – read a bit more about it below:
This includes weekly general housekeeping such as litter picking, removing debris, checking the condition of equipment, and brushing the surfaces. These are the things that can be done in-house with your grounds specialist to keep your artificial grass performing at its best. As a guide, 40 hours of field use would warrant a weekly check, so you can adjust this to your own facility.
This is more periodic, such as specialized treatments, decompacting the infill, and topping up across the field. It will also include a deep clean to remove debris and extra dirt that might have accumulated. This could be done in-house if you have a specialist team; however many clubs choose to outsource this to contractors that can provide the correct equipment and knowledge.
This will be required if regular maintenance hasn’t been done, hasn’t been delivered effectively, or if your surface is near the end of its life.
This might mean general repairs, seam and joint repairs, full removal and replacement/cleaning of infill material, cleaning of heavily contaminated areas, and if you have courts, they might need recoating.
In general, the more your surface is used, the more likely major issues may arise if regular maintenance isn’t followed.
Your routine maintenance can be done by your internal grounds management team, provided they’ve been trained to understand the needs of the field.
Your specialist maintenance will then most likely need an external expert to attend the site. Not only for their knowledge but their equipment too. The specialist will be able to identify and resolve any issues as well as warning about potential future hazards. They will do a full surface assessment on each visit to make sure your field is in the best possible condition.
We chose to install an artificial field to satisfy the usage requirements of our key stakeholders. We have Saracens Rugby Club who play in the championship and as part of the premiership, so we have that side of things to look after from an elite level, but we also have an obligation to our community, who also use the field. Our priority is to make sure the field and running track are usable and maintained to the highest standard. We decided in 2016 when we got the new field from SIS Pitches, we needed the best surface to play on, but also we needed to invest in our maintenance approach. We now use a mixed approach to maintenance. We have an in-house team that looks after our grounds, and then when we have an elite game, typically bi-weekly, we will work with SIS Plus. They will come in the day before the game, do a full field inspection, address any areas that need maintenance and do everything for us – SIS Plus do that better than anybody. We’re now five seasons in and we’re really happy with the performance of our pitch at an elite and community level.
Richard Gregg, Operations Director, Saracens
In order to comply with your field warranty, it’s vital that you maintain it correctly. Not only does it keep your warranty intact, but it means you can add on years to your investment, ensuring a longer field lifespan. There appears to be a misconception that once artificial grass is down, the hard work is done; however, ongoing maintenance is essential for top performance and prolonging the life of your field.
Regular maintenance will help to improve your field’s lifespan.
Think of your grass fibres as a piece of paper that’s been bent it in half. Although you can straighten it back up again, it’s much harder the longer you leave it and the more bent it is. Weekly field brushing will help your grass to stand up straight again and keep the fibers intact.
Every surface will degrade with age and use, and the majority of them are exposed to the elements, so they should all have a service schedule in line with needs and program of use.
Maintenance not only improves your lifespan; it is also preventative in serious injuries to any players.
The harder and less pliable the ground is, the more likely an injury could occur from a fall or tackle. Ensuring you look after the field means you’re also looking after your players.
By checking the ground for holes or carpet lifting, checking the bounce, and meeting your sports standards of safety, you can feel secure in the field. It’s also worth going outside the grass to look for any trip hazards from around the edge as well as checking seating arrangements to make sure that games and training can be enjoyed safely.
Testing ensures that your fields are the right quality, installed correctly, and providing a safe and satisfactory playing environment, whatever level you play at.
Most sports have required testing standards set by governing bodies, but this varies from sport to sport alongside the British European standards.
If your field is used for multiple sports, you must meet the testing criteria for each sport the field is used for.
Testing keeps your players safe, so they will test a multitude of factors relating to the field, such as:
So now you know about the importance of maintenance, perhaps it’s time to do an evaluation on your current schedule and make sure it is up to standard. If you want some help, why not contact SIS Plus today for a free site visit.
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