BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. – (April 16, 2009) George Duarte, supervisor of maintenance and operations at the Calexico, Calif. Unified School District, is the lucky winner of the Turface Athletics™ “Save Your Turf” Fall Promotion. He receives a credit of $5,000 to use on field maintenance products from supporting distributor Ewing Irrigation out of El Cajon, Calif., and a one-day on-site consultation from visiting groundskeeper Steve Wightman of the San Diego Chargers.

Calexico is located in a desert region near the Mexico border. The environment is generally arid, but due to the clay soil in the region, any rainfall typically pools on the athletic fields. Duarte used Turface® products prior to entering the contest and they successfully tackled some of his field’s drainage and standing water issues. He plans to apply some of the winning products on the baseball field, which is used by both the high school varsity and junior varsity teams.

“We have unique problems with the soil,” Duarte said. “We have a ton of clay here. Our main problem is standing pools of water and water runoff from the baseball field, even when we irrigate.” High wind also wreaks havoc on the infield base paths. Duarte is confident Turface will help keep the base paths in place and eliminate standing water issues on his baseball field.

With tight budgets in a tough economy, winning the contest came at the right time for the high school and three middle schools located in the Calexico Unified School District. Duarte and two grounds crew workers maintain the district’s several football, baseball and softball fields, as well as a dirt clay track. Duarte plans to cross-train the entire district’s maintenance staff, and all of his 15 staff members will attend the one-day consultation with Wightman.

Turface Athletics™ products are the ideal solution for Duarte to minimize field damage as a result of rain and heavy foot traffic. Turface infield conditioning products also work to improve playability, speed recovery and prevent muddy conditions that destroy infields. Turface® MVP® fights compaction that leads to running, sliding and bad ball hop injuries. Turface® Pro League® offers smaller, more uniform particle size in three colors. Turface® Quick Dry® absorbs moisture away from the surface, to save the game from rain.

Recently, research completed by Pamela Sherratt, sports turf specialist at The Ohio State University, proves that applications of Turface’s Field & Fairway™ helps prevent turf damage on natural grass sports fields and speeds recovery following simulated rain and foot traffic. Sherrat’s research, along with information from Ken Mrock, head groundskeeper of the Chicago Bears, is located in the Turface® New Coaches and Groundskeepers Guide, available for download at www.turface.com.