Natural grass study on American football field
Research by leading synthetic turf manufacturer and Labosport benchmarks sport performance of natural turf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Austin, Texas USA
With thousands of sports fields installed each year throughout the world, the synthetic turf industry has gained acceptance due to the benefits of longer playing hours, maintenance savings and all-weather playability. Buyer demands have also increased with trends towards replicating natural grass in more ways than just appearance or shock absorption.
FIFA, as the world’s governing body of soccer, has led this trend internationally with its significant investments in natural grass and artificial turf research. FIFA utilizes natural grass benchmarks in areas including foot stability, traction, and ball interaction to create its synthetic turf standards. These benchmarks have led to safer, better performing synthetic turf fields. As North American buyers seek similar benchmarks for American Football, additional research has been needed to also understand the relationship of international synthetic turf standards as established by FIFA and a top natural grass field for American Football.
ACT Global Sports with cooperation from Labosport and Texas A&M University, engaged the research to understand the sport performance of the natural turf at Kyle Field stadium and compare those findings to the FIFA methods. Kyle Field at Texas A&M was selected as it is well-known for being one of the top natural grass football stadiums in the United States. It previously earned the Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association and is managed by respected field manager, Mr. Leo Goertz.
The on-site technical assessment was conducted in October 2009 and performed on multiple points throughout the field. Tests included shock absorption, vertical deformation (foot stability), rotational resistance (traction), energy restitution (fatigue indicator) and various ball-to-surface interaction measurements. The testing equipment were the same as is used for FIFA field tests.
The results fall within the same range as the FIFA Quality Concept standards for synthetic turf for the conducted tests.
John Baize, Director of ACT Global comments, “We are very pleased to invest in this study and appreciate the cooperation of both Texas A&M and Labosport. As a FIFA Preferred Producer with multiple FIFA certified installations around the world, it demonstrates to a buyer that our fields can perform to the highest FIFA requirements and one of the best natural grass football fields as well. By simply specifying the FIFA standards and testing, a buyer can expect to get a top playing surface for soccer and football.”
News media, certain buyers and consultants are invited to obtain a complimentary copy of this study by emailing research@ACTGlobalSports.com. ACT Global encourages buyers and consultants to use these findings as a tool when selecting a proven synthetic turf system.
ACT Global Sports is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional tufting locations in Calhoun, Georgia, Asia and Europe. It services its international clients through offices in The Netherlands, Cyprus, China, Poland, Thailand, UK and France. Local sales and support is offered through an expanding partner network of leading sport field and synthetic lawn contractors in over 50 countries.
