The November issue of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme - Europe newsletter is now online at www.icc-europe.org so click on the link below to see the latest developments in European cricket.

http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue104.pdf

As usual, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the newsletter. If you do not already have this installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

 

ICC Europe Newsletter

Added on 13 October 2009

The October issue of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme - Europe newsletter is now online at www.icc-europe.org so click on the link below to see the latest developments in European cricket.

http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue103.pdf

As usual, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the newsletter. If you do not already have this installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

If you would like us to send the newsletter link to any of your contacts, please let us have their names, email addresses, clubs (if applicable) and country, and we will add them to the distribution list. If on the other hand you no longer wish to receive the newsletter yourself, just return this email with the existing subject header and the content 'unsubscribe'.

If you have any queries or require further information on the Pepsi ICC Development Programme - Europe, please do not hesitate to contact us here at Lord's.

Leicester Legend Steve Walsh Opens New Multisport Facility

Added on 23 September 2009

Foxes legend Steve Walsh opened a brand new, made-to-measure Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) in Fleckney on Saturday, designed by us at Notts Sport.

The quick-draining MUGA at the Leicester Road Recreation Ground lets the local community play a range of sports in one space - including football, tennis, hockey and netball - and was commissioned and part-funded by Fleckney Parish Council.

Hundreds of people came to the opening event, which included a 7-a-side football match between Fleckney Athletic Under 18s and Fleckney Veterans, a penalty shootout competition and a tennis match.

Former Captain of Leicester City, Steve Walsh, cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the facility before enjoying a kick-about with local players.

Said Steve:

Not only does the MUGA mean more sports more often for local children, but by opening the facility to local clubs and community users it will bring in revenue for the parish council, which co-funded the facility with Fleckney Athletic, as well as securing grants from Sport England, the Football Foundation and Harborough District Council.

Project Developemnt Manager at Notts Sport Simon says:

The MUGA was installed by Leicester-based Dura Sport, one of our appointed installers for its top-of-the-range facilities.

The Multisport VHAF NottsSward synthetic turf surface was laid onto a specialist base layer to provide a pitch offering consistent playing performance for a range of sports, with the facility fenced and floodlit for use in winter.

Dura Sport has also installed bollard lighting from Leicester Road to the recreation ground entrance to improve safety for users.

New Practice Facility for Wath Cricket Club

Added on 11 September 2009

Wath Cricket Club is no stranger to being in the public eye. Unfortunately, the club "famously" appeared on
Sky Sports News in 2007, when the club was filmed under more than ten feet of water during the floods of that summer!

If other clubs weren't casting an envious eye back then they will be now, for the club have recently been provided with a state of the art four bay non-turf cricket practice facility using Notts Sport's ECB Approved sytems.

The facility, installed this summer by our cricket licensee Bingham Ground Services, includes 2no. Notts Sport Envelope systems and 2no. NottsBase ‘D' system practice pitches, VHAF NottsSward low maintenance surround material and a heavy duty 72' cage and netting structure.

As with all new build Notts Sport cricket systems, the facility comes with a 12 month constructional guarantee, a 5 year material warranty, a 5 year anti-corrosion warranty and most importantly, a performance guarantee for a period of five years.

Due to the location of the facility, further bespoke items were specified to the build. As it was installed within a leafy public park, it was recommended to the club that the facility was moved a distance from the trees to lower the maintenance and a root break was installed to protect the facility. For security reasons a lockable perimeter fence was also specified on the area.

And just in case the rain comes again, not only will Notts Sport's highly porous cricket materials allow any water to drain away freely, but the increased drainage raft specified and installed underneath the facility should keep the water at bay!

Astroturf - Did you know?

Added on 26 August 2009

The word Astroturf, originally a trademark for a type of artificial grass, has been hijacked to describe coalitions formed and funded by major corporations to create the impression of providing unbiased information.

The "Astroturf" phrase was originally coined by the former US Senator Lloyd Bentsen who spoke out against these amalgamations of what appear to be grassroot groups.

Whilst astroturfing is not illegal it is challenged as an ethical practice. And although authentic grassroot organisations are not opposed to hearing the arguments these Astroturf groups may have, they will try and expose the groups for what they truly are.

