10 Sports That Can Be Played On Artificial Turf
Artificial turf has seen a significant rise in popularity for sporting applications over recent years due to the many benefits that it offers. Known for its versatility and durability, artificial turf offers a reliable and consistent playing surface that can be used year-round, regardless of weather conditions. Also, with its reduced maintenance this makes it an attractive option for various sports, from large-field sports like soccer and rugby and smaller courts such as pickleball and lawn bowls.
This article will discuss the different types of sports that can be played on artificial turf surfaces – however this list is not exhaustive! With the emergence of new sports and variations of traditional sports, artificial turf is a great choice for many of these.
Overview of Artificial Turf in Sport
Artificial turf was first installed in a multi-purpose recreation space in Rhode Island, before getting more public interest once it was installed at the large sporting ‘Astrodome’ in Houston, Texas. This synthetic grass alternative offers a consistently lush and green appearance all year round, with minimal maintenance compared to natural grass. Its robust nature allows it to withstand heavy use and harsh weather conditions – ensuring it is playable year-round for sports participants. The playability and less up-keep makes it ideal for both residential and commercial sporting use to save long-term costs and time.
Artificial turf developers are continually evolving to try to meet the wants and needs of high-level sporting associations such as Cricket Australia and the AFL to ensure the playing surface is as safe and natural as an environment as possible for the players. Different pile lengths and infills such as sand or rubber granules are chosen to suit the type of play – ensuring the surface can be suited to as many different sports as possible!
10 Sports that are be played on artificial turf
- Pickleball
This up-and-coming sport is gaining popularity among all age groups – but particularly in the more mature demographics due to the smaller court design and affordability of the equipment needed. Retirement villages are feeling the pressure to offer spaces designed for pickleball play to satisfy the wants of their residents. Artificial grass makes a fantastic Pickleball surface option due to being kinder on joints, such as hips, knees and ankles and ensures the court is suitable for play year-round.
- Lawn Bowls
Artificial grass in a lawn bowls setting ensures that the green is always ready to play on – provided general maintenance and upkeep has been done! Clubs are more and more leaning towards updating their greens with artificial grass due to reduced maintenance and playability – it is less weather dependent, the drainage system will prevent the green from becoming waterlogged and offers a year-round aesthetically pleasing lawn for the weekly bowls competitions and tournaments.
- Golf
Synthetic grass is the best choice for golf settings where large upkeep is unsuitable or weather conditions make natural surfaces tricky or costly to maintain. Applications such as practice greens and mini golf courses are fantastic settings for fake grass, and makes the maintenance of these spaces really convenient. The team at foresightsports.com don’t anticipate that artificial turf will ever replace natural grass surfaces for complete golf courses, at least at a professional level.
- Soccer
Soccer (or football, depending on where you live!) is a sport that suits artificial turf surfaces. Artificial turf provides a consistent and reliable playing surface, which can reduce the risk of injuries caused by uneven ground. Being a winter sport here in Australia, we know that the weather can impact the playing surface significantly and artificial soccer fields with correct drainage set up can handle greater play-hours than a regular grass surface. Artificial turf surfaces for soccer applications need to be tested for quality levels that meet FIFA requirements – 1 star for general competition play and 2 stars for professional use – indicating how close to natural the fields are to play on. View this link for more information on artificial turf that meets FIFA standards.
- Football (AFL)
For many of the same benefits of soccer, artificial turf makes a great option for AFL ovals – particularly where water may be restricted or other weather conditions are difficult to upkeep a safe playing surface. AFL authorities endorse the use of artificial turf at the community level and and there is specific criteria that needs to be met to ensure it passes AFL standards and keeps players safe. For example, AFL artificial surfaces have a shockpad system underneath to allow enough protection for players – taking into consideration the height they may jump and fall from.
- Cricket
Artificial Turf is a great choice for cricket pitches, with the ability to be laid on a concrete base to ensure an even and consistent bowling surface. It is easy to clean and maintain and can be easily covered to protect it in the off-season. Artificial turf is also used in practice batting cages at all levels of participation which again offers a low maintenance, consistent surface. In fact, the first Australian sports field to use synthetic turf was the cricket pitch at Manuka Oval (Canberra) in 1985.
- Touch Rugby
Artificial turf is also used and becoming increasingly popular for rugby fields here in Australia for Touch Rugby. The International Rugby Board and Football Union have specific standards in place to keep a high quality and safe playing surfaces for their players.
- Tennis
Tennis is probably the sport most commonly associated with artificial grass sporting surfaces. Artificial tennis courts hold up to the wear and tear of repeated play well and is a little softer underfoot than alternate tennis surfaces such as hard flooring and clay surfaces, reducing the amount of stress on the player’s body. To read more about maintaining an artificial grass tennis court, see this guide from Tennis Australia.
- Hockey
Field hockey was one of the first sports where artificial grass surfaces were becoming the norm. In the early ’70’s, synthetic grass started to be used and in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, artificial turf was used for the hockey competition surface. Many improvements have been made over time to ensure player comfort and safety to prevent grass related injuries. For all of the benefits mentioned above, artificial turf is a great choice for field hockey pitches.
- Ultimate Frisbee
A super fun one to finish up on – ultimate frisbee is a growing sport around the world and suits artificial turf well. When players are chasing a frisbee – they don’t want to worry about uneven surfaces below them and can play freely knowing the surface they are on is consistent and safe. The Ultimate Frisbee field can also have a padded surface beneath the artificial turf to add further safety from falls and is kinder on the players joints than a hard surface.
Another Consideration…
Multi-purpose Courts
Why have one court, when you can have 3 or 4 in the same space? Multipurpose courts offer flexibility and usability of a space – and using artificial turf creates an inviting and great-looking court to encourage play. We develop multipurpose courts and fields for a range of clients and love extending the use of a limited space!
Many different sports can be played on an artificial grass surface, many more than we have mentioned here! It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications and its versatility in size and benefits of upkeep mean it is an increasingly popular choice for sports surfaces around the world. The technology is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the sporting boards and regulatory bodies to get the artificial playing surface experience as close to a real grass as possible, while still maintaining the benefits.
If you are interested in having an artificial grass sporting surface installed at your location, reach out and give us a call on 0438 246 246 or get in touch via our contact page! We would love to discuss how we can help you and to guide you in the correct selection of the grass and infill for the particular sport you’re enquiring for.
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