What basic equipment is required?

There is a very wide range of equipment available for maintaining grass pitches ranging from small hand tools to large pieces of powered equipment. What equipment is needed by a club is dependent on many factors, such as local ground conditions, the number of pitches, the financial resources and most importantly the skills and training of the grounds staff and volunteers who will use and operate the equipment. All clubs will require a basic level of maintenance equipment

Essential basic equipment that would be needed for day to day maintenance of pitches for football and rugby aswell as cricket outfields:

Marking machine
Brushes (x2)
Wheel barrow (x2)
Fork (x4)
Divot fork (x4)
Shovel (x2)
Spade (x2)
Rake (x2)
Springbok and rubber rake (x2)
100mm Surveyors measuring tape (x2)
String lines and pegs (kit)
Tool box
2m spirit level to be used as straight edge
Steel rule.

If resources are available for purchase, storage and operating then the additional equipment would be desirable:

Ride on mower or trailed, towed or mounted mower if a tractor is available
Pedestrian Spiker/Slitter or Tractor with trailed or mounted Spiker/slitter
Fertiliser spreader
Chain harrow or large drag mat

For cricket square maintenance see the cricket section on tasks and operations

Many clubs will need to use a specialist contractor and you can find further information in the module ‘Employing a Specialist contractor’.