Building a Safer Athletic Playing Field

There are hundreds of thousands of playing fields dotting the earth’s landscape with enough natural and synthetic turf to stretch a foot-wide swath to the moon and back. The world’s passion for sports drives this growth, and schools in North America lead the pack.

Playing fields used primarily by high schools today-but also by some middle and elementary schools-are different from the huge areas of cleared land and sporadic grass fields built several decades ago. Modern surfaces are highly engineered systems built for durability, playability (good footing in most weather conditions), player comfort, and safety.

When planning a field, school administrators must address a long list of issues before the construction phase. These issues include aesthetics, environmental regulations, impact on existing facilities, community accessibility, access to utilities, maintenance issues, adequate usage levels, and accommodating possible future expansion of the site.

Player Safety

While economics will always be a driving force, more than ever player safety is the key issue behind purchasing decisions. Administrators and school board members must reduce potential liability by attempting to reduce serious injuries, specifically to the head, neck, and spinal cord. The good news is that safety precautions can be accommodated without incurring greater expense in design and construction.

So, just how can fields be built to meet a strict set of shock absorbency guidelines? First, be advised there is an initiative in the turf industry to mandate enforceable shock absorbency standards for all playing fields, grass or synthetic. Ultimately, the answer lies in the design of the system. A safer synthetic system consists of a series of layers of cushioning materials that provide superior shock absorbency while still providing good drainage on a stable base that may be compacted gravel, porous asphalt, or porous concrete. This kind of design gives many facilities the ability to host an athletic competition or practice shortly after the heaviest of rains.

What is critically important for player safety is the padding layer. Pad systems can vary according to the type of surface being installed, activities to be hosted on the surface, and other specifications unique to each project. Traditionally, synthetic turf fields are always built with pads. It is now recommended that all synthetic fields include a superior-grade foam or rubber shock pad, especially for football. There may be synthetic turf builders who will recommend otherwise; however, most clients want to maximize player protection and minimize exposure to legal liabilities. I believe we are rapidly moving toward a day when no fields will be installed without a proven, tested, and certified underlying shock-absorbing pad.

With playing surfaces one finds a variety of options ranging from lush natural grass to standard synthetic turf "carpet." There now exists a nice compromise between the two extremes-synthetic field surfaces that feature dense, grass-like fibers and a finely ground, all-rubber infilling that looks and feels like natural grass. Like grass, this type of synthetic is not abrasive to athletes and provides all the durability benefits of artificial turf thanks to highly UV-resistant polymers. Most importantly, the rubber-infilled surface provides predictable cushioning and shock absorbency as confirmed, on site, by ASTM shock testing (ASTM F-355 determines the shock absorbency of synthetic turf playing fields).

A note of caution on synthetic fields: sand is offered in some turf systems as an infilling material. For grass this may be fine; however, weathered synthetic fields filled with sand (or a mixture of sand and other materials), have had serious problems with sand compaction that can make a surface extremely hard and unforgiving. An all-rubber infilling material is superior because it is not subject to the same water absorption and compaction issues that make sand undesirable. Some synthetic field builders have eliminated the use of sand infillings in their fields because of compaction and liability issues and it may be only a matter of time until sand is removed from the synthetic field equation altogether.

Turf vs. Grass

When it’s time to make the final decision, keep in mind that both grass and synthetic fields have their advantages. When making your choice between turf and grass, you should consider how much traffic and playing time a field is going to endure, how much maintenance you can afford to give the field, and what weather conditions prevail in your locale.

If it’s a football field that’s going to host just a few home games a year and your weather is not unusually wet, dry, or cold, then grass is probably preferable. If it’s a field that’s going to be used for many different sports, year-round play, physical education classes, concerts, graduation exercises, etc., or if your weather is extreme, then synthetics are probably the better choice.

Depending on your specific situation, you should consider whether the maintenance and expense of a grass field (watering, mowing, fertilizing, relining, etc.) is the best choice versus the cost and low maintenance of synthetic turf. Even though the synthetic surface will typically have to be replaced in eight to 10 years, your particular region’s weather patterns may make a synthetic field the logical choice. Extremely wet or cold areas may make the maintenance of grass fields a budget buster. As for safety, grass fields also are considerably less shock absorbent in freezing weather, where properly padded and rubber-infilled synthetic surfaces maintain their cushioning abilities much better. It is important to note that the safety of any grass field, in any environment, is directly related to maintenance and use levels.

Regardless of your situation, it is more important than ever to look for a field that is going to provide the safest possible environment for students, athletes and any others that would use the facility. The cost for providing maximum player safety is minimal, especially compared to the liability of a field that is clearly not up to par.

Reed Seaton is president of Southwest Recreational Industries Inc. of Leander, Texas. He can be reached at (800) 233-5714.