The Benefits of Synthetic Surfaces

Added on 20 August 2009

There are many benefits to using synthetic surfacing; it really is the gift to sports facilities and players that keeps on giving. Laying down synthetic turf or synthetic grass surfaces can cut many costs as well as being more practical than organic turf in the long run. There is much less of a need for maintenance and general grounds-keeping costs can be reduced significantly.

The benefits don't end at cost and comfort. You won't need to water your synthetic turf because it doesn't grow – and because it doesn't grow you won't need to cut it. There's also no need for pesticides or fertilisers. Great!

Also, you may optionally have your synthetic football pitches inlaid with a different colour (other than green). This superb feature of artificial surfaces allows field lines to remain clear and permanently visible under all conditions without the cost associated with regular re-painting.

Because synthetic turf doesn't degrade with use to the extent of organic turf (especially in wet weather) you can have an all-year-round playing field which can be used day-in, day-out without fear of soil churning. This means that you can host as many events as you wish without having to wait for your organic turf to regenerate.

There are benefits to the resistant nature of synthetic turf other than the financial implications. Synthetic turf is UV, vandal and fire resistant. In addition, the rates of player injuries can be reduced when playing on synthetic surfaces

But where should you get your synthetic turf from? Notts Sport are amongst the most prestigious and reputable synthetic turf suppliers. We are proud to boast that we are the leading specialist in the design, advice and supply of artificial turf from cricket, tennis, soccer and hockey pitches to multi-sports and children's play areas. Notts Sport is the real project enabler, committed to providing and beneficial solutions for the local community.

ICC Europe Newsletter - August

Added on 19 August 2009

The August issue of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme - Europe newsletter is now online at www.icc-europe.org so click on the link below to see the latest developments in European cricket.

http://www.cricketeurope2.net/docs/ECC/NEWSLETTER/issue103.pdf

 As usual, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the newsletter. If you do not already have this installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

France... May...2009

Added on 17 June 2009

A strong delegation from Notts Sport visited France last month in order to support the efforts of our new Distributors and Installers on that country. Having already had a good deal of success with ABC Hags in the North and East of France we were on-hand to support the first installations of the newest members of Notts Sport overseas partners Coala of Nimes and récréAction of Paris. These companies will promote, sell and install our products in the areas not covered by ABC Hags.

It started out as a three-man team heading off to France on the Tuesday morning- Andy Carter (transportation), Sophie Roy (languages) & Zec Tomlinson (everything else). The fourth member of the team Simon Glover (installation) was arriving separately following a hospital visit, which knowing Simon involved a great deal of pain and zero anaesthetics. Due to his ordeal he was being spared Andy Carter's driving and instead was flying in to meet up with the rest of the team on Tuesday evening.

Unfortunately nobody informed the French train drivers, who rather uncharacteristically were not on strike. However they rather selfishly decided to stick to their normal working hours and leave Simon stranded at a station in the middle of nowhere. In scenes reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan the rest of the team bravely drove through the French countryside in order to find their missing comrade. Several minutes and a few dozen hand gestures later Andy Carter located his whereabouts. By means of celebration we retired to our headquarters for the evening and enjoyed some food especially prepared by the local townsfolk. The Chinese meal went down very well.

The next morning we drove to the small town of Saintry-sur-Seine and supervised récréAction's first ever CP installation. The area in question was located in the town's infant school and involved the renovation of a sand play area. Simon Glover has found a way of converting these into CP areas without the cost of removing the sand and a successful installation here could open up a lot of similar work elsewhere in the region.

Things went better than planned on-site as Simon, ably assisted by récréAction's installation team made short work of the project, Sophie interpreted everything thrown at her by the installation team, Coala's local sales representative, the town's mayor, the town's deputy mayor, the town's inspector of schools, the town's deputy inspector of schools, the town's....you get the picture. This is France after all. Andy was on the phone. A lot. And the weather was so good that Zec had to be sent to the local Spar shop and buy up the small town's whole supply of Evian mineral water.

Finished before dinner the Notts Sport team then set off on the next assignment: St. Lo in Normandy for Coala's first CP installation. The journey took about four hours and the hand gesture count from inside Andy Carter's motor grew proportionately.

