Post by stellarboy on Mar 1, 2012 17:47:38 GMT 8
Why choose natural turf?: A discussion on natural versus artificial turf for sport and leisure applications.
This is an article, published in 2006, presented by the Section Forage Plants and Amenity Grasses of the European Seed Association on why most football players, especially in Europe, prefer natural grass rather than the artificial turf on their football pitches. It's long but the article is a well said one.
www.dlfis.com/upload/esa_06.0041.1.pdf
Key points of the discussion:
Some player quotations from the article:
Rafael van der Vaart, a former player for Ajax Amsterdam, said after playing on artificial turf:
“This artificial grass was a disaster. It hurt my feet. I really hope we don’t get this in the Amsterdam Arena. If this is the future, I’d better stop playing football.”
Arno Arts, VVV-Venlo:
“Playing football on artificial grass can’t be compared with playing on natural grass. I didn’t like it at all and in my team 8 out of 10 players have the same opinion.”
Patrick Lodewijks, keeper Feyenoord Rotterdam:
“I will certainly be the last keeper who plays professional football at the age of 40, because with artificial grass, keepers have to stop when they are 34 due to worn out hips.”
This article hopes to enlighten you on what should we prefer to put on our country's football pitches.
This is an article, published in 2006, presented by the Section Forage Plants and Amenity Grasses of the European Seed Association on why most football players, especially in Europe, prefer natural grass rather than the artificial turf on their football pitches. It's long but the article is a well said one.
www.dlfis.com/upload/esa_06.0041.1.pdf
Key points of the discussion:
- Natural grass is perfect for the environment; extremely healthy and safe for players.
- Natural grass is the most cost-effective alternative to install and maintain than the artificial kind.
- Majority of players and spectators prefer it.
- Improvements in plant breeding in the last 10 years: new grass species; improved tolerance to heat, shade and cold.
- Artificial turf needs extensive cooling and irrigation than natural grass, especially in warm climates.
- Artificial turf increases risks in health such as abrasions, concussions, ACL tears, "turf toes", "foot locks", and bacterial infection.
- Artificial turf has raised environmental concerns such as increase waste, chemical leeching on soil, heavy use of herbicides.
- Players come up with the same remarks about artificial turf over and over again.
Some player quotations from the article:
Rafael van der Vaart, a former player for Ajax Amsterdam, said after playing on artificial turf:
“This artificial grass was a disaster. It hurt my feet. I really hope we don’t get this in the Amsterdam Arena. If this is the future, I’d better stop playing football.”
Arno Arts, VVV-Venlo:
“Playing football on artificial grass can’t be compared with playing on natural grass. I didn’t like it at all and in my team 8 out of 10 players have the same opinion.”
Patrick Lodewijks, keeper Feyenoord Rotterdam:
“I will certainly be the last keeper who plays professional football at the age of 40, because with artificial grass, keepers have to stop when they are 34 due to worn out hips.”
This article hopes to enlighten you on what should we prefