2024 New Zealand Educational Scholarship – Winners Stories!
The Women in Turf Scholarship was awarded to Sofia Urrets Zavalia, from the Remuera Golf Club and Kiel Stechman, from the Manawatu Golf Club was the recipient of the NZGCSA ‘Wider Education Scholarship’.
Born in Argentina, Sofia Urrets Zavalia is a professional in the turf management industry, currently working as the Co-Team Leader and Spray Technician at Remuera Golf Club. With a rich background in agronomy and ten years of experience, Sofia brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sofia is a passionate golfer who finds joy in exploring different cultures and working environments.
Kiel Benjamin Sinclair Stechman: Kiel's turf management journey began unexpectedly, transitioning from a golf enthusiast at Springfield Golf Club to an apprentice greenkeeper at Carterton Golf Club. His diverse experiences at various clubs led to his current role as Superintendent at Manawatu Golf Club, marked by big resilience and career dedication. Beyond his professional responsibilities, Kiel actively contributes to the industry as the president of the Manawatu Whanganui Turf Managers Association, mentors local apprentices, and has coached his son's rugby team.
It was a pleasure to have both Sofia and Kiel joining Syngenta at the ASTMA Conference and Trade Exhibition, and you can read about their experiences in this article!
The 2024 ASTMA Turf Conference in Brisbane was a comprehensive and enriching experience. I am grateful to Syngenta for the opportunity provided through Syngenta’s Women in Turf Scholarship and to Spencer Cooper, Remuera Golf Club Superintendent, for encouraging and supporting my scholarship application. This conference was precisely the incentive I needed to continue my professional development. I am excited to bring new insights and ideas back to my team at Remuera Golf Club and to broaden my vision in the turf management field.
The 2024 Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) Conference in Brisbane was an intense and enriching week. The first day started with a specialized training session on plant protection products led by Dr. Brett Morris, Syngenta’s Technical Services Manager for Turf & Landscape ANZ. This session broadened my understanding of the creation of new molecules, their market introduction, and the evolution of chemicals for more site-specific pest control.
The conference program was comprehensive and diverse. Here are my key takeaways:
- Leadership: True leadership is about the people, not just the leader. It involves adapting our actions to support and coach others and enhancing our emotional intelligence through a balance of self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and social regulation. Being mindful of ourselves and others and knowing how to act in the external world is crucial.
- Connection and Transparency: Leadership is also about connecting with others and valuing transparency to build trust.
- Personal Well-being: To unleash our leadership potential, we must be mindful of our nutrition, exercise, and recovery, managing our "internal battery."
- Understanding Generations: Effective leadership involves understanding and supporting new generations, particularly Gen Z. This includes creating a relationally supportive culture, teaching interpersonal skills, and providing learning and development opportunities.
- Role Clarity: Leadership requires knowing, accepting, and playing our roles, especially during challenging times. It demands curiosity to learn and courage to unlearn. Cameron Schwab summarized this in his presentation: "It is not how you get knocked down. It is how you get up."
- Innovation and Emerging Technologies: Embracing AI and data collection technologies for golf course management is essential. This includes proper data usage, sharing, ownership, and collection.
There was a great case study on different types of growing medium and microbial biomass by Will Bowden, “Understanding Fungi & Bacteria in Soil Profiles”. The focus was on the fungal/bacterial ratio associated with sports systems in which soil and sand/biochar greens had the most balanced ratio of fungi:bacteria.
Erwan Le Cocq presented a thought-provoking session on “Automation in Turf Management" over recent years and his specific case at Winston Golf Germany which is mainly mowed by robots. Le Cocq supports: "In a changing world the golf industry is facing multiple challenges; labor shortages, environmental constraints, budget restrictions… one of the responses to these challenges lies with those little robots, called the auto-mower”.
Outside the scheduled technical sessions, we had the opportunity to meet industry professionals from New Zealand and Australia. These interactions highlighted the potential for continuous evolution and the importance of collaboration in our field. The Trade Exhibition exceeded my expectations, providing an immersive environment to explore new technologies.
Sofia M. Urrets Zavalia
Co-Team Leader / Spray Technician
Remuera Golf Club
During May 2024 I was informed, I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to the Australian Turf Conference in Brisbane from Syngenta. I am incredibly grateful to Syngenta and Manawatu Golf Club for allowing me to attend the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) conference, all expenses paid by Syngenta.
The week was full of travel, learning and networking. On the Monday after arriving in Brisbane, Sofia and I met with Dr Brett Morris from Syngenta, we spent a number of hours discussing turf issues, our backgrounds, I appreciate the help that Dr. Brett Morris and Syngenta could provide to myself and the industry. The first day of the conference was around leadership, engagement, and technologies. It touched on using technology like GPT4 and chatbots and how they are taking over the world with AI. The most interesting talk for me was Erwin Le Cocq, Superintendent from Winston golf, Germany. His talk was based around robots and measuring tools. Husqvarna electric mowers are throughout the golf course and mow the fairways and rough, all done from a phone app. All the mowing is completed at night, when the course is empty, mowing in and around the irrigation also. Is this the future? Who knows where the world is going with technology.
The week ended with a trip to Suncorp stadium, what a great facility and challenge. I had an enjoyable time in Brisbane and thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality from Syngenta and their team as well as the company of Sofia and Phil. I have numerous notes and look forward to keeping our golf course moving forward with the resources available to us and what I have been able to learn.
Kiel Stechman
Course Superintendent
Manawatu Golf Club
