Ross Kurcab has created a TURF-IE Facebook fan page where he covers turf management stories in the news and other popular media outlets.

Ross stated, "I believe part of being a professional is being current with the news of your chosen industry. It can be very educational – who knew they were using recycled glass as a sub-base for natural grass fields in New Zealand?"

I totally agree that as a professional you must develop a life long learning philosophy where you search out educational outlets whether in print media, on-line media, and through personal contact. Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker also is capturing professional related turf management news and product announcements.

Ross reflects, "Don’t be afraid to comment and leave your own links. We at TURF-IE encourage stupidity, high-quality information, fun, and fellowship. I’ve primed the machine, now it’s up to you members to help paint the logo."

Please join Ross's TURF-IE Facebook fan page to learn what is in the turf management news and become better informed as a professional.
[http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=263405963071]

Labels: Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

A report on the official study entitled: “Incidence, Mechanisms, and Severity of Game-Related College Football Injuries on FieldTurf Versus Natural Grass: A Three-Year Prospective Study”.

[http://t.love.com/289352408]

The published research concludes that college football games played on FieldTurf synthetic turf playing surfaces resulted in statistically fewer and less severe injuries than those played on natural grass. The peer-reviewed study is published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

This report does not necessarily support the findings reported by an 2008 NFL players opinion study report in our earlier blog, March 2, 2009.

Labels: Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

Always on the hunt for educational material on sports turf management we have the latest 2010 Rutger's Continuing Education offering.
The Rutgers-NJAES Office of Continuing Education in cooperation with the New Jersey Sports Field Managers Association is offering an Athletic Field Construction and Maintenance short course Feb. 16-18.
In addition to this 3-day course, half-day courses are offered in these special athletic field topics: Understanding Synthetic Fields and Baseball/Softball Infield Skin Construction & Management.
Agenda
Day One
— Soils for Athletic Field Managers
— Insights into Athletic Field Problems
— Sports Field Safety
— Site Preparation and Construction Procedures
— Irrigation Systems – Design and Installation
— Selecting Turfgrasses and Establishment Procedures
Day Two
— Turfgrass Maintenance Procedures
— Operation and Maintenance of Irrigation Systems
— Weed, Disease and Insect Control
— Pesticide Application Technology
— Safe Handling, Storage and Use of Pesticides
— Disease Problems and Their Control
Day Three
— Equipment Maintenance for Performance and Longevity
— Contending With Soil Compaction
— Renovation and Repair of Existing Fields
— Infield Maintenance Procedures
— Striping, Lining and Painting
— Smart Budgeting and Getting the Job Done
For more information or to register, click here.

Labels: Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

Further confirmation that synthetic turf fields using rubber infield material have a low risk to youth participants. EPA Study of Synthetic Turf and Crumb Rubber Finds 'Low Level of Concern'

Study findings:

* Particulate matter, metals and volatile organic compound concentrations were measured in the air samples and compared with areas away from the turf fields (background levels). The levels found in air samples from the artificial turf were similar to background levels.
* No tire-related fibers were observed in the air samples.
* All air concentrations of particulate matter and lead were well below levels of concern.
* More than 90 percent of the lead in the tire crumb material was tightly bound and unavailable for absorption by users of the turf fields.
* Zinc, which is a known additive in tires, was found in tire crumb samples. However, air and surface wipe monitoring levels of zinc were found to be below levels of concern.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends

Where should you spend you scare resources to produce the most value and greatest support for your sports field operations? Over the past several years we've come across several excellent resources which have been incorporated into our website FAQ page as well as new products and updates to existing products. These tips are not necessarily in any particular priority. You may have experienced some time and money saving tips as well, please share these with others.

Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker Top 10 Time and Money Saving Tips.
1. Convert from aerosol to bulk latex field marking paint. When organizations grow in the number of sport fields needing line striping the best value is to use airless paint striping equipment to reduce your cost of field marking paint as well as save time and improve the quality of lines.
2. Use removable chalk for temporary lines. Either aerosol chalk or bulk chalk can be easily applied to a natural grass or synthetic turf surface without a significant amount of cleaning required to remove the lines. Normally wear and water will remove these temporary lines, just as on a dirt infield. For longer lasting temporary lines on synthetic turf please consider the TrailBlazer field marking product line.
3. Use the various Tru Mark MS Excel spreadsheet layout tools to quickly and accurately layout any sports field to include: soccer, lacrosse, rugby, Ultimate frisbee. No matter the size of the field the desktop tool will calculate the different intersections on the field of play for pulling a string and line striping.
4. Mark the playing field intersections with easily located markers. Use a metal field anchor to quickly located an intersection using a magnet or marking whiskers that can be seen at the mowed grass level. Eliminate the time consuming effort of hunting for a buried intersection at the start of a new season.
5. Use a filled on-site yet sealed sand bag for ballast and barriers. Tru Mark's different style sand bags are designed to be filled on location and sealed to prevent spillage for indoor as well as barrier purposes. Whether holding down a batting tee, door or car stopper, or a door frame or environmental barrier These sand bags will save a lot of time over their years of service.
6. Always strain field marking paint prior to use. Bulk latex paint needs to be stirred prior to mixing with water and after water is added. If the supplier can shake the bulk latex paint prior to delivery that is even better. During the pouring to the diluted paint into the paint delivery container the flow should be strained with at least a 30 mesh screw. Catching the undissolved solids will prevent plugging of equipment, especially the spray tip(s) during field striping operations. Tru Mark offers a paint cleaning and mixing kit, including a screened funnel, to help customers.
7. Join a professional organization to help with your life-long learning opportunities. Whether it is a turf grass and landscaping organization or a youth sport association you will make new connections and opportunities to learn from others. Now with improved communications capabilities these learning opportunities have expanded to more remote learning features. For example, Sports Turf Managers Association is a well respected national professional organization with state chapters and a certification program.
8. Keep on hand the common replacement parts for your field marking equipment. There is nothing worse then being broke down due a $10 to $40 part. When buying a piece of equipment check with the supplier and confirm part numbers of the common replacement parts. Try and keep at least one spare on hand at all times. During the cleaning operation get into a habit of replacing those replacement parts, e.g., spray tips, screens, check valves, pump valve kits. That way you can inspect these items on a more regular basis.
9. When selecting field marking equipment look for products that provide longevity in the operation and parts, especially those parts that receive a significant amount of wear. For example, the paint shoe assembly where the paint spray is limited to a specific area and many times comes in contact with the striping surface should be made of high quality materials that are not easily broken or bent.
10. Prevent rain outs and excess wear areas by purchasing and deploying good quality field tarps and protective covers. A baseball field tarp is essential to maintaining proper soil/dirt moisture for pitching mounds and plate areas. This is especially important during summer months and times of raining conditions. A well maintained tarp can save a tournament or double header from being canceled. Football sideline experience excess wear so protect this area with field cover, minimize turf replacement or track replacement costs.

Labels: Product_Review, Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

The Tru Mark Ultimate Field Layout Tool is designed for Ultimate organizations and field striping personnel needing a simple yet accurate tool to help in laying out and striping their sports fields. No matter what your requirements you can generate symmetric dimensions for any age group or space restrictions.

The Utlimate field calculation are figured using the length and width of the playing field proper. The endzone distance is a fixed depth 23 meters (25 yards or 75') The player and spectator boundary lines are also at a fixed distance from back of the end zone and side playing field proper, 3 meters (3.25 yards or 10') for the player line and 5 meters (5.4 yards or 16') for spectator line. The Brick and Reverse Brick points are based on fixed distances from the goal line. The Midfield point is the half way distance between the goal lines, on a regulation field it would be 32 meters (40 yards or 105').

The desktop tool uses the MS Excel spreadsheet application with functions that generate staking locations based on user supplied dimensions and the center line of the field through the center point, the goal, end zone, player and spectator lines.

The spreadsheet layout tool allows the user to plug in a value (in feet) into a cell below each listed Ultimate field dimension. The orientation of the layout tool is based on staking out the full length of field down the center line of the field intersecting the goal line through the endzone line, player, and spectator line. The actual field staking procedure requires the use of two measuring tapes. One tape is staked or held at the Midfield (center point at the middle of the field and pulled to the associated intersection points. The other tape is staked or held at the Center Point on the Spectator Line (beyond the end zone and player line). The layout tool calculates the intersections for the two tape measurements listed in feet and inches or just feet. The Ultimate Layout Tool reflects the stake intersections for 1/4 of the Ultimate field (upper left quadrant when looking at a field with goals left to right).

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

I ran across an interesting article from the Park and Recreation Business Magazine, Joining Forces, Community effort matches uses to needs. http://tinyurl.com/JoiningForces

This particular article focused on the Yuma, AZ school district and city working out an arrangement on installing a new aquatic facility in an under served area of the community. This concept has an interesting application for our community, Norfolk, NE.

Connecting the operations portion of the concept to our local YMCA may also be helpful for an aquatic facility.

Our Memorial Park, both football field and pool, is an obvious opportunity for this type of joining forces effort.

While living in Colorado Springs, CO, there was an arrangement on a high school pool that the school district paid for yet allowed the City Rec department operate during non school hours for community use.

How can we include the NECC (community college) into the mix? They seem to have
a large enough tax base to increase their infrastructure investments. What
instruction program, e.g., nursing college, sports services, etc., would be
enhanced through access to a community structure? Would Faith Regional Hospital
be an important partner associated with aquatic rehabilitation services?

Labels: Services, Trends

Pictures are worth a thousand words. So is the case in showing the impact that turf colorant applications have on turf grass and conifer trees. Several test strips were made on Kentucky Blue grass in November as it was going dormant as well as blue spruce needles and branches. The Tru Mark SwitchBack Kameelyan Blue Turf Colorant was tested using different dilution ratios, from 1:10, 1:20, and 1:30, 1 part colorant to different parts water. Although not tested, a dilution ratio of 1:40 should provide adequate results when costs are a significant factor and where touch up operations are necessary.