The accommodation in St. Lo was well-situated. Close to the river, the castle and the local restaurants. However what really drew our attention was the bar right next to the hotel. The bar seemed to be home to St. Lo's bohemian set and was full of the local eccentrics. The music inside the bar was of an eclectic mix too - a Janet Jackson concert being shown in full on the big screen (which Sophie paid an unnerving amount of attention to) followed by a Rammstein (German death metal) concert. We left within a minute and a half of the Rammstein concert starting (wise move I'd say) and thoughts turned to the next day's installation.

St. Lo as a town was badly damaged during WW2 and the first CP area was to be installed at The American War Memorial Hospital, adjacent to the children's ward. The hospital was built with Marshall Aid money in the years just after WW2 and a large part of the hospital is dedicated to the memory of the Americans who died liberating the town.

As with the previous day's installation Simon did a sterling job on-site, aided and abetted by the local installers. The weather was not very clever though, but seeing as we were working on the 3rd floor balcony of the hospital, complete with roof, it was not a major problem. Getting the rolls of VHAF NottsSward up the three flights of stairs was more of a problem though, and at this point Andy and Sophie disappeared. Hmmm.

The area at St. Lo was approx. 180m2 in size and involved the use of three different colours of VHAF NottsSward along with a hop-scotch. However despite this Simon and his men were able to get the vast majority of the installation completed by the close of play on Thursday. By this time Andy and Sophie had returned to the play area, along with dinner for the workers. During the afternoon Andy promised Simon some new bionic knees once his current ones are worn out, which at this rate will be about three months time.

All that was needed on the final day was a final one-hour visit to the play area just to ensure that the local installers were on course for completing the job. That being done the next task was to ensure that we caught the ferry back to Portsmouth in time. Mission accomplished with just enough time to dive into the local supermarket and stock up on French wine (Andy) French snacks (Sophie) and Belgian beer (Simon and Zec of course).

The crossing over the English Channel was pretty choppy, but it was all good practise for another three-hour journey in Andy's car.....

Thanks for reading! Regards Zec

EUROSPORT Broadcasting of ICC World Twenty20

Added on 05 June 2009

The ICC World Twenty 20, which starts later today will be broadcast live through Eurosport 2 and on-line via the internet through Eurosport Player.

The matches are as follows:

Friday 5th June: England v Netherlands

Saturday 6th June: Australia v West Indies

Monday 8th June: Ireland v Bangladesh

Tuesday 9th June: Pakistan v Netherlands

Tuesday 9th June: New Zealand v South Africa

Thursday 11th June: D1 v A2 (Super 8)

Sunday 14th June: A1 v B2 (Super 8)

Monday 15th June: B2 v C1 (Super 8)

Tuesday 16th June: D2 v A1 (Super 8)

Thursday 18th June: Semi Final

Friday 19th June: Semi Final

Sunday 21st June: Final

All matches will also be live on internet (ex UK) on Eurosport Player as pay per view - see http://player.eurosport.com

Cardiff Cricket Club

Added on 02 June 2009

Notts Sport has put its own mark on Cardiff Cricket Club's impressive Forest Farm Road ground this summer.  

The Notts Sport Centre of Excellence net facility has been completed in time for the 2009 cricket season.

The facility incorporates four ECB Approved 30.00m practice pitches consisting of two Notts Sport Envelope systems and two NottsBase ‘D' systems, to cater for all ages and abilities. A 72' heavy duty cage and knotless netting system has also been specified within the area to protect users in each lane.

In addition to this, VHAF NottsSward material has been installed around the pitches to provide a totally synthetic foot print for minimum maintenance. This material has also been installed as an extension to the bowlers' run ups. White canvass has been specified against the bowlers' back drop to aid the batsman, and the entire facility is enclosed and protected by a 3.00m high lockable perimeter fence.

Having been very impressed with the previous 8 Centre of Excellence installations in Wales in 2003, Notts Sport was approached once again to design and specify their ECB Approved products by The Cricket Board of Wales and The Sports Council of Wales.

After an internal tender process, the chosen Notts Sport installer emerged as Bingham Ground Services, who began work on the facility in April and handed it over to the club in early May.

