Are you struggling with bare spots, weeds, and grubs in your athletic fields? There is a new resource to help!

The Safe Sports Fields Management website brings you the latest best management practices for managing sports fields and resources for all who care for and use sports fields.

For the grounds manager, there is information on such topics as:

• soils
• grass varieties
• routine care including assessing the field, mowing, fertilizing, overseeding, and more
• pests
• synthetic turf

The website goes beyond the basics, however. There are sections specifically for coaches and athletic directors, whose decisions can greatly impact the turfgrass quality and safety of the fields. Administrators are not left out, with their own page highlighting risk management. Not to be missed is the the video of Cornell Turfgrass Extension Specialist Frank Rossi’s presentation on Duty of Care.

General seasonal management schedules are available for high, medium, or minimal management fields serving spring, fall, spring and fall, or year round sports.

A highlight of the website is the inclusion of management schedules. These schedules, divided by field use and expectations, provide clear guidelines for the minimum management practices that must take place to maintain safe fields. The schedules can be used for not only for planning, budgeting, and scheduling, but are also valuable communication tools useful for justifying the need for resources.

The site was developed by the Cornell Turfgrass team with input from Cornell Cooperative Extension colleagues and sports turf grounds managers from across New York State. Funding was provided by the Community IPM Initiative of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program to support New York State schools in implementing the Child Safe Fields Playing Act.