Tru Mark also supplies the SwithBack Kameelyan Bermuda Turf Colorant for those below the cool grass regions.

Earlier blog posting on the subject can be read at
http://www.athleticfieldmarker.com/2009/06/painting-lawn-grass-and-fariway-turf.html and http://www.athleticfieldmarker.com/2009/11/painting-living-tree-for-holiday-season.html

The turf colorant was applied using the Model E-100 12-volt diaphragm pump technology and a spray nozzle bracket modification, Part # 90010-121-0021 with an extended horizontal clamping rod to produce increased line width. The the standard spray wand was adapted for tree spraying using the Conversion Fan Spray Tip Kit
Part Number: 90010-121-0022.

Labels: Demos, Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

What should you cover a confer tree (with needles, evergreen type) that has a brown color where you want to make it look greener.

Given the formulation of the DuraStripe Aerosol Paint I would not apply this material to a living tree, especially one that keeps its needles from year after year. I’m afraid the absorption of the material by the needles would be destructive to the tree.

The Aerosol Chalk product would be a better temporary solution, however we do not make this formulation in a green or turf green color.

What I might suggest is finding an arts and craft or hobby store, Office Max, Office Depot, Staples that sells Tempera paint. This paint can be used on many different surfaces and is removable. It comes in powder or paste. I would dilute the material to a one to one ratio and apply using a pump-up hand sprayer that is used by turf companies.

A bulk latex field marking paint product could also be used for covering the tree with little adverse impact. Also you consider a bulk chalk solution but at this time a green color is not being offered by Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker. You would apply the bulk paint and chalk using a pump-up or airless sprayer after being diluted.

Finally another product solution you might consider is a turf colorant. A turf colorant is typically used on dormant grass during the non-growing and dry seasons. This product is diluted typically to 10-20 to 1 ratio and has a longer duration then traditional turf paint. It can be applied using a pump-up or airless sprayer after dilution.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

A customer for 5 years remarks about his Model E-100 walk-behind 12-volt diaphragm pump field marker. Rob, from Sisters, Oregon recently stated, "We continue to make good use of the striping machine we have, and know the school district still has theirs as well."

As a supplier, manufacturer and distributor, of field marking equipment we continue to request feedback on our equipment and service to improve the customer's field marking operations. Many times we have recognized the need to upgrade our product line through upgrade kits and time saving redesigns of our equipment. Also this customer interaction has helped us increase the number of products we've development as well as the number of turf related products that others manufacture and we resell.

With more and more emphasis and future trends placed on green energy technology we believe the 12-volt diaphragm pump technology (battery recharging operations) in conjunction with our ergonomic design and durable manufacturing parts and processes will thrive in the marketplace for the foreseeable future. This will become even more important as we believe legislative pressure will be applied to reducing the use of aerosol paint can methods in the future, e.g., the German manufacturing industries having to replace the use of aerosol paint applicators for adding safety strips on their floors and equipment (unconfirmed but stated by industry representative).

Labels: Product_Review, Testimonials, Trends

SportsTurf Managers Association (STMA) has been doing research and documenting the differences and benefits between natural grass versus synthetic turf sports fields. Some recent publications help communities and sports turf manager tell the story to those that will be paying the bills as well as using the surfaces.

STMA's Natural Turf Benefits Informational Sheet.
"It is becoming more common that high schools and parks and recreation departments are replacing their natural grass playing surfaces with synthetic fields. The reason is often due to the belief that synthetic surfaces are less expensive and easier to maintain than natural surfaces. Synthetic is not an effective replacement if lower maintenance costs are the goal. In addition, it is not a solution to natural grass fields if they are being replaced for aesthetic reasons because they are worn out in the center at the end of the season. The following resource provides a detailed look into the benefits, disadvantages and cost effectiveness of maintaining natural grass fields for recreation."
http://www.stma.org/_files/_items/stma-mr-tab2-3300/docs/naturalgrassfields.pdf

STMA has produced a MS PowerPoint slide presentation that can be modified for an individual facility purpose. This 32 slide presentation puts some of the technical language in layman's terms to help a city council, school board, and booster club understand the whole picture between the debate on natural grass and synthetic turf. The presentation makes some excellent points on environmnetal benefits, participants health benefits, injury, player preferences, construction costs, maintenance costs, and uses a case study illustration.

As Fall sports get under way, it is important to make certain your fields are safe and playable. STMA has put together educational bulletins to help your facility be at its best.