Cardiff Cricket Club now joins Miskin Manor, Aberystwyth, Port Talbot, Colwyn Bay, Carmarthen Wanderers, Northrop Hall, Builth Wells and Newport Cricket Clubs in Wales with Notts Sport Centre of Excellence facilities.

New Home

Added on 27 May 2009

After 25 years of being based in Oadby, Leicestershire, Notts Sport is expanding it's operation and moving to Magna Park in Lutterworth. Magna Park, is Britain's first and Europe's largest dedicated distribution park, and is acclaimed for setting new standards in concept, design and management.

Magna Park covers 500 acres and will eventually provide up to 7.7 million sq. ft of floor space of B8 distribution.

The calibre of occupiers at Magna Park is testimony to the location and quality of the development. Names include ASDA, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Argos, Sara Lee, Unipart, DHL, Britvic Soft Drinks, LIDL, Merck, BT, Exel, P&O, The Disney Store, Panasonic, and TNT......and now Notts Sport!  

Says Notts Sport CEO, Andy Carter, "One of the first recommendations I made when I joined Notts Sport was that we needed to improve our facilities. The new offices are in an unbeatable location and offer the prestige and working environment that our staff and clients deserve."  

Notts Sport's new address is Innovation House, Magna Park, Lutterworth. LE17 4XH

Goodbye Richard

Added on 21 May 2009

We have to announce that Richard Tigwell is leaving Notts Sport with effect from 31 May 2009.

 As the company continues to re-model its business to meet the future opportunities of its numerous home and international markets, Richard has decided that this is an opportune time to seek and pursue new career challenges.

 After some thirteen years as a member of the Notts Sport team, this decision has not been taken lightly, and Richard will certainly miss the friendship and support of colleagues, distributors and suppliers which he has always valued most highly.

 Richard wishes all associated with Notts Sport a most successful and prosperous future and fully intends to remain a genuine friend of the company.    

 Everyone at Notts Sport is sorry that Richard is leaving and would like to wish him every success in all his future ventures.

Baby Boom!

Added on 12 May 2009

Congratulations to our Multi Sports Manager Simon Clare, on the arrival of their son #4, George!

Also to David Slatter of S & C Slatter Ltd. He and his wife have given birth to their first son Adam.

We wish them all the best!

Congratulations!

25 and still counting...

Added on 31 March 2009

We're celebrating our 25th Anniversary this April!

Since  Notts Sport was established in 1984, we have evolved into one of the leading designers and suppliers of synthetic surfacing systems for sport and play, with our systems being used throughout Europe and North America.

We now look to develop our global market  still further through an exciting expansion programme in Asia and the introduction of some innovative new products.

Even more exciting times ahead.

Cricket in the Himalayas

Added on 25 February 2009

OK not the Himalayas, but somewhere very close. Kathmandu to be precise and surprisingly a hot bed of cricketing passion.   As Notts Sport's Chairman, I was invited as a guest of The Asian Cricket Council to the Final of the ACC under 17's Elite Cup in Nepal.  

 Never one to miss an opportunity to watch a bit of cricket  and dressed in completely inappropriate clothing for a Nepalese winter, I headed off to Kathmandu to see what all the fuss was about. The final was between the hosts and Malaysia, two countries not normally associated with this fine sport.    

Now, having been to this sort of thing in the UK, and watched with a few bored parents and their dogs, the sight of 8,000 Nepalese locals there to see a group of 16 year olds playing cricket was a complete shock.

What was even more of a shock was the moment that 7,999 of them invaded the pitch after Nepal had struck the winning runs and stormed the VIP pavilion where we were sitting.

Fortunately the army were on hand to control the crowd and let the presentations begin.

Wonderful joyous scenes ensued as "Nepal - Nepal" rang around the ground   Nepal, along with China, Afghanistan and many other Asian nations have high hopes for participating in future World Cups.

If the reaction to this win is anything to go by, it can't happen soon enough.  

Shaun

Notts Sport at ISBA 2009

Added on 09 February 2009

We're in! Notts Sport will be exhibiting at the prestigious ISBA conference this May. From the 13th May Duncan Bennett (Head of Multi Sports) and Simon Clare (Project Development Manager) can be found at stand 45.

If you need any assistance on the planning and designing of a multi sport pitch or how to get funding for a project, speak to the Multi-Sports team and they will offer sound and coherent advice.