Trends and News on Sports Field Maintenance Operations and the Community. Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker
provides tips and notes on field marking equipment and operations, trends in the sports turf industry and
future trends impacting the local community.
Customers continue to evaluate time versus supply cost savings when selecting products and services for their sports complex operations. Some customers are willing to pay more per applied gallon of field marking to eliminate their paint mixing operations.
A majority of field marking marking paints are formulated to support different dilution ratios to achieve the lowest cost per diluted gallon while ensuring sufficient coverage and brightness.
Some of the field marking equipment requires some amount of paint dilution due to viscosity of the paint and the lower pressure pump technology.
Shipping costs also have an impact on field marking paint selection since avoiding the transport of water which can be added locally and mixed makes since for many customers.
There are more customers looking for convenience and saving time as part of paint mixing operations, in many cases eliminating the need to spend time diluting field marking paint before application.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker has been testing a field marking paint formulation that is designed to be ready to use directly from the manufacturer, no additional water required and subsequent paint mixing prior to use.
The SwitchBack Cheap Seats Ready to Use (RTU) formulation is for immediate use. The sports field marking paint has anti-settling agents to minimize the solids from separating from the mixture while stored in 5-gallons pails.
Cheap Seats RTU sports field marking paint is ideal for 12-volt low pressure low volume diaphragm pump technologies that typically operate near the 45 psi range.
Dr Andrew McNitt discussed the fundamentals of turf grass management for athletic fields as part of the STMA Midwest Regional Conference in Ames, IA, June 24-25, 2009. He related many of his tips to several of the field plots that Dr Dave Minner was conducting at the ISU turf plot area as part of the trade show the previous day.
Here are the ideas that were shared with the conference attendees:
Keep the mower height constant and mow often. Stress in August (less water and a lower height with sports field use) is the worst time to change the mower height.
When removing grass clippings you are removing one third (1/3) of your fertilizer. This is another reason for mowing more often to minimize the thatch.
Fast release fertilizer (urea) is the most effective for healthy turf grass. Light frequent applications that must be calibrated is perferred. Phosphorous is held by the soil so if there is mature grass there should be very little danger of having a phoshorous run-off in to surface water drainage. Dr. Minner's turf plots reflected this recommendation based on the fertilization amounts and the rates of application.
Penn State (Beaver Stadium) turf grass specialist implements a "lean & mean" practice in September by cutting back water and fertilizer. You don't want the grass to lush otherwise you'll increase the damage due to divots from traffic.
Don't skip on the quality of seed. The critical note is to buy the grass seed by weight not by seed count! For example a seed mixture that is 80 percent Kentucky Blue Grass and 20 percent perennial rye grass by seed count will actually be 50/50 by weight. Since Kentucky Blue Grass takes so long to establish the Perennial Rye Grass will just out compete it given this percentage by weight results. Dr McNitt stated for high use areas to seed with perennial rye grass because it quickly establishes itself. He supported Dr Minner's research results in that it far better to reseed at a much higher rate one time then to make repetitive seeding with smaller amounts. Dr Minner's turf plots posted in photo album format reflected these recommendations.
Tall Fesc)ue needs to go through 2 cool seasons (e.g., spring and fall, or fall and spring) to provide a wear resistant capacity.
Consider using good quality compost in your fertilization and seeding process.
The referenced photo album steps you through the process with some explanations of what was being performed and specific guidance to help field operations staff when doing the same operations on their fields.
They reiterated the importance of shaking the aerosol can well before using and storing them upside down to improver their overall performance.
Have a printed image of the custom on hand is helpful to eliminate mistakes before they happen.
Painting a white background will help your other colors standout.
Where possible you should consider using a plant growth regulator (PGR) to eliminate the need to repaint these custom logo as often. Read a related Tru Mark blog entry for more PGR details.
A local tarp and awning company, Norfolk Awning Co., 710 W. Norfolk Ave., Norfolk, NE 68701, (402) 371-0440, Ron Skiff, was consulted on the proper material and procedures to be used. He asked that a sample of the material be provided so he could match the patch material and the correct adhesive cement.
roller for creating a uniform pressure across the patch,
flat solid surface, and
cleaning material to include towel(s) and cleaning solution such as Simple Green.
