SYNTHETIC TURF

By Dan Bond , CAE

Sports field managers have incredibly difficult jobs . Managing sports field playing surfaces to the safest level possible for people of all ages and abilities — from pee wee to professionals — requires substantial education , honed skill sets and abundant resources at your disposal . This is in addition to the significant challenges presented by COVID-19 . The Synthetic Turf Council ( STC ) has spent the past year working to create additional resources to help you achieve your synthetic turf surface goals .

UPDATED TECHNICAL GUIDELINES In July , the STC released the updated Guidelines for the Essential Elements for Synthetic Turf Systems . This technical document improves the level of confidence in the process of selecting synthetic turf systems by owner / user / clients , selection teams and design professionals . It also facilitates a guideline for industry testing for all the parties and aids in the confirmation of meeting the expectations and the delivery of systems , products and services in order to promote genuine satisfaction by the user / owners of synthetic turf systems .

This is in addition to the Performance and Durability Guidelines for Shock Pads document that was released in 2020 . What better way to ensure managing sports field playing surfaces to the safest level possible than referencing the latest industry guidance ? All technical guidelines are available through the STC Technical Guidelines page ( https :// www . syntheticturfcouncil . org / page / guidelines ).

INFILL CONTROL RESOURCE Through our close relationship with the Europe Middle East Africa Syn-

42 SportsField Management | September 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com