Preston Grasshoppers continue to invest in their pitches and are delighted to have purchased the RFU approved grounds maintenance package of equipment. The package is designed to meet the needs of rugby clubs that aim to deliver a high quality pitch maintenance programme. We have purchased a Kubota B2530 25HP liquid cooled diesel Tractor together with an Sisis Quadraplay and Sisis Multitiner. A single pass of The Quadraply allows up to four operations to be carried out simultaneously including surface aeration, sward cleansing, rolling and brushing. The Multitiner helps to improve drainage and encourage better root development.
The purchase was funded in a number of ways. This year’s mini-junior sportsman’s dinner raised a significant proportion of the funds and our sincere thanks go to those who attended and to the Chairman of the Mini-Junior section, Hugh Duckworth. Hugh tirelessly organises this annual event and has scheduled this season’s dinner for April 4th. Guest Speaker will be Dean Richards. In addition a donation was made from the 1869 club, the official fan club of PGRFC! Once again our gratitude is due for their unstinting support particularly to far flung away matches. The final source of funding was a grant from the RFU Grant scheme. The scheme is a source of match funding to enable clubs to improve facilities.
Groundsman Mark Peel is presented with the tractor keys by Tom Bartram of the RFU, John Dewhurst, chairman of the 1869 club, Les Harrison, secretary of the 1869 club and Richard Ellis a mini-junior coach for 11 seasons and now the club General Manager.
