This year marks the fifth annual Athletic Field Maintenance Forums hosted by The Toro Company, Diamond Pro and Beacon Athletics. The Forums are a series of educational seminars that highlight best practices in sports field management for the turf industry. The comprehensive sessions combine hands-on and classroom instruction with proven techniques and skills to enhance field maintenance knowledge.
The Forums are scheduled in six locations across the U.S. in 2011, including:
Wednesday, March 9th, City of Bixby in Bixby, Okla.
Wednesday, April 27th, Columbus Clippers in Columbus, Ohio
Wednesday, May 25th, Sugar Sand Community Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
Wednesday, August 17th, Michigan State University in E. Lansing, Mich.
Wednesday, September 28th, Council Bluffs Recreation Complex in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Tuesday, October 25th, Hoover East Park in Hoover, Ala.
The Forums will cover a broad range of topics including an in-depth look at infield soils; sport turf essentials such as aerification, topdressing, mowing and irrigation; managing ballfield skin areas including mounds, home plate and infield areas; bullpen Q&A session; and on-field demonstrations. Individuals can register to attend one of the Forums at www.beaconathletics.com/seminars/.
Featured speakers include:
Dale Getz, CSFM, CSE sports turf sales manager for Toro. Previously, he was athletic facilities manager at the University of Notre Dame for 17 years.
Boyd Montgomery, CSFM, CSE, commercial district sales manager for Toro, and former facilities and maintenance director at Sylvania Recreation Corporation. Montgomery has published numerous articles on sports turf management and operations.
Paul Zwaska from Beacon Athletics, and former head groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles. Zwaska has 31 years of grounds experience.
Tom Burns from Diamond Pro, and former head groundskeeper for the Texas Rangers. Burns is widely known and respected as one of the top groundskeepers in Major League Baseball.Forum attendees will engage in hands-on learning experiences around real-world strategies to improve both the safety and playability of their fields. “The importance of fostering and improving professionalism within the sports turf industry and the need to promote safe sports turf areas is the focus of these forums,” said Getz.
Participants attending an Athletic Field Maintenance Forum will earn 0.6 CEU’s in Continuing Education Points toward their Certified Sports Field Managers (CSFM) designation. The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) certification program recognizes the importance of fostering and improving professionalism within the sports turf industry.
To learn more about this seminar series, visit the Athletic Field Maintenance Forums video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/toro#p/c/6E4D88074C2DB22E/1/9g14sxO1Gkc