A new online version of the UConn Extension’s existing Athletic Field Assessment Form provides school grounds managers and turf professionals with an easier way to document, monitor and maintain safe athletic fields.
Developed by a team from the school's Sustainable Landscape Program, the new tool was built on a 14-year legacy of the paper assessment form to create a mobile-friendly format, making it easier to assess turf health, track maintenance activities and help administrators advocate for resources.
A new online version of the UConn Extension’s existing Athletic Field Assessment Form provides school grounds managers and turf professionals with an easier way to document, monitor and maintain safe athletic fields.
Developed by a team from the school's Sustainable Landscape Program, the new tool was built on a 14-year legacy of the paper assessment form to create a mobile-friendly format, making it easier to assess turf health, track maintenance activities and help administrators advocate for resources.
According to a post on UConn Today, the idea for digitizing the original paper scorecard was sparked when Vickie Wallace, senior extension educator, gave a presentation at a National Sports Field Managers Association (SFMA) conference several years ago. She shared data collected from an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project focused on the assessments of Connecticut school athletic fields and surrounding landscapes. She was aided in the three-year data collection effort by the late emeritus professor, Bill Dest, students, and project staff member Alyssa Siegel-Miles.
“At the end of my presentation, a colleague from the turfgrass seed industry approached me and said, ‘your assessment form could be a really cool app,” Wallace says. That conversation changed the direction of a portion of UConn’s next IPM grant proposal, which ultimately included development of the new online assessment tool.
ow available as a web-based tool that can be accessed from both desktop and mobile devices, the Athletic Field Assessment Tool includes expanded functionality without a cost to input data. Managers can create an account and enter static field data like identified turfgrass species, renovation history, or soil type, along with dynamic reports on mowing, overseeding, cultivation, and turf quality ratings. The UConn Digital Experience Group worked with Wallace and Siegel-Miles to build the online tool.
Key features of the tool include:
- Turf Quality Rating on a 1–15 scale, with 15 being excellent
- Report types including weed or other pest presence and maintenance events
- Photo uploads for visual documentation
- Data filtering and report printing
- Unlimited field entries and ample data storage
“You can enter data for as many fields as you want, and tailor how often you assess them based on field use,” Wallace says.
Some managers conduct a varying range of assessments to monitor turf health and recovery from wear because they have both high school and elementary fields with different use levels. Data can be stored on the phone or ultimately transferred to a computer at the end of the season.
Feedback from school grounds managers played an important role in shaping the final product. The team tested beta versions and provided input to improve usability and relevance for turfgrass professionals.
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