The STC Gratefully Acknowledges its Sponsor

Presenter: Richard Tattershaw, Sport Group Marketing Director

Description: This presentation is will discuss the role of international sports federations, their strategic direction, and drivers of innovation.

Learning Objectives: Role of international federations, their strategic direction, drivers; How to get most out of partnership with them, where is the ROI? Who is stimulating innovation in the synthetic turf marketplace?

About the Speaker: Richard founded his own advertising agency in Christchurch, NZ. The agency grew to have offices in London, Chicago and Denver. The agency had a specialty in sports marketing and he worked on clients such as NBA, US Army, NASCAR, Crocs and Coke. In 2013, Richard followed his sporting passion (hockey) and moved to FIH (International Hockey Fed) as Commercial Director. At the FIH he was part of the team who created the ‘Hockey Revolution’, a new strategy with new hockey products. Richard is now Marketing Director at Sport Group and is focused on helping the organisation transform the business of sport and space. 

Presenters:

John Amato, JJA Sports
Michael Gentile, Sports Labs USA

Description: This presentation will discuss the issues that may arise when replacing a synthetic turf sports field:

• What is it being replaced with?
• What is going to be done with the old turf and infill?
• Is there a pad underneath the existing field and what happens with that?
• Are there known issues with the base underneath the existing field?
• Should the base be tested before or after the existing turf is removed?
• Do edge details need to be replaced, goal post changed out, ground sleeves added, etc...?
• Will the field area be increased or downsized?

Presenter: Matt Adkins, ForeverLawn West Texas/MRMG Adkins Group

Description: Planning for Longevity:  Establishing consistent installation techniques to ensure long term success of artificial turf surfacing as a unitary playground surface

Learning Objectives: Learn how to identify perimeter board and anchor/fastening devices to ensure long term stability and securement of artificial turf edges; Learn how to establish and identify seam placement in regards to play structures; Learn to establish maintenance and repair procedures with recreational staff 

Presenter: Zach Burns, The Motz Group; Patrick Remke, Shaw Sports Turf

Description: This session will include a panel discussion on attracting and retaining qualified workers in a skilled labor shortage.

Learning Objectives: Discuss the demographic data of today’s workforce in the U.S.; Learn best practices from an HR perspective for recruiting a skilled work force; Discuss how a company culture can impact its employee engagement and retention

About the Speakers:

Zach Burns is the President of The Motz Group, a key business unit of parent company The Motz Corporation. For 41 years, The Motz Corporation has been a provider of innovative turf solutions in the high-performance natural and synthetic turf market throughout the Midwest, nation, and internationally. Motz has been recognized for it’s outstanding culture, most recently named the Goering Center’s 2018 Best Place to Work in the category of 76+ employees. In May, Motz was named to Forbes' 2018 Small Giants List, representing one of 25 companies that value greatness over growth. The Corporation has recently made the move to an Employee Stock Ownership model, further engaging their team members as owners.

Zach joined The Motz Group in early 2008 with a focus on sales and marketing. Prior to his current role, he manned the trenches, gaining hands-on experience with the installation crews in the field. Proving to be a valued leader, Zach was named President of The Motz Group in 2012. From project inception through construction and on-going maintenance, Zach and his capable team work closely with field owners to ensure an excellent overall experience. Zach is also a former member of the Synthetic Turf Council Board of Directors, serving from 2012-2016.

Presenter: Dr. Phil Stricklen, Turf Dr. Phil; Roger Threadgill, Americhem; Joe Wadkins, ASK JW

Description: This session will include a panel discussion on reflective issues with regards to synthetic turf landscape applications.

Learning Objectives: Identify polymer type and polymer physics of deflection point, softening point, and melting point as it relates to this issue; Discuss the materials selection regarding color and additives contributions to infrared heat buildup and strategies to mitigate that property; How best to communicate with and respond to the consumer at the time of installation to the point of repairs and maintenance; Discuss possible solutions for repeat occurrences

• Recognition of Outgoing Board Members

• Introduction of New Board of Directors

Presenter: Philipe C. F. Aldahir PhD, Shaw Sports Turf and Wendi Weimar PhD, Auburn University

Description: Sports turf playability is a complex, multifaceted, and yet, subject attribute. Surface hardness, stability, strength, moisture, type of grass, smoothness, and many other factors contribute to the overall playability of a given field. The ultimate measure of surface playability is how objects and players interact with the surface. Historically, research has attempted to quantify playability since the post WWII research boom. Records from 1969 may be the first compilation of sports turf research worldwide compiled by the Sports Turf Research Institute during the 1st. International Turfgrass Research Conference, in Bingley, UK. At the time, and for the remainder of the century, sports turf research mostly focused on characterizing the playing surface from an agronomic standpoint.

Since the invention of artificial turf, both types of playing surfaces, natural and artificial, have evolved greatly in quality, usage, and performance. However, the lack of similarities between the surfaces contributed to a widening of the knowledge gap. While natural turf research focused on the agronomics, artificial turf research focused on the chemistry and material science areas. It was not until the early 2000s, that playability started being investigated from the athletic performance perspective. Early studies tried to correlate surface playability and risk of injury for athletes performing on a given surface.

Conversely, this research focuses on establishing a common baseline for playability between natural and artificial surfaces. Furthermore, it characterizes the influence of different playing surfaces on athletic performance. Do athletes recognize, adapt, adjust, and ultimately play differently depending on the surface type and its characteristics?

About the Speakers:

 Dr. Wendi Weimar has been the Director of the Sport Biomechanics Laboratory at Auburn University since 1999.  She is an author on the third most popular textbook in kinesiology, 41 journal articles, 31 abstracts in conference proceedings and more than 100 published abstracts and presentations, and continues to touch the future of biomechanics through her commitment to her students and their careers.  Dr. Weimar’s research has focused on the lower extremity with considerable attention directed at the foot and the influence of the foot form and function on human movement and performance.  Over the past 3 years, Dr. Weimar has expanded her investigations from the influence of the foot and footwear, to include the role of the surface interaction on the behavior of the lower extremity and movement performance.

Dr. Aldahir is the Director of Turf Research & Innovation at Shaw Turf. A native of Brazil, Dr. Aldahir earned is bachelor's in Agricultural Engineering at University of Lavras. His career in turf started in 2009 when he was selected to participate in The Ohio State University's Global Turf Training Program, while he served as greenskeeper for The Broadmoor Golf, in CO; and spray technician at the Sea Pines Resort. His golf course management career culminated with tournament preparation of two PGA Tour events in 2010: Verizon Heritage (now RBC Heritage) at Harbour Town, and Quail Hollow Championship (now Wells Fargo Championship) in Charlotte, NC. Philipe has also worked internationally, consulting and managing sports turf projects in Brazil, mainly in soccer. In 2015 Philipe earned a PhD in Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences from Auburn University, with a focus on sports turf research: wear tolerance, shade response, and quality improvement of bermudagrass sports fields. During his time at Auburn, Philipe also served as grounds crew member for the Athletics Department, and managed the field trials for the Auburn Turf Weed Science Program. Dr. Aldahir's current focus is on playability of sports surfaces, and how playability parameters affect the athletes, and ultimately, the game.