Sports ground quality and risk management is a critical issue for managers of public open space. Sports field managers and sporting club administrators have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure sports grounds are safe and ‘fit for purpose’. There are many variables that affect the quality of sports turf and often conditions outside management control will determine the level of risk to players. Different sporting codes and levels of competition will have differing requirements. Standards for premier sport are higher than those for community level competition. Whilst it is not possible to eliminate all risk from sporting activities, the objective is to take ‘reasonable’ steps to identify and control hazards, thereby minimising risk. In-field tablet data entry connects directly to the cloud-based reporting system, identifies hazards, notifies of risks and ensures the 'Duty of Care' has been met.

TurfSafe standards have been developed for 22 risk criteria in 4 categories:

a) Turf Quality
    a. Turf colour & general appearance
    b. Turf coverage & density
    c. Turf height
    d. Turf thatch
    e. Pests, weeds & disease

b) Surface Quality
    a. Pot holes/ trip hazards
    b. Uneven or loose surface
    c. Gradient/ undulations/ subsidence
    d. Drainage/ surface water/ saturation
    e. Surface hardness/ impact severity
    f. Clegg Hammer testing
    g. Artificial/ turf cricket pitches

c) Irrigation Equipment
    a. Exposed sprinkler heads/ Valve boxes
    b. Sunken/ low sprinkler heads
    c. Irrigation leaks

d) Sporting Fixtures
    a. Goal posts
    b. Boundary clearance
    c. Fences/ hoardings
    d. Practice cricket pitches
    e. Foreign objects

A RAG (traffic light) risk rating for each criteria enables easy identification of High Risks with supporting photos and includes automatic email notifications of High Risks identified. TurfSafe standards meets all peak sporting body preferred facility guidelines using both quantitative and qualitative measures.

The foundation of good turf performance is the soil or sand in which the turfgrass plant grows. The principal soil characteristics that impact on turf health include;

• Soil Texture
• Soil Structure
• Soil Infiltration Rate
• Soil Compaction
• Biological Activity
• Soil Nutrient Status

Comprehensive field-based assessment and measurements combined with laboratory analysis is used to benchmark turf health and soil condition. Results are presented both as data tables and graphically on aerial mapping using GPS references. Comments and recommendations are made based on results. Assessment tests and methodology include:

Ongoing testing and monitoring provide information from which sound turf maintenance and renovation practices can be developed to improve limiting soil conditions and improve turf health and density. It also allows the efficacy of management treatments and products to be evaluated and management programmes to be fine-tuned to deliver maximum value for budget allocated.

The capacity of a sports field is the maximum level of traffic / usage that the sports field can sustain without resulting in a major decline in the turf and surface condition that renders the site unsafe or ‘unfit for purpose’. The factors that directly impact on the capacity of the sports ground include:

a) Participation rates
    a. Number of registered teams
    b. Number of participants

b) Usage rates
    a. Competition matches
    b. Training schedules

c) Type of Usage/ Sporting code
    a. High impact e.g., football, rugby
    b. Low impact e.g., cricket, athletics

d) Turf quality & condition
    a. Turf species & health
    b. Surface quality & stability

e) Weather
    a. Temperature
    b. Rainfall

Each factor is given a capacity rating score based on a scale of from 1 - 5 with 1 indicating significant impact on ground condition and 5 indicating little impact on ground condition. Using validated data in relation to the number of competition games and training schedules based on seasonal allocations and bookings (factoring the impact of code and age group), usage rates are determined on the basis of a ‘sports ground usage index’ - m 2 of sports field per person per hour per week. Benchmarks have been set for acceptable usage rates and when the capacity of sports fields is objectively evaluated using this standardised approach, the index can be used to compare performance of sports fields across the network, manage closures, prioritise maintenance spend and inform renewal and upgrade programmes.

Developed to assist Council Officers and Turf Managers to monitor the turf grass water requirement and report on the efficiency of irrigation water usage.

• Determine actual monthly turf irrigation requirement.
• Compare monthly irrigation water usage.
• Calculate a monthly water use efficiency index on a site-by-site basis.
• Monitor monthly and year-to-date water use efficiency.
• Compare monthly and annual climatic variance.

This is increasingly important as the cost of water has increased significantly in the last 10 years and water conservation is a key environmental performance KPI for many Councils. The reporting system consists of a series of interactive models that are linked to provide the critical data required to monitor and report on irrigation water usage and efficiency. The models which make up the reporting system are;

      1. Irrigation Requirement Model
      2. Climatic Variance Model
      3. Water Usage Model
      4. Irrigation Efficiency Model

Using both long term average and current climatic data (Eto & rainfall), the budget and actual irrigation requirement is calculated for each month. Actual water usage is then accessed from water meter readings and the water usage for the month is compared to the irrigation requirement. From this data the Irrigation Efficiency Index is calculated which indicates either high or low water usage for the month and year to date. Variances are highlighted for investigation allowing irrigation efficiency to be managed throughout the season.