SPORTS TURF SEMINAR AND TRADE SHOW

The Sports Turf Association (STA) held its Sydney Sports Turf Seminar and Trade Show on April 21. The trade show was a great success with 175 people attending.

The event was held at a new venue - Ryde TAFE - which proved to work well for both delegates and sponsors. Another change to the format from previous years was the choice of Streams for the delegates - Cricket Wickets; Golf & Bowls; and Management. This also worked well as our members were able to listen to talks specifically relating their workplace.

The seminar commenced with Major Grant Gleeson who motivated everyone on team leadership from his extensive experience with the Defense Force. This was followed by a very entertaining and inspiring presentation by Castle Hill Country Club Course Superintendent, Martin Black on achieving goals. Martin gave us an insight into his trek on the Kokoda Trail and the challenges he and his group faced during the trek. The morning session also included presentations from Living Turf, Sustainable Turf Renovations, Globe and The Green Horticultural Group.

Session 2 of the seminar was the Streams. The Cricket Wicket included a presentation by Bob Paddison of Turf Drain Australia on Cricket Wicket Construction, and Peter McMaugh provided an understanding of wicket soil behaviour. In the Golf/Bowling Greens Stream, Martin O’Malley, Course Superintendent of the new Lynwood Golf Club, provided details of the construction of Lynwood, and Dave Westall talked about Nematode Control.

The Management stream included a presentation on communication and management by Symon Scott of Avondale Golf Club and then a forum was held on ‘The Difficulties of Sports Facility Management’ from the perspective of the Greenkeeper and the Manager. We had Pittwater RSL Club represented by Ben Hargy and Bruce Smith, and ANZ Stadium was represented by Graeme Logan and Daryl Kerry. In addition to the above talks there were also presentations from Country Club International and Syngenta.

During the morning tea and lunch breaks guests were able to visit the Trade Display area with 22 sponsors displaying their products and services and machinery.

Outdoor Design Source had a presence at the Trade Show, and was handing out copies of this year’s directory to all attendees.

The day concluded with a talk from the Bulldogs Rugby League Club CEO, Todd Greenberg. Todd spoke of the challenges he has faced in rebuilding the club, getting the right people in the right place and improving the image of the Club.

The Sports Turf Association would like to thank all the sponsors and presenters for their support.

Further details can be found on the STA website: www.sportsturf.asn.au