• Football/Soccer Field Safety and Maintenance Checklist
• Baseball/Softball Field Safety and Maintenance Checklist
• Football Practice Techniques that Help to Minimize Field Wear
• 8 Steps to an Easy Field Facelift
• Top 10 Tips on How to Create a Successful Partnership with your Field Provider

When it comes to field marking tips Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker has produced helpful information for a variety of field marking tasks, from a desktop field layout tool (soccer, rugby and lacrosse), laying out field stencils to include the amount of paint needed, items to consider when selecting a field marking unit, and painting strategies.

Labels: Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

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.

Labels: Demos, Testimonials, Trends, Turf _Tips

During the first annual Midwest Regional STMA conference at Iowa State University, Ames, IA two students put on a demonstration of the custom logo field painting 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.

Check out additional field painting strategies that were documented as part of a 2004 STMA conference. Also there are rules of thumb on the amount of paint to use for field painting, especially field logos. Read more answers to frequently asked questions on field stencils, painting, and storing stenicls.

Labels: Demos, Sports, Trends, Turf _Tips

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.

Labels: Demos, Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

Over the past several months we have received numerous calls from individuals trying to improve their property's landscape appeal. This may be a real estate agent trying to improve the eye appeal of a property on sale or golf course superintendent improving the tee box, fairway, or the greens on a golf course. In most cases the contact is trying to turn lawns greener due to poor grass quality or the grass is in a dormant state (brown).

Given this assumption Tru Mark's best application product is going to be a turf colorant versus a traditional bulk latex paint product.

We have recently introduced a turf colorant for both Bermuda and Blue Grass/Fescue turf grass varieties. This product is formulated so you can achieve a dilution ration of 9 gallons of water to 1 gallon of colorant, in other words for every gallon of colorant you’ll generate 10 gallons of diluted liquid. A recent test my a customer reflected that they achieved good results with a dilution ratio of 15 gallons to 1 gallon of colorant.

These turf colorants are an excellent solution for making turf grass divot mix for golf course tee boxes another high use areas. These colorants make the divot mix look similar to the surrounding turf grass versus a brown spot for several weeks prior to the grass maturing.

Each diluted gallon of colorant will cover approximately 100 square feet (Normal house paint is marketed to cover approximately 300 square feet). We are being more conservative due to the turf depth (up to 3" in length). Therefore one gallon of colorant will cover 1,000 square feet.

These colorants are not inexpensive, one gallon will cost in the neighborhood of $85.00 to $100.00 per gallon and a 5-gallon pail will cost $399.00 to $500.00 plus shipping and handling ($40 per 5-gallon pail). This colorant is very “strong” when it comes to a staining so you have be very careful about porous surfaces like concrete.

Here's is a rough price comparison on 100 square feet application without shipping and handling costs included.
Turf Colorant, $85/gal covers 1000 square ft (10 gallons diluted) (9:1 ratio) or $0.085 per square/ft
Latex Paint $20/gal covers 200 square ft (2 gallons diluted) or $0.100 per square/ft

Check the Tru Mark website for the turf colorant information.

For applying this colorant or bulk latex paint you have several options. For the least expensive equipment option we would recommend the Shurflo battery operated backpack sprayer.

For a three wheel battery operated walk-behind unit we would suggest the Model E-100 with the Paint Boom Accessory (or just use the spray wand accessory that come standard).

Bulk latex green paint can be purchased for around $100.00 per 5-gallon pail. You will probably have a challenge getting the “right” color green. This type of product is diluted at 1 gallon of water to one gallon of paint. Ground Boss Green Sweep turf paint is our particular product.

For golf fairways a traditional spray boom applicator can be used.

Labels: Testimonials, Trends, Turf _Tips

We continue to receive interesting questions to problems that customers ask about that typically can be solved using our products. Here's one of the more recent questions that we answered.

"We are in need of a system to paint a circle on the ground with a diameter of approximately 20”. This could either be paint or lime or similar but must be environmentally friendly. The circle must be completely filled in and have well defined edges. They are to be used for aerial mapping targets. We would need some way of dispensing this quickly. We would need it for someone on foot who would only have one hand free, and to also use on a quad. We would be looking at creating approximately 40-50 targets each time. Would you have anything that fit’s this description, or any ideas if we had to get something custom made?"

And here is how we answered their challenge.

Here are a couple suggestions that I can offer.
1) Depending on how long you want these “targets” to last you could decide on the aerosol chalk (more temporary, yet eco-friendly) or EcoStripe water based paint (more long lasting yet environmentally friendly.
2) These products can be applied by hand in an inverted fashion after shaking. I would design a sleeve (similar to a beer can flexible insulating sleeve) and attaching a string/cable of the desired length with a spike or ballast device to mark the center of the circle.
3) A center point is fixed and then the aerosol product is applied following the stretched string in a circle.
4) While someone is scribing a new circle another team member can be filling in the previous painted circle.

The aerosol can of chalk or EcoStripe will cover close to 50 square feet. At about 2 square feet per target you should be able to cover those 50 targets with 2-4 aerosol cans.

The standard T-tip applicator provides for a nice uniform spray fan that works well for establishing a crisp boundary line.

