On 26th and 27th of October Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association held its Annual Conference at Rosslyn Central
Park Hotel, Sofia. 50 turf engaged people met together to learn, discuss and speak about their passion in life. The
event had large attendance and we managed to bring people from all over the world – from Bulgaria going through
whole Europe and reaching far away to Canada. The weather was also very kind and fully matched the warm
hospitality of the hosts
This year event contained two full days of education. The BGGA partner/sponsors, the members and the guests had
the opportunity to meet and to listen to three highly experienced and educated speakers.
After the official opening by the Chairman of the Association (Yavor Atanasov), the stage was taken by the newest
partner of BGGA – Husqvarna. Martin Bachiyski showed the new technologies in automotive mowers and the range
of equipment available for all sort of terrains. Agroland Ltd. managed to show in real time to the members their
newest Ceora mower which is available on the Bulgarian market
T-Jay Creamer came long way from Canada, Vancouver Island to share his experience and knowledge in the field.
The superintendent of Olympic View Golf Club highlighted some new approaches of turf maintenance which are
available and also emphasized how important is people management nowadays. The coffee break was rich with
discussions and interactions with the two speakers of the day and it was difficult to be interrupted to bring everyone
back in the class room.
Straight after the healthy lunch held at Rosslyn Park Hotel the Conference the Conference carried on with the head
groundsman of FC Sevilla, Spain – Juan Carlos Venegas Gamero. He grabbed the audience with the challenges he
faced in Spain. The opportunities to find solutions and go through period of difficulties and come back even stronger
showed how great the turf profession is all over the world.
In the end of Day 1 of BGGA Conference the attention was grabbed by Nick Gadd and Daniel Jones from TurfCare.
Nick was very keen to give the members solutions and proved answers to their water management practices. The
knowledge transfer from the Irish company was on a very high level and everyone became excited with the end of
the Day 1 of the education
Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association held a welcoming dinner in the evening. The discussions and friendly
environment were more than excited. Many members and guests still were heated by the topics from the first day.
That was a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better and find new friends and partners.
The Day 2 of the Conference started as per program with Arturo Moran, Toro Company. Our partner from the first
day of forming the Association had the opportunity to give an update on what Toro have done in the last 12 months.
The overall perception for a bright future with the new mower technologies made everyone very happy and
delighted at the end of Arturo`s presentation.
The stage was open for the very special and well developed company – CapillaryFlow and Kneale Diamond. He
managed to grab the audience with the specific products available on the market and the solutions offered
recognised by professors and many successful trials and feedbacks.
Just after Kneale`s presentation we had the honour to listen Richard Poskitt, Indigrow Ltd. Our patron/sponsor was
very keen to share trials, solutions and ready answers for turf related problems. The wide range of products has the
potential to cover variety issues. Richard was so kind to speak for disease management with non chemical solutions.
So important for the future of the turf industry
The coffee break after was a little too noisy and passionate. The three very interesting presentations built up a lot of
hot topics to discuss. The guys were difficult to be brought back in the room for the next speaker – Sandy Reid,
Director of Greenkeeping at St. Andrews Links Trust, Scotland. Sandy was more than happy to come over and share
his knowledge and experience from the Home of Golf. The members and the guests had the privilege to sink in his
words and learn valuable stories. The two hours story passed like seconds.
Straight after lunch the audience welcomed the FEGGA executive officer – Dean Cleaver. Been already part of the
BGGA family group for many years he is very well recognized and expected as well. He gave the update on
greenkeepers industry as well as on some great FEGGA initiatives. He definitely managed to make many members
passionate and thinking for future opportunities
In the end it was time for the traditional certificates of the attendance for everyone and the Chairman thanked the
audience for the great venue everyone made together.
Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association set very high standards with the passing event. It was very well accepted,
very educational as usual and highly attended. The feedback was very positive and definitely encourages the board
members to keep up the good work.
Yavor Atanasov – Chairman BGGA
