Volunteers praised for helping clear Racecourse pitch

23 February 2010

By Phil Robinson - The Leader

Volunteers have been praised for helping sporting fixtures at The Racecourse to beat the weather.

Both Wrexham FC and the Crusaders rugby league side recorded vital wins thanks to the efforts of fans who helped to ensure the matches could go ahead.

Preparations to beat the latest big freeze began on Friday when Wrexham FC club secretary Geraint Parry studied the weather forecast and learned more snow was on the way.

He said: “The Rugby League has loaned us some really big pitch covers for when Crusaders matches are televised.

“Although these are excellent, they only cover abaout 80 per cent of the pitch, so we phoned round other places and discovered that St Helens Rugby Club had some covers they could lend to us.

“Joan Bellis and her husband Roger, who are really staunch Wrexham supporters, laid on a white van free of charge.

“We all piled in and drove over there and brought them back to cover the rest of the pitch.”

After Wrexham’s win the race was on on Saturday night to make sure the pitch was playable for the Crusaders.

Mr Parry added: “We got that finished by about 9.30pm and we had a feeling it was just in time because there seemed to be snow in the air.

"On Sunday morning, of course, everything was white, so we knew we had another big job on our hands and we put out a call for volunteers to help shift the snow off the covers.

“About 50 people turned up, including students from Glyndwr University and some Hull fans who had stayed the night ready for the match.

"Our new chairman, Ian Roberts, also came along to help with his family.

“It is only because of people who are prepared to get stuck in like this that clubs like ours can keep going.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all who helped during the weekend, including our own ground staff who did a great job.”