SFMA IN ACTION
SFMA Mowing Patterns Contest Winner
SFMA announced that Jeff Ross , head groundskeeper at the Great Lakes Loons , is the winner of this year ’ s Mowing Patterns Contest with his “ Fan Appreciation Pattern .” Ross credited his assistant groundskeepers , Ryan Wolter and TJ Fairchild , for helping with the design .
“ The pattern was mowed with our John Deere 2500B triplex mower in the outfield and a John Deere 260B walk-behind greens mower on the infield ,” said Ross . “ The ‘ Fan Appreciation Pattern ’ was a poll on our team ’ s social media where I came up with three patterns and the fans got to choose which one would be on the field for the final home game of the season .”
Ross won complimentary registration to the 2025 SFMA Annual Conference in Palm Springs , California .
2025 SFMA Innovative Award Winners
Congratulations to Hunter Industries and Wiedenmann North America , LLC , on being named this year ’ s SFMA Innovative Award Winners . The award is given to one or more SFMA Conference exhibitors whose innovation has made the sports field manager more effective or the playing surface safer .
HUNTER WIRELESS VALVE LINK ( WVL ) Running wire from the controller to field valves can be time consuming , labor intensive and expensive . The Hunter Wireless Valve Link ( WVL ) system uses LoRa Technology so you can easily connect valves without running additional wires or cutting into hardscape . It features simple , wire-free connections , works with Hunter ICC2 and HCC controllers , and is compatible with Centralus and Hydrawise Software . The WVL adds up to 54 valves (+ P / MV ) up to 2,000 feet line-of-sight or more with a repeater . License-free LoRa Technology enables wireless communication directly to the valve box — no copper field wiring required . WVL combines with conventional ICM or two-wire EZDS modules for ultimate flexibility .
WIEDENMANN STRAC 720 WITH ST 170 FLEX FRAISE MOWING HEAD The STrac 720 with the ST 170 flex fraise mowing head is a pedestrian fraise mower that will fraise mow the infield and outfield lips of a baseball field , creating a safer playing surface . By eliminating these lips , you are removing a tripping hazard by leveling the surface and also reducing the unpredictable bounce of a baseball that can occur when the ball is hit into the lip . The transition zone ( s ) between the infield and outfield is smooth and level due to the application from the STrac 720 with the ST 170 flex fraise mowing head . The STrac 720 is a multipurpose machine with other heads that can be quickly swapped out . Other heads include a verticutting head , coring head , sod cutting head , sand fill head and several seeder heads .
SFMA Membership Renewal
If you are an SFMA member and have yet to renew your membership , please login and do so quickly as member drops will take place soon . Your SFMA membership is an investment in your future , and SFMA takes
8 SportsField Management | January 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com