There is a spray wand applicator which will reduce the bending over. This tool typically costs in the neighborhood of $25.00. The string arrangement would still work for this operation.

If you need a more permanent target then I would suggest the Durastripe aerosol field marking paint that can be used effectively on grass, rock, debris, etc. This is considered a permanent marking paint.

If an aerosol can not be used because of the pressurized can then you can use bulk acrylic latex paint or liquid chalk, dilute the paint at 1 gallon of water to 1 gallon of paint. You can put the diluted liquid in a manual pump-up sprayer used for herbicide or pest control. Also you could use a battery operated backpack sprayer. The liquid chalk will dissolve much quicker than the acrylic latex field marking paint.

One gallon of diluted paint/chalk should cover 100 square feet or 1-2 gallons of diluted paint/chalk.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

The Ultimate Frisbee sport, not called Ultimate, is growing across the country, at the high school, collegiate, and community levels. A recent Ultimate Frisbee article in the New York Times reflected the growing sport for woman.

The field of play has its own field marking requirements which is published in the 11th edition of the Official Rules of Ultimate, page 16, Appendix 1. The field of play is a rectangle, 70 x 40 yards (64 x 34 meters) with a 25 yard (23 meters) end zone depth. There is a 3 meter and 5 meter boundary line for participants and coaches, and then the spectators and equipment respectively.
http://www.upa.org/files/11th_ed_Final_3_6_07.pdf

The Ultimate Frisbee Players Association has a lot of information and references associated with the sport.

To help stake out and stripe an Ultimate Frisbee field of play you can use the soccer field layout tool to establish the corners of play. I would recommend using the overall size of the boundary, specifically the 5 meter spectator boundary as the "field of play", then use the goalie box dimensions for the 3 meter boundary and the soccer penalty box for the primary field of play dimensions (70 x 40). The soccer penalty kick spot can be used for the Ultimate Field Marks.

Wikipedia has a good description of the Ultimate Frisbee sport.

Check out the recent twitter posts that have Ultimate Frisbee in the text and the number of Ultimate Frisbee groups in Facebook.

We would like to hear from you about why you like the sport and the reason you believe it growing across the country.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

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.

Labels: Demos, Product_Review, Trends

Kansas State University horticulture department increases their Sport Turf Management focus in their curriculum.

“The growing field, increasing professionalism in the sports turf industry and the number of opportunities made us feel like it was an area where students needed to be prepared,” Steve Keeley said, professor specializing in Turfgrass Science.

Read more about the background that lead this land grant college to increase their focus in this growing profession.

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/story/turf_management040909.aspx

Labels: Services, Trends, Turf _Tips

I've been using Twitter for about 3 months now and have found a few tools that add value to this social networking capability. One of the most convenient feature is the sharing of your Twitter tweets to your Facebook account. It is handy when I find something that I will refer to later and share with my growing list of friends that are connecting on-line.

There are several other tools that I like to use for tracking key words in tweets. This is one way to make connections with other with similar interests. The hashtag feature of Twitter is supporting the increase of more "groups".

Connect with me at the following free websites:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hallmarkd

http://twitter.com/trumark

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517061207

http://search.twitter.com/ similar to Google search but targeted on tweets

http://www.twitpic.com/ Adding pictures to Twitter

http://twitterfall.com/ Streaming Tweets based on key words you select

http://www.tweetlater.com/ Productivity Tools. One is a really great tool for key word searches with the results sent as a batch report via email to read at your leisure.

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2231777543 Adding your Twitter feed to your Facebook page

http://twitter.com/badges/blogger Add Twitter to your Blogger page

http://twittgroups.com/search.php
Searching for groups that have been established

http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/ helping to manage your Twitter followers

http://dossy.org/2007/12/need-help-managing-your-twitter-karma/

http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood/ Twitter Yellow Pages, a great location tool for finding fellow Twitters in your area

http://www.twittermeter.com/ Tool to graph key words used over a certain time period

http://wthashtag.com/wiki/Cmecon Dictionary of Twitter Hashtags e.g., #CMEcon stands for Creative Molecular Economy

http://www.hashtagdirectory.org/ Wiki of Twitter Hashtags , instructions on how to create a hashtag in the dictionary

http://bubbletweet.com/ a tool to add a short video to your Twitter page

http://www.sociableblog.com/2008/12/29/top-twitter-tools-2009/

http://www.briansolis.com/2008/10/twitter-tools-for-community-and.html

https://www.twittad.com/index.php

Labels: Services, Trends

The Weather Channel has become part of most golf superintendents and grounds keepers on-line tool kit. What other on-line and smartphone tools are you using to help with your turf operations?

Here's a recent article that sheds some background information on the Weather Channel.
http://www.greencastonline.com/FeatureArticle.aspx?Paid=94066

Many field marking operations have to plan for "make-up" days due to rain or irrigation conditions. The Weather Channel can help with planning for the "what-if" situations.

Labels: Services, Trends, Turf _Tips

2008 NFL PLAYERS PLAYING SURFACES OPINION SURVEY

This survey was conducted by the NFLPA at team meetings during September through November 2008. A total of 1565 active NFL Players from all 32 teams voluntarily filled out survey forms.

Players put a lot of value in grass playing fields that are in good playing condition and those that keep the field in good condition. The statistics indicate that grass fields provide increase career longevity and minimize injuries.

One interesting comment provided in the survey.

~ If a cow cannot eat it, we shouldn't be playing on it.

Labels: Sports, Trends

Advertising continues to push the envelope for organizations and businesses and with the green revolution we're seeing even more creative solutions.

Realising that green concerns are here to stay, British media agency Curb offers nothing but low-impact advertising.

Here's one technique the will catch the ground keeper's interest, a ‘logrow’ service to cut logos as big as 30m wide into turf.

I see these types of technologies applied to the entrances of sports venues and high visibility areas where there will be excellent eye appeal with the appropriate background.

At the recent annual Park & Recreation conference in Baltimore, MD there were several companies offering special etching/cutting techniques for brick applications.
For example here are couple companies that may be of interest.
http://giftbricks.net/
http://brickmarkers.com/
http://www.aquarius-laser.com/applications.htm
http://www.aquacut.co.uk/
http://www.etch-it.co.uk/index.php

Labels: Trends

Industry grew 20 percent for 2008 according to Synthetic Turf Council in a report published January 22, 2009.

The reports states that, "The environmental impact of synthetic turf fields is significant. It is common for grass sports fields to require a minimum of 15,000 gallons of irrigation water per week during growing season and thousands of pounds of fertilizers and pesticides annually. Assuming a 33 week growing season, the installation of over 1,000 new synthetic turf fields last year conserved an estimated 500 million gallons of water and reduced the use of fertilizers by well over 1.25 million pounds. With approximately 4,500 synthetic turf fields currently in use, the total amount of water saved in 2008 exceeded 2.2 billion gallons - enough water to supply the average home for 75 years."

Many synthetic turf customers are evaluating the cost savingw of applying permanent and removable turf paints to these synthetic turf surfaces versus having lines permanently sewn into the turf fabric. This is especially true for multi-purpose fields. Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker provides a variety of synthetic turf paints, bulk latex and aerosol, to support the customer's requirements.

Labels: Sports, Trends

I’m looking for successful regional economic development programs. I would like to have the name, contact information, location, size, structure of program, how long in existence, and success stories. I’m particularly interested in how your regional economic development operations are meeting the strategic plans for the new emerging economies.

Our community in Northeast Nebraska (25,000) and region, 4 counties (100,000) have a economic development council. It has been in existence for over 8 years and is struggling with the changes we’re seeing in the world and local economies as well as justifying current and increasing the per head funding formula. Our City Council is considering pulling out of the regional council which provides over one third of the funding.

I would like to build the case to continue and to increase the City’s monetary support for the regional economic development structure. Our area is closely tied together, retail hub, health services hub, diverse manufacturing and service hub bringing in around 10,000 commuters each work day. Our City generates a majority of its revenue from sales tax.

Your information, contacts, and connections would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.visioning2026.com/blog/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hallmarkd
http://twitter.com/trumark
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517061207

Labels: Trends

Over the past 5 years more community colleges and university systems as well as professional associations have increased their educational, certification, and training offerings in turf grass and landscaping management.

For example, Rutgers University has the following course listings:
Two Year Golf Course Turf Management Certificate Program
Three-Week Golf Course Turf Management Short Course

The Henry Indyk Annual Three-Day Athletic Field Construction & Maintenance

Athletic Field Special Topics: Understanding Synthetic Fields

Athletic Field Special Topics: Baseball/Softball Infield Skin Construction & Management

Pesticide classes

Sports Turf Manager Association (STMA) is offer a professional certification program to enhance their member benefits and their associated employers' value in a critical resources. The Certified Sports Field Manager (CSFM) program has a growing list of CSFM professionals. All turf managers should have the CSFM reading list available and many of these books on their shelf with many paper-clipped and marked up pages.

Labels: Services, Trends, Turf _Tips

Additional research is being conducted to consider the amount of water being used in turf grass application around the country compared to row crop operations in the US.

A remote-sensing scientist at California State University-Monterey Bay has applied a computer simulation that revealed the environmental impact based on care of the grass.

Turfgrass is the single-largest irrigated crop in the United States, three-times more than corn. It’s more important to help conserve the water supply than to keep turfgrass green year round.

In many communities the replacement of natural grass fields is being considered to increase the playable time on the field as well as conserve water. The newer synthetic turf products are resulting in better environmental results according one leading industry manufacturer.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

Synthetic turf installation and maintenance activities continue to generate increased interest by the park and recreation industry, customers, and users. National Park and Recreation Association held a synthetic turf workshop at their annual convention in Baltimore, MD.

