In a recent communication to members and Trade Partners, the Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association announced it would be undertaking a rebrand, to better align itself to be representative of it’s broad membership base, and of its position as the industry peak-body for Turf Management in Australia.

This follows a previous communication to members and the Turf industry regarding changes to Membership categories.

The decision to rebrand and simplify the membership categories were made following the evaluation of operations with the Board as part of our annual review as we assess current performance and prepare for the year ahead.

As was communicated to members, the review highlighted a significant growth in memberships from “non-golf” facilities and areas of the industry over the past 3 years, to the point where members operating in Sports Turf Management in a facility other than a golf course now make up well over 30% of members.

Forming part of the review was the assessment of the name Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association, and if it was accurate and representative of the entire membership.

When coupled with the significant work undertaken, and amount of requests we as a Members Association receive for assistance, advocacy, education and a host of other activities, it was felt by the Board that the AGCSA had been representing members across many areas of Turf Management and initiatives that were not specific to golf – rather all of Turf Management – for many years.

After completing a series of reviews, it was agreed by the Board that the brand of Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association (AGCSA) was no longer fully representative of all members, nor did it completely reflect the scope of activities we undertake to support Turf Managers in the profession of managing Sport & Recreation facilities.

As an outcome of this review, the Board are excited to announce that the AGCSA will be changing our branding and trading name to become the:

Australian Sports Turf Managers Association.

This change to our brand was agreed to be more inclusive of all members, and accurately reflect the Association activities in supporting the industry of all committed Turf Managers who play a critical role in the management of facilities for Sport & Recreation in this country.

Our team and activities will remain the same and we will be providing the same membership services and benefits on which we have built our reputation as the industry peak-body in Australia, and the Association will continue to operate in its current structure and your contacts for memberships, finance, events and the Australian Turfgrass Magazine will remain unchanged.

The new Brand Name and Logo for Australian Sports Turf Managers Association have been designed to be more inclusive of all members of the Association.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be working to update existing documents with our new brand, logo and updating our website and social media platforms to reflect this new trading name for the Association, and we will keep members updated on these changes.

Following on from the recent announcement of State Associations aligning as affiliated to the National Body, this branding change will better align activities and strengthen the work that we are able to deliver in supporting the State Associations and their dedicated work around communication, education and training.

In addition to this, it was felt by the Board that for some months the AGCSA has been undertaking a tremendous amount of work to try and better align all associations to work together in the Turf industry.  With 27 individual associations currently operating, not only does current structure of so many associations significantly diminish our ability as a profession to advocate effectively for improvements, it also regularly duplicates effort, resources and activities undertaken across the industry every month.

The new Brand Name and Logo for Australian Sports Turf Managers Association have been designed to be more inclusive of all members of the Association.

Through the updating of our trading name to the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association to be more representative of all members, and also it is hoped that it will provide the incentive for other associations to discuss the benefits and significant opportunities that working together can deliver to all Australian Sports Turf Managers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you making this change?

The AGCSA and Board undertook a review of membership, which highlighted a significant growth in memberships from “non-golf” facilities and areas of the industry over the past 3 years, to the point where members operating in Sports Turf Management in a facility other than a golf course now make up well over 30% of members.

The Board felt that the brand of Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association (AGCSA) was no longer representative of all members, nor did it completely reflect the scope of activities we undertake to support Turf Managers in the profession of managing Sport & Recreation facilities.

As a result, the AGCSA will be changing our branding and trading name to become the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association and this change to our brand was agreed to be more inclusive of all members, and accurately reflect the Association activities in supporting the industry of committed Turf Managers who play a critical role in the management of facilities and surfaces for Sport & Recreation in this country.

Will my membership change?

No, there will be no changes to Memberships resulting from this change

Will this affect State Associations?

No, there will be no changes to State Associations resulting from this change.
In the case of any updates or changes relating to State Associations, communications of any changes will come from the Committees of the State Associations.

What is likely to change?

In the short term, you may see updated branding, logo being used, references to the name and small items such as these.  Over the course of the next few months, we will be working to update our website and social media platforms to reflect this new trading name for the Association

We will keep members updated on these and any future updates.

Where can I find out more information?

The website remains the same, and further information can be found at www.agcsa.com.au or contact the team at (03) 9548 8600