STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) Bulletin July 2014 | Page 4
FIRST WORD
Gordon McKillop
Chief Executive, STRI
There are some occasions in life when you
really do appreciate that you are in a very
fortunate and privileged position and, for
STRI, one of the privileges is working in
Brazil for the biggest football tournament
in the world. At present, we have 14
consultants spread all over the country,
working on the stadiums, team base camps
and the training venues associated with
each stadium. It does of course have its
challenges, as all major sporting events do,
but it is still a wonderful experience with
each day bringing new issues, new rewards
and new learning experiences. The whole
country has gone football crazy, the noise
from the crowds in the stadiums has to
be heard to be believed and it is all very
good humoured. As I write this article,
the competition has almost reached the
end of the league stage and the football
and pitches have, by and large, been up to
a high standard. So, before we know it,
it will soon be time to start preparations
for Russia!! Even before that, we are busy
working on the pitches for the Asian
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Bulletin July 2014 Issue 266
Nations Cup, which will be managed by
staff in our Brisbane office. It takes place
in January 2015 at five venues along the
east coast of Australia and should also be a
great experience.
There are quite a few other major
sporting events this summer, such as
The Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club,
the Tour de France coming to us here
in Yorkshire, Wimbledon and the Royal
Dublin Horse Show. As far as The Open
is concerned, we have for numerous years
been pleased to work with The R&A and
the course management team at each
venue to deliver the agronomic advice at
this event. In latter years, this has been
based around the data we collect as part
of the STRI Programme of measurements.
This we will again be doing this year with
the additional aim of making the Club
Captain, our Head of Agronomy, Alistair
Beggs, particularly proud of his golf
course.
The arrival of the Tour de France in
Yorkshire in a few weeks’ time will also
be a unique sporting experience. From
our own perspective, it has resulted in a
major renovation of all the roads around
our base, with hardly a pot-hole in sight
anymore! However, in addition, we also
have an agronomic input for some clients.
This has involved us in assisting in the
development of some grass designs which
have been grown at several vantage points
along the route. By the time you read this
article, the event will have taken place, but
hopefully you may have noticed them on
the television coverage.
Whatever your summer sport from a
professional or pers