POST-SHOW RECAP
SFMA Awards Banquet . Photo provided by SFMA
A Look Back at the 34th SFMA Conference & Exhibition
The 34th SFMA Conference & Exhibition was held January 16-19 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City , Utah . The sports field management industry ’ s main event featured seven education tracks , a full trade show / exhibition , networking opportunities , a keynote address , SAFE fundraisers , the SFMA Student Challenge , Seminar on Wheels and more .
Session tracks focused on Turfgrass Management ; Water ; Research and Technology ; Diversity , Equity & Inclusion ; Professional Development ; Baseball ; and Synthetic .
On Monday , January 16 , the Seminar on Wheels event visited athletic facilities at Brigham Young University in Provo , Utah . Tour members were able to visit and learn about LaVell Edwards Stadium ( football ), Miller Park ( baseball and softball fields ), the football practice facility , South Field ( soccer ), and the indoor practice facility . Attendees were then shuttled to America First Field ( formerly Rio Tinto Stadium ), home of MLS club Real Salt Lake ; and from there visited
Smith ’ s Ballpark , home of the Salt Lake Bees and the University of Utah baseball team .
The first day of the conference also featured the inaugural SAFE Indoor Backyard Games and Brunch , a fundraiser for the SAFE Foundation that featured a cornhole tournament . The SAFE cornhole tournament title sponsor was GameOnGrass ( a product of Carolina Green Corp .), the drink sponsor was Sunbelt Rentals , and the miniature golf sponsor was Little League . The cornhole tournament winning team was Billy Ellinger and Jackson Price .
Monday evening was highlighted by the SAFE Night of Bowling , a fundraiser for the SAFE Foundation , at All Star Bowling and Entertainment in Draper , Utah . The event was sponsored by Diamond Pro and Tri-Tex Grass . The top winner was Alpha Jones with a score of 182 , and the winning team was Mike Kuhn , Jake Schwan , Michael Klakulak , Daniel Peer and Maritza Martinez with a score of 608 .
18 SportsField Management | March 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com