Module 2:

2.3 Assessing Pitch Quality

2.3.1 Introduction

Now that we have a better understanding of the different performance standards, for the next activity, coming shortly, you are going to carry out a basic assessment of your pitch.

This could be a simulated assessment rather than an actual physical assessment. However, ideally you will be able to do a live assessment on a pitch so that you can really get a feel for whether the findings are actually representative of the pitch as a whole.

We do need to gather some data on which we can make a decision when evaluating the overall quality of the pitch. Real life data is better than simulated data, but if you can only produce the latter then that is what you will have to work with, so don’t worry about it.

2.3.2 Where should an assessment take place?

1   Unless a comprehensive analysis of the pitch is to take place, which would result in many defined areas of the pitch being checked, then the checks should be located in specific areas of the pitch. The original research that helped provide the foundation for performance quality standards for football pitches was carried out during the late 1980s and used six locations for the playing quality tests of ball rebound, ball roll, hardness, and traction, as well as ground cover analysis. The locations for each half of a pitch were in the centre of the goal area, the edge of centre circle and on the wing to the right of the penalty box.

2   Non-playing quality performance standard (often called structural and presentational qualities) assessment checks could take also place in other areas of the pitch, being randomly selected, with typically a minimum of 20 test locations being carried out for many of these checks.

These were based on the requirements of a British Standard: BS 7370-3:1991 Grounds maintenance. Recommendations for maintenance of amenity and functional turf (other than sports turf).

3   Very few assessments, especially at grassroots level, will now involve as many checks as originally indicated by the Football Performance Quality Standards documentation, published by the Institute of Groundsmanship (now called the Grounds Management Association) in 2005, due to time constraints.

However, the values given at the time for each of the original three quality grades were based on a more intensive assessment process than typically currently takes place: In addition, there are now typically also five quality grades used for pitch quality assessment and evaluation.

We don’t really need to worry much about some of the background as to how performance standards and their assessment have evolved, so let’s jump straight into how we might go about selecting where to carry out an assessment.