What is the true cost of these installations and the maintenance costs was a theme during this workshop held at the Baltimore Ravens football stadium on October 21, 2008. The workshop was hosted by Jeanette M. S. Tansey, Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks, with presenters including Jeffrey L. Bruce, President, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, LLC, a national landscape architectural firm, and Graham Hayes, CEO, Dedicated Operational Contracting, LLC.

Jeff Bruce covered some of the critical decisions in installing a new synthetic turf systems. There are four primary areas that a customer should ensure is part of the project,
1) hiring an engineer that is familiar with the soil types and synthetic turf installation in your area,
2) ensuring that an experience construction company with establishing a base for the turf carpet has been hired,
3) a reputable turf product has been selected for the environment and type of play expected, and
4) an experienced turf installer that has a reputation of not having to come back for repairs on seams.

The presenters emphasized that the Sports Turf Managers Association's Synthetic and Natural Turf Grass Guide as a valuable tool.

Graham Hayes stated that because many of these fields are installed between Memorial and Labor Day the crews on site experience tremendous schedule pressures. It is imperative to have a knowledgeable inspector on site to verify compliance with specifications, e.g, soil base is laser leveled, rock base meets particle size and depth and is packed, sand infield mixture with crumb rubber, trenches are properly filled and packed, amount and type of glue used, etc.

They re-emphasized that the synthetic turf fields are not maintenance free and require activities to maintain their warranty clauses.

Many of the existing turf problems are attributed to poor base construction, in appropriate infield material application and mixture, not maintaining the appropriate infield depth (turf fiber laying over thus wearing much quicker and being exposed to UV which degrades them), allowing problem seams becoming a big maintenance issue, etc.

It was highly recommended that during budgeting for a turf system that yearly maintenance be included, possibly a maintenance contractor visiting on-site at least yearly and be done in conjunction with the general contractor's annual site visit.

The workshop concluded with a walk-through of the facilities to include maintenance facilities, turf field, sky box, and press box.

Labels: Product_Review, Trends, Turf _Tips

Looking for some great entertainment and seeing in person the up and coming stand-up comedians. Come help commemorate one of the greatest comedians, Johnny Carson, in his home town for a week long event, June 16-22, 2008. Norfolk, Nebraska is proud to Present: The Great American Comedy Festival!

Also included in the week long event is the Great American Comedy Youth Camp, June 15 - 21, 2008.

Read what the Norfolk Daily News reported, 'Brightest minds in comedy' chosen for festival, Plenty to see, do during festival, A look at who'll be in Norfolk, 'Phenomenal' lineup for comedy festival, Some of the nation's top comedians coming to Norfolk on this spectacular event.

Learn about other exciting activities and changes taking place in Northeast Nebraska by visiting the Norfolk Area Recruiters, Visioning 2026 Project, NorthFork River Development Project, and the Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce.

Labels: Services, Trends

As part of a community project in Norfolk, NE, the Visioning 2026 effort recoginized the need for improved recreation and park facilities and services for a vibrant and changing culture. Another project beginning in parallel, the Norfolk River Development project, is also looking at multi-use facilities to include office, retail, recreation, lodging and living interconnected for residents and visitors, a destination site, some say the San Antonio of the North.

The following material is a collection of material generated from the Visioning 2026 effort along with other references.

Visioning 2026 Focus Group dialogue and report on Tourism and Recreation, November 2006

Norfolk Amusement Park, A Possibility as reported by Dr. Marvin J. Cetron, President, Forecasting International, September 2006

56 TOP TRENDS AFFECTING NORFOLK’S FUTURE, Comments from Forecasting International By Dr. Marvin J. Cetron, President, Forecasting International, September 2006

10. Tourism and international travel will increase significantly, with tourists getting their travel information directly over the Internet. Category: TOURISM

1 (Low) - Nebraska is essentially a source of tourism, not a destination for tourists. Thus this trend, though strong and continuing, will have little significance for Norfolk. This could change if the area develops a theme park. In that case, the growth of tourism will become a 4 (High), both because this trend will produce new opportunities for the local economy and because long-distance vacationing will compete with regional attractions for business.

We see five primary theme-park opportunities for Norfolk:
• • An “old Nebraska” theme based on the region’s history
• • An EPCOT approach, with attractions and foods from exotic foreign cultures;
• • A theme based on family life and, perhaps, Biblical stories, with marriage chapels as special attractions (providing not only the service itself, but such ancillaries as rental gowns and formalwear, photographs and videos, and bridal parties);
• • High-tech rides;
• • And attractions based on movie and video-game tie-ins, such as a park based on the Harry Potter books and movies.

Each of these offers special opportunities and challenges, which will require careful examination before a commitment is made. This is a family environment. It should be non-smoking, non-drinking, with video games and picnic tables, for parents and grandparents taking their children or grandchildren for a day’s outing.

Central Winds Park, Winter Springs, Fla. The Fields of Excellence
A very good example and implemenation of recreation resources.

