Women’s Field Hockey is a sport that is growing in popularity although it is confined to only a few nations at the elite level. Historically, the game was played on a grass surface and this is still the case for most junior and lower grade level matches. At the international level, though, field hockey is played on a synthetic grass surface to ensure the ball runs truly and to provide a more even contest.
There are two important factors that were considered when deciding on the type of synthetic turf that was going to be appropriate for hockey. Tests had to be performed to determine the way the ball interacts with the surface and the way a person interacts. Both of these factors influence the way the game is played and so, would have an effect on the sport of hockey as a whole.
The artificial turf used for hockey is different to the types used in other sports such as soccer and American football. The grass blades are shorter on a hockey field and they do not attempt to replicate real grass. They allow the ball to roll quickly and smoothly and have effectively sped up the game since its inception.
There is another unique aspect about the majority of hockey pitches and that is that they are classed as unfilled pitches or water-based. They are heavily watered before play as well as at half-time and must be done so evenly to ensure the conditions at one end of the pitch match those at the other end. Watering the pitch reduces the abrasive nature of the grass, maintains the speed of the ball over the surface and gives the surface the optimum sliding properties.
All of this means that in order to create a synthetic grass hockey pitch, one has to be built specifically for the sport of hockey. This drives the cost of catering to the sport of hockey up to quite high levels. Whereas a synthetic turf football field can be used by soccer, football, baseball and other sports, a hockey field is only suitable for hockey and may sit idle for longer periods of time.
The more women who take up the sport of field hockey will put a greater demand on pitch time for these fields making the cost effectiveness more reasonable. With any luck it will also help to drive the popularity of the sport beyond the boost it gets every 4 years when it is seen prominently during the Olympic Games.