City of Victoria Sports Field Day – Royal Athletic Park

 By Jerry Rousseau

The sun was shining brightly for the first ever, City of Victoria Sportsfield Day held at Royal Athletic Park (RAP) on May 8th.  Ken Hilchey, Supervisor of Operations for the Parks Division, had everything to do with making the event a huge success along with several Parks staff and even some family help from his wife Kristina and daughter Alanna.

 Ken Hilchey welcomes attendees to Royal Athletic Park Sports Field Day May 8th, 2013

For the sake of accuracy, there was an educational event held at Blanchard Field in 2012 as part of the WCTA Travelling Road Show program which was also very good, however the Baseball themed RAP Field Day went far beyond the couple hours we spent talking turf the previous year.

For starters, this year’s Sports Field Day had sponsors including the following:

• WCTA
• VIPGSA
• BrettYoung
• Direct Solutions
• Eljay Irrigation 
• JD Prairie Coast Equipment
• OakCreek Golf and Turf
• Island Irrigation and Landscaping
• O’Dell Stone Slinger
• GPS Turf Drains    

Anytime an event has enough merit to attract funding, it’s bound to be a little more involved.  Sponsorship allowed for free registration and lunch along with over 50 prizes given away to fortunate attendees.  Also included in this all-day outing was a vendor trade show which gave participants the opportunity to see and test products ‘in the field’.

Karen Hounsome of Eljay Irrigation is loving her prize – a new WCTA mug

A wide variety of speakers were engaged to present the above mentioned topics from both near and far including CGSA Superintendent of the Year, Brian Youell, BrettYoung’s Technical Representative, Sean Kenny, Karen Hounsome from Eljay Irrigation, Scott MacVicar from the University of Washington, Stan Kazymerchyk from Kwantlen Polytechnic and several others.

The combination theory and practical education program presented was significantly enhanced over 2012 with eight rotating stations.  Topics included Basics of Soil Science and Compaction, Nutrient Management, Game Day Infield Prep, Turfgrass Seed Selection for Sports Turf, Pitcher’s Mound Building, Mechanical, Moisture and Irrigation System Management and finally Risk Management.

Scott Macvicar from Washington State University and former Head Groundsman for the San Francisco Giants, demonstrates proper construction of a pitchers’s mound

  Brian Youell of Uplands Golf Club illustrates soil characteristics using a sponge (no dishpan hands here!)

Karen Hounsome delivering her talk titled ‘Irrigation – How to avoid falling in the trench’

The vendor show was well received with the following companies taking part:

• BrettYoung
• Island Irrigation and Landscaping
• Corix
• Tomko
• Eljay Irrigation
• EMCO
• JD PrairieCoast Equipment
• OakCreek Golf and Turf
• Premier Pacific Seeds
• Western Turf Farms
• WCTA    

David Wall of Premier Pacific Seeds setup and ready

EMCO’s Andrew Templer kept busy all day

The big three equipment suppliers were in full support.

According to Ken, the event drew 112 attendees which exceed the original goal of 100.  In a note to sponsors afterward, Ken stated, “I have to admit, it went far better than I expected, but it was what I had hoped for.”  Even the press was excited – for the CTV video go to:  http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=922776

Ken being interviewed by Island CTV’s Andrew Johnson

And what about next year?  Ken says he doesn’t know yet, but welcomes feedback and ideas.  “I heard from a few of you on the day of, but let me know what you all think,’ he stated.  Congratulation to Ken and all his staff for a wonderful job!

Ken Hilchey happy with the day and is looking forward to a successful baseball season – Go Harbourcats!