Procedures followed to complete the tarp repair:
access the bottom of the tarp surface,
identify and clean the surface of the tarp with water (and cleaning solution),
create patch (rounded edges),ensure plenty of overlap to the damaged area,
apply adhesive cement to both the tarp and patch(rough side if available),
apply patch and then compress from center to outside edge using a roller if possible, ensure you have the solid flat surface under the tarp so the patch is applied evenly,
let adhesive cure for 15 to 30 minutes,
check workmanship.
Do not limit the amount of adhesive applied to both the tarp and patch. The rolling device will remove excess adhensive when pressure is applied from the center to the edge to the patch.
Plant Growth Regulator in Field Marking Paint Saves Time
Dr. Dave Minner, Iowa State University Turf Grass Extension Educator, shows how Syngenta's Primo MAXX, turf grass plant growth regulator (PGR), added to field marking paint can save your staff time painting sports field lines. Review more images from the turf plot trail photo album.
The turf grass trial reflected three conditions, diluted paint applied with no Primo (the control), 1/2 ounce of Primo per diluted gallon of paint, and 1 ounce of Primo per gallon of diluted paint. The turf trail started on June 7th and results witnessed June 24th by conference attendees.
The turf was mowed twice a week during the 17 day period (approximately 5-6 times).
Results indicate that sports turf managers can save time by not having to stripe sports fields as often as normal, 14-21 days versus the traditional 7-10 days.
The image shows that the center stripe area has no Primo added to the paint, while the striped line on the right has 1/2 ounce of Primo per diluted gallon of paint and the left line has 1 ounce of Primo per gallon of diluted paint.
Sports Field Layout Tools Work On BlackBerry Devices
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker desktop sports field layout tools can be used on BlackBerry mobile smartphone devices.
Tru Mark business operations recently updated to a BlackBerry Curve 8900 which is protected by an OtterBox Defender case.
So why is this so important you may ask?
Well, BlackBerry devices run an an application that supports .xls extensions, better known as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The particular application we are using is the Sheet to Go (spreadsheet) version of the Documents to Go by DataViz, Inc., www.dataviz.com/upgrade.
Again, why is this significant?
Several years ago Tru Mark developed several sports field layout tools using traditional functions implemented in a MS Excel spreadsheet. Please check out the following website pages for more details. Soccer Field Layout Tool http://www.athleticfieldmarker.com/SoccerFieldCalculator.html Lacrosse Field Layout Tool http://www.athleticfieldmarker.com/LacrosseField.html Rugby Pitch Layout Tool http://www.athleticfieldmarker.com/RugbyField.html
OK, now we can use the desktop sports field layout tools on a mobile smartphone device. You can now calculate field dimensions and their associated intersections (staking positions) right on the field of play. This is especially important if a desktop calculation needs to be changed on the fly.
Once you have down loaded the sports field layout tool template (.xls file) to your desktop filing system you are ready to download the file to your Blackberry device. Using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager application you'll select the Media Manager option [Start], then select Devices (right side of selection window) under the Connected Devices. Go through the file selection process using Add to Library option then navigating to the stored .xls file, select file and click on Add. Next select the folder under My Devices (lower portion of the application window) and copy file to the BlackBerry Device (I used the media card location and created a folder called datafiles) using the "copy without conversion" option.
After completing all your synchronization steps you are ready to access your Blackberry device and the associated data file (sports field layout tool). From you main menu locate the Sheet to Go application and start the application. After start up verification/registration you can Open a file by navigating to the .xls file name stored on the BB device.
The data input fields work similar to an MS Excel operation. Navigate to the data cell, select Menu button, then select Edit Mode and enter your field dimension for that particular cell. Once you accept this entry the calculations are automatically updated just like on the desktop.
It helps to have printed spreadsheet available to verify all the cell locations and resulting intersection calculations. What is nice is you can save each different layout dimension with a different file name to quickly recall this spreadsheet for further changes and review purposes.
Please provide us feedback on this mobile smartphone application and spreadsheet operation. We are always looking for ways to help you save time.
