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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.”
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