American School & University News

Bibliography of Economic Impacts of Parks, Recreation and Tourism

Recreation, Park & Tourism Management Reference Resources

References to commercial products and services

Natural Resources Recreation Reference Resources

Financing and Acquiring Park and Recreation Resources

Journal of Leisure Research

National Park and Recreation Association

The Future of Theme Parks in International Tourism

Labels: Trends

Recently we had the opportunity to participate in a state Futures Problem Solving competition. The state wide program is associated with Future Problem Solving Program International.

For the country and our communities to maintain and create a vibrant culture of creative and problem solving individuals and collaborative teams we need to develop these skills through our schools and support life long learning opportunities.

Here's an exerpt from a email to our children's teacher, Wendy Swenson, from Norfolk Catholic High School, who conducts the program for the 7-9th and 10-12th grade students.

"Thank you for spending time with our children and helping them to learn how to learn.

The skills that you are helping nuture will impact them for the rest of their lives.

The critical thinking skills and collaborating on problem solving are critical lifelong learning behaviors that more people need to develop. Helping our children with these creative skills will help arm themselves for our very fast paced and changing world.

It was great to see our kids get some recognition for their efforts. I see that several teams from Omaha Westside participated in the Seniors division. A 1st place Skit Competition (an excerpt, Mad Cow Bobby, recorded and modified from a potluck dinner presentation) and a 3rd for the Booklet Competition (out of 12 teams) is very impressive. Along with a 1st place finish Skit Competition in the Middle Division, WOW!!. Is this a record with 5 Norfolk Catholic school teams making it to state? Now to get to international!!!

Although I asked Mr. Zoucha to have his government classes (11th) participate in a Visioning 2026 poll, your Futures kids may enjoy filling out this poll as well.
http://www.visioning2026.com/docs/Visioning2026PollingQuestions.pdf
Let me know what you think. To learn more about this project please visit our web site.
http://www.Visioning2026.com"

Here's an earlier email to collegues about another creative and problem solving program.

I read a reference to Destination Imagination in the Omaha World Herald (03/17/07) and went on a search. Problem solving using creativity across several learning disciplines.

A VERY GOOD VIDEO description.

The Nebraska DI mission states, Our Mission is to nurture and encourage development of the important life skills of problem solving, teamwork, cooperation, curiosity, and
self-respect with an "I can" attitude in a creative way.

Nebraska's next year program looks very interesting!

As part of Visioning 2026 goals toward educating ourselves through live long learning what do you think about sponsoring Norfolk area team(s) that could consist of students from local grade schools, NPS, Catholic, Lutheran, Park Avenue, Kings Academy? Other teams could be sponsored for middle school aged kids and then high school. I suspect we could get several service groups to help support this program as well.
http://www.ncaps.org/Register.html

National Discovery Imagination Organization

What I like about this program is it's multi-discipline approach!!!

Who would be our best access points for the school systems, the PTAs, school administrators, teachers, school boards, etc.?

There's another national program called FIRST LEGO League. An exciting and fun international robotics program that ignites an enthusiasm for discovery, science, and technology in kids ages 9 to 14. I know that NECC is involved in something very similar if not the same program.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/04/22/robot.olympics/index.html

Labels: Trends

The world of sport turf management will be experiencing challenges with the introduction of new technologies into this ever changing environment.

Synthetic nanoparticles do not harm soil ecology, according to new experiments by researchers at Purdue University in the US. The result was obtained by adding fullerenes (or buckyballs) to samples of soil and observing any changes.

Ron Turco, a Purdue University soil and environmental microbiologist, and his research team designed its study to test how different levels of buckyballs affect soil microorganisms, including bacteria that are responsible for breaking down organic material and producing carbon dioxide and other compounds. Results of the study are published online and in the April 15 issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

How will these impact the sports turf management profession? What should we be learning about this technology to be prepared for challenges we might not yet understand?

These technologies will be introduced into players' uniforms and equipment within a couple years. Thus, we'll likely experience these technologies finding their way into sports playing surfaces and soils soon after.

I predict nanoparticles will be introduced into pest control products within 5 years, soil amendments products within 5-10 years, and paint products in less than 10 years. What will the Material Safety Data Sheets need to reflect for these products, what risk mitigation techniques will turf managers need to consider, and what training requirements will be integrated into employee training procedures? These are just a few of the questions we need to start asking ourselves.

For example, a long-lasting nanoscale gas state has been observed for the first time by engineers in Australia. William Ducker and Xuehua Zhang of the University of Melbourne have observed very thin bubbles of carbon dioxide gas measuring around 10 nm at the interface between a hydrophobic solid and water under ambient conditions. The team has also found evidence for nanobubbles of air. The results not only settle a long-standing debate over whether a stable nano-gas state phase could exist, it might also be put to good use in a diverse range of applications in industry. These include reducing the friction force when pumping liquids through pipes and stabilizing emulsions like paint or salad dressing.

Labels: Trends