Villa Park March 28-2012

Despite nearly 500mm of rain in regions of the South East there is no shortage of passion and interest in turf in Queensland. If the attendance at the first STA function for 2012 is any indication, creating better turf surfaces is still very much in the forefront of the member’s minds.

The first event for 2012 was an education and trade show day held at Villa Nova Park on Manly road Tingalpa. Grounds Manager Adam Reilly hosted us for the day and it was evident that despite the heavy rains, the team has been putting in the big ones to get the place looking great; it really is a credit to the hard work of Adam and his team at the Park. We were well watered and fed and big thank you must go to Robin Gunning for her hospitality and nothing is too much trouble attitude.

On the education side, the day was a mixture of industry specialists sharing information from a wide range of areas as well as a healthy number of company representatives sharing knowledge, product and machinery knowledge. A big thank you goes to all the sponsors for making the STA 2011-12 year a big success and we look forward to working with them all again over the coming twelve months.

Dan and Matt from the Sports Turf institute kicked off the day with a look into the field assessment work that they have been doing for Brisbane City Council. With over 600 fields assessed they certainly have a wealth of data to share and the knowledge gained from this work will prove beneficial for all turf managers somewhere down the track.

Paul Beaton from Pinnacle Safety shared the latest amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Laws, regulations and codes of practice. Despite the heavy nature of the topic Paul made it relevant and it was by far the most well received and widely discussed topic of the day. It goes to show that despite all our grumblings about the paper work side, deep down we really are concerned about our own safety and that of our staff and end users.

Gold Coast Bus Trip

What a day we had at the Gold Coast. Peter Apps from the Gold Coast City Council took us on a tour of three venues that he has recently rebuilt using three different techniques to see which one performs the best and returns the best value for money. The first venue was solid turfed with Oz Tuff Green, the second venue was seeded with a Paspalum variety and the final venue had been stolonised with Grand Prix. All venues had been down for four weeks and were looking quite good. In approximately two months we will visit each site and take some photos so you can see how they are looking. There will be a two part story in the coming editions of Green Side Up so you can stay up to date with all three sites. Thanks Peter for your hospitality and willingness to share.

Our next stop "Skilled Park" was looking good after a recent surface upgrade. Peter Cronin and Phil Burke led us around and through the stadium, to get a feel of what it must be like to be an NRL or A league player. Thanks guys, it's not every day we get to walk on an international stadium.

A huge lunch and a few coldies were enjoyed at the Broadbeach Bowling Club as was a great laugh during the Bare Foot Bowls. It was a great way to end the tour as it gave everyone a chance to unwind and recap on what they had seen and learnt in the morning.  Sam Krueger from Brothers Leagues Club won the lucky seat draw on the bus on the way home and will be enjoying a $100 BCF gift voucher which will no doubt come in handy  as summer approaches. Thanks to everyone that came along and we look forward to doing it all over again next year, this time we head west....