The sixth annual Athletic Field Maintenance Forums hosted by The Toro Company, Diamond Pro and Beacon Athletics is just around the corner. 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 to give sports turf professionals proven techniques and skills to enhance their field maintenance knowledge.
The Forums are scheduled in four locations across the U.S. in 2012, including:
Tuesday, May 22, Conejo Creek South in Thousand Oaks, CA
Thursday, May 24, MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, CA
Wednesday, September 26, Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center in Tinley Park, IL
Wednesday, October 3, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX
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 33 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. “Encouraging and improving professionalism within the sports turf industry, along with promoting safe sports turf areas, is the main goal of these forums,” said Getz.
Participants attending an Athletic Field Maintenance Forum’s entire day of events 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 necessity of continuous professional development 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