Jan. 23, 2023 — Candy ft?

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Over the previous couple of months, we’ve been seeing tales and press releases main in direction of the set up of what was anticipated to have been the primary waterless synthetic turf floor for subject hockey.

The oldsters who manufacture Poligras have been making incremental progress utilizing numerous mixtures of fibers, and have seemingly settled on one being known as Poligras Paris GT, which was introduced final November. It’s made out of a polyetheline fiber derived from sugar cane. What this does is make the turf recyclable, and reduces the carbon footprint required to make it.

However there may be one factor about Paris GT that could be a little disappointing. Right here’s a sentence from the Poligras internet presence:

Polytan Paris GT zero continues this progress with the introduction of Turf Glide, a brand new and proprietary expertise which reduces the floor friction. With this expertise, much less water is required to lubricate the turf for quick and fluid play.

Translation: the turf will nonetheless require a watering system of some form. We don’t know whether or not the parents in FIH are envisioning the identical sorts of water cannons which can be being utilized in many locations, or whether or not the turf may be sufficiently watered utilizing a short lived system utilizing one thing as small as a fireplace hose.

I believe the adoption of this sort of synthetic turf goes to be an attention-grabbing train. Due to the natural nature of the polyetheline, will the fibers final so long as these discovered on present synthetic pitches, particularly in climates with plenty of solar and warmth?

I ask this due to among the sustainable plastics which have been used within the motorcar business. A few of it’s possible you’ll keep in mind that your Founder drove a Volvo for a time period. Within the early Eighties, the wiring harness for all the electrical system was sheathed with biodegradable plastic. The issue is that, with heating and cooling and temperature adjustments over the course of a decade or extra, the plastic does what it’s alleged to do: degrade, resulting in electrical issues.

And there’s one other attention-grabbing factor that would come into play: overwatering. What occurs if coaches or groups, used to a sure degree of friction on a present competitors floor, choose to make use of the identical quantity of water on this new pitch? Might the sugar-cane plastic decay if an excessive amount of water is utilized to it, just like the roots of a cactus or an orchid?

These are some issues to have in mind while you’re trying into the way forward for synthetic turf — which has grow to be inexorably linked with the way forward for subject hockey.

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