Check out the STMA program and brochure (1.4 MB PDF file) for the 6 state STMA sponsored event. Thursday June 24th includes Five Concurrent Educational Activities as well as the Trade Show 1-6PM to include a BBQ Dinner included in the trade show area. On Friday June 25th there will be two concurrent educational session hosted in both the AM and PM.
Check out the latest equipment and supply items featured by Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker as well as other sports turf equipment firms.
Tru Mark will be feature demos of temporary field marking supplies to include aerosol chalk and bulk liquid chalk solutions that don't require any special cleaning solutions. A perfect marking solution for synthetic turf applications where cleanup must be a minimum task.
Also Tru Mark plans to display their three field marking 12 volt diaphragm pump technology solutions, RS-500F with the latest upgrade kits, E-100 with improved pump access and intake line upgrade kit and EZ-70, the most current model introduction.
A Blackberry Curve smartphone was used to capture about 15 seconds of video coverage. A desktop tool, Free Studio Manager, was used to convert the 3GP file format and to crop the video stream.
The equipment used included a Graco FieldLazer (3 years old) without the paint shields installed, Tru Mark SwitchBack CheapSeats field marking paint diluted 1 gallon of paint to 1 gallon of water, Tru Mark Heavy Duty String Winder with 1500' of braided twine, a 300' nylon tape measure to help mark the arcs in the pits, and several stakes.
A total of 7 gallons of diluted paint was used. There were 8 arcs striped on each of the 5 pits. The boundary lines were double striped.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker introduced a bulk liquid chalk temporary field lining solution for synthetic turf fields that does not require a special removal agent.
While Tru Mark offers an aerosol chalk solution customers were looking for an airless sprayer application product that was only temporary without the need for any cleaning agents.
SwitchBack Liquid Chalk field marking material is formulated without the typical acrylic latex resins and performs like traditional field marking chalk used on baseball and softball diamonds. Once the product is applied and dries it will hold up similar to marble dust or calcium carbonate on a skinned area of a diamond. The product can be easily removed with an abrasive action such as scuffing your shoes over the line and then rinsing with water to remove any shadow effects. The product will naturally dissolve over time from traffic, rain and irrigation methods.
Liquid Chalk is sold in 5-gallon pails and is diluted on a ratio of 1:1 with water, for every gallon of liquid chalk you add a gallon of water. The product can be applied without dilution but will require an airless pump that can product at least 900 psi at the pump.
The reference photo album reflects the demonstration of the the product on three different synthetic turf surfaces. The Liquid Chalk was applied after a 1:1 dilution ratio, allowed to dry for 1 hour which it was dry to the touch, then removed with a shoe scuffing operation and then rinsed with water over the scuffed area.
This product has many of the same characteristics of Tempura which is used in the art industry.
What does it take to convert a Toro mower chassis into a self-propelled riding line striper? Well with some Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker parts and some ingenuity by Brad Foster of the Vancouver School District, Vancouver, WA a new line striper was born.
The school district purchased some Tru Mark and commercial parts to outfit a new line painter. The total cost of the parts (Tru Mark) were less than $2,000, to include two 20-gallon tanks, pumps (Shurflo 12-volt 3.3 GPM no flow control), switches, tank and pump connectors, brackets and hoses, spray assembly parts for the line striper assembly. Brian spent several hours creating and installing mounting brackets on the Toro chassis and configuring on the parts, connections, and hoses. He also added a line guide to the front of the unit to add more "guidance" for the operator. Check out more of pictures of the converted Toro mower to a field marking line striper.
We continue to receive interesting requests from current and prospective customers. We would be interested in learning about your project and how we can help.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker was selected on short notice to provide a riding self-propelled field marker and technical support. Mark Hall, General Manger for Tru Mark supported the Image Associates L.L.C, Charleston, WV, filming project in production of a 30 second TV commercial for the West Virginia Lottery.
Bill Hogan, President, Image Associates L.L.C. had two weeks to get setup and execute the filming for six 30 second commercials. Tru Mark responded in a timely fashion with appropriate technical and pricing options for this unique commercial that was filmed on location at West Virginia State University football stadium.
Tru Mark delivered the model RS-500M Self-propelled Rider field marking unit on October 7th with a 2 day official notice for a commitment to perform. In additional the existing WVSU Division II Yellow Jackets football field was striped in preparation for the filming sequences. Bob Hogan was very appreciative for Tru Mark extending their stay for the filming operations due to wet weather conditions earlier in the week delaying filming operations.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker's home town, Norfolk, NE 68701, hosted the 2008 Nebraska American Legion Class A American Division Baseball Tournament, August 1st - 5th. A few image highlights can be found in a Snapfish Album.
Tru Mark supplied wind weight tarps for the pitcher's mound and home plate to protect these high traffic areas from nightly irrigation operations. A photo album shows images of the packaging and shipping of the tarps and their applications to the field of play.
Tru Mark's General Manager Mark Hall assisted field staff for the duration of tournament play. Duties included striping all foul lines, coaches boxes, base path, and the home plate area using the SwitchBack Ground Boss paint. The field was painted on July 31st and again for the championship series August 5th.
Additional field operation tasks included cleaning the bases with TrailBlazer Solar Wash twice for the two sets of bases and rinsing with water and cleaning with a wire brush between each game. Solar Trail did an excellent job of removing the dirt build-up and restoring the new look for the bases. The pitcher's mound, plate and bases were sprayed with aerosol white chalk between games to further enhance that professional field appearance. Six cans of aerosol chalk were used for the tournament.
Tru Mark provided and applied Diamond Pro Mound and Home Plate Clay between each game. The clay was mixed with a small amount of water between games which provided a superb packing material to speed up field turnover. Four 50 pound bags were used for the 15 games played. As the games progress fewer amounts of clay applications were needed. The mound had originally been prepared in the spring with clay bricks so there was an excellent base to work with.
During the turnover of each game the field was dragged with a motorized unit and hand dragged with brooms around the edges and along the baselines. Home plate and first base line were chalked for each game and third base ever other game. The field was briefly watered with an inground sprinkler system and by hand for the pitcher's mound, home plate and base paths.
A team of 4-5 were used to prepare the field for play in under 20 minutes, typically in under 18 minutes. A Kubota RTV 900 was provided by Dinkel Implement for the duration of the tournament which hauled all the rakes, brooms, tamp, bases, chalker, chalk, 5-gallon pails of clay, aerosol chalk, and string line. This unit was a real time saver and minimized compaction on the field.
Soccer Facility and Field Operations Tools & Equipment
Have you ever visited another soccer facility and picked up some great operational tips?
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker recently visited the Portage Soccer Complex at 4422 Bishop Rd., Portage MI 49002. This community facility has been well designed and maintained with excellent field drainage, a central building for registrations, meetings, concessions and facility operations and maintenance, and hard surface parking with curbs. Field operations are primarily conducted by some dedicated volunteers, the ones I met were Vern Genisio and David Rice.
With delivery of a Tru Mark self-propelled Model RS-500F Vern Genisio is incorporating another time and supply saving tool to his operations. He mentioned that the complex had invested in a new tractor to handle their aeration duties as well as their new pull behind mower. They recently invested in a deep tine aeration with sand top-dressing service to help with a two fields that weren't draining as well as expected.
Storage is always a challenge at most sport facilities. The Portage Soccer Complex has some well thought out and installed tools to help with their daily operations and year around storage requirements. From soccer goal nets to tool storage the facility personnel have integrated some space and time saving features.
Review some additional images of the Portage Soccer Complex and the RS-500F Field Marking Operations. See how easy the unit is filled with field marking paint, the foot pedal operations, the floating paint shoe assembly in action, and "making a straight line in less time".
This particular turf field used a crumb rubber infield with sewn-in football field lines and the soccer field touch lines (sidelines). This field is used by a local lacrosse club as well. The field had been previously painted several times and the paint build is significant reminding me of gum in a carpet situation. The football field hash marks were painted along with soccer goalie, penalty, and center circle and the standard lacrosse markings. The soccer field lines were painted yellow and the lacrosse field lines painted red.
The customer asked Tru Mark to over stripe the existing soccer field painted lines with the TrailBlazer Solar Trail, Bison Gold, permanent synthetic turf paint. There was no attempt to remove the paint that had been previously applied. The existing paint appeared have a very strong bonding agent, similar to rubber compound, and was concentrated at painted intersections. Also a lot of the paint had been applied to the crumb rubber infield making it just about impractical to clean the lines effectively before reapplying turf paint. During the striping operation we did not use a string to guide us, just the existing line.
Lesson Learned: Avoid overstriping at intersections when painting synthetic turf surfaces. Plan ahead when to start and stop your striping. For example, Minnesota Metro Dome uses a 4" x 4" cardboard spacer at the edge of the sideline when painting the 5-yard lines to ensure separation.
Lesson Learned: Whenever time allows and precision is needed pull a string to guide your striping operations, especially on synthetic turf surfaces.
Lesson Learned: Under application of paint on synthetic turf surfaces is preferred. Reduce the amount of pressure on your line striper to minimize over application and over spray. Practice your walking speed, stop and starting procedure, on a test strip when possible.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker general manager, Mark Hall, along with Darrell Ervasti of D.Ervasti Sales, and TK Products representative participated in synthetic turf cleaning and painting demonstratation. The demonstration team visited Minnetonka High School in the suburban Minneapolis, MN area, home to a $2.4 million baseball and multipurpose synthetic turf sports field and grandstand area.
The demonstration included the cleaning of an existing painted baseball coaches box along the 3rd baseline using TrailBlazer Trail Wash cleaner, applying TrailBlazer Moon Daze paint as a test stripe, applying the same paint over the cleaned area as well as over stripping the coaches box along the 1st base line. Besides the physical labor for turf cleaning Tru Mark used the Graco FieldLazer as the line striping unit. The FieldLazer was outfitted with a RAC 5 SwitchTip LL5419. The Moon Daze paint is designed for multi-game application without any dilution and was applied directly from a 5-gallon pail.
Two weeks after the application several images were taken of the painted surfaces. There was not flacking of the Moon Daze paint nor any degradation due to traffice and wear activities. The customer was very pleased with the performance of this new formulated paint for synthetic turf fields.
A series of pictures were taken and are listed with captions in a on-line Picasa Web Album.
Lessons learned from the demonstration include: 1) grooming the synthetic turf fibers before painting to achieve a more vertical standing position for more uniform paint application, 2) a long handled short bristle brush for less wear and tear on the back, 3) access to running water and cleaning rags, 4) using a taut string line to help the operator achieve straight painted lines 5) backpack or hand sprayer for applying the Trail Wash cleaning solution, 6) drip rag for wiping spray tip to avoid any dripping when moving between application areas, 7) after stopping the spray gun/tip application, pull back the paint striper to avoid paint dripping on unpainted turf 8) use a cardboard sheet (old refrigerator box) for test pattern and tip height adjustment
It is time for a synthetic turf face lift as the existing turf paint has faded and needs to be repainted. The short dense (no infield material) synthetic turf is about 7 years old with inlaid lines for the football field except for logos, hash marks, and outside boundary markings. The synthetic turf is one continuous cover and is rolled and stowed when not used. The field paint needs to wear well and not flack off due to the rolling operations.
Several months later the team went back to apply the first of two coats of TrailBlazer Solar Trail field marking paint. Refer to the on-line album for images.
D. Ervasti Sales provided their newest paint formulation, TrailBlazer Solar Trail, a permanent field marking paint for synthetic turf (paint application for nylon, polypropylene, and polyethylene or a combination turf fibers). The enclosed images are the paint application using a Graco FieldLazer (RAC 5 standard spray tip LL5521) without use of the paint shields. The hash marks being painted are the perimeter marks around indoor football field.
Solar Trail is a permanent synthetic turf paint and was applied with no dilution which is the recommendation of the manufacturer.
The Solar Trail Label and MSDS recommends that the paint should dry completely within 6-8 hours.
Also demonstrated was the Solar Wash cleaning agent which was used a couple of times to clean up due to a paint drip or mistake was made during application. This product can also be used to remove the paint after it has dried.
With a short dense field turf the spray tip was within inches of the surface.
Tru Mark found that the paint flowed well and application was uniform while using the Graco FieldLazer. Although not tested the RAC 5 spray tip LL5419 would be recommended since the paint was not diluted.
