Article submitted by ArtificialTurfSupply.com
Since the early days of using artificial turf lawn on sports fields, one of the biggest concerns has been the safety of the players during the game. The earliest AstroTurf was both slippery and hard, making it a less than ideal surface for games that involve sliding and hitting the ground. When you’re playing a game such as football with an opposing team trying to knock you to the ground, the last thing you want is for the ground to hit back.
While advances in synthetic turf grass have brought the building material a long way from its early days, there are always improvements that can be made. That is why the company AstroTurf has teamed up with the University of Tennessee in order to build a new research center. The ground was just broken for this project, officially called the Research Center for Safer Athletic Fields.
This facility, when completed, will be outdoors and feature sixty research fields. Each of these fields will be covered with a different surface, which will then be studied with the intention of seeing if performance can be proved, both for the sake of enhanced gameplay and reducing injuries.
One of the hopes of studying how artificial turf can be improved is eliminating any risk that the surface may pose to kids. With more parks and schools replacing natural grass fields with artificial, ensuring that any falls won’t cause serious harm to boys and girls is paramount. Luckily, artificial turf is safer than ever.