• High-tech cork based turf improves the sport of soccer.
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High-Tech Turf Improves Soccer Safety

October 17, 2016

Soccer is an intense sport. Players can run several miles during a game; doing a lot of damage to a grass field. They’re also likely to fall throughout a match, which can cause injury. Because of these two facts, leagues have looked for a new type of surface to play on. Some have begun to use a high-tech turf option that combines real grass with roots in synthetic fibers. This high-tech turf also uses cork to absorb the shock of impact. As a result, soccer cleats do less damage to the field, and players are less prone to injury. The surface also needs less lawn care than a live field, since rain doesn’t harm it. While this type of high-tech turf is not on the market here in America just yet, other types of fake grass are. Many of them offer the same types of benefits.

To learn about this type of turf, get in touch with our team at Watersavers Turf. Our artificial grass experts can help you with any questions you may have.

How Synthetic Turf and Cork Make Gameplay Safe

Anyone who plays a sport on a grass field runs the risk of being injured. This is very true for those who play soccer. Because the game consists of non-stop action, players get tired quickly. As such, they find themselves losing their footing and falling throughout the match. This happens even more often after rainfall when the surface can be slippery. Synthetic turf and cork fix this problem. Because the ground beneath the grass isn’t soil, rain has less of an impact on it. On top of that, when players fall down on synthetic turf and cork, the surface absorbs the shock of the impact more easily. This makes injury much less common. As such, more and more teams are choosing to use synthetic turf and cork to make gameplay safer.

Overseas Soccer Leagues Make Use of Fake Grass

This past June, France hosted the European Championships. These soccer matches are held every four years, always in between the World Cup. Though they’ve been going on since 1960, this year there was a key difference in how they were played. Instead of using an outdated surface, four of the ten fields this year were fake grass. This artificial surface blended real grass blades with fibers and cork, and teams who played on it noticed how helpful it was.

The problem this year was that heavy rain before the games damaged many of the full-grass fields. It didn’t help that some of the fields consisted of newly-laid grass. Because of the hard rain, it couldn’t take root. This made it much easier for players to suffer from injuries. It also served to make overall lawn care a costly challenge.

The fields made out of fake grass were different, though. First of all, rain could do no damage to them. On top of that, though, the field itself could do less damage to the athletes. The rough surface of the real grass fields was painful to fall on. The cork of the fake grass field, on the other hand, was made with a sport like soccer in mind. Players found they could fall on it and get right back up to keep playing the game.

This isn’t just good for players. It’s also good for fans. When players spend less time dealing with injuries, they can spend more time on the actual match.

The change was a long time coming. According to the games’ director, Martin Kallen, “The pitches should be better, and we’re not happy.” He added, “We’ve taken measures to preserve pitches but in a summer tournament you don’t expect it to rain so much.”

The pitches that were made of fake grass, though, did not present these types of problems. Because of this, it seems safe to assume that the teams will make more use out of this type of material in the future.

Fake Turf and Other Sports

Soccer is not the only sport where fake turf can be useful. American football involves the constant risk of player injury. It also relies on a playing field that is even and easy to maintain. A fake turf surface can help teams stay safe and save money on upkeep.

Although the Cork-based fake turf is not yet on the market here in the States, other products provide the same types of benefits. To see what kind of fake turf is available, get in touch with us at Watersavers Turf for a free estimate. Also, be sure to stop by one of our San Francisco Bay Area locations to pick up free 1′ x 1′ fake grass samples. To learn more about what we have to offer, call 844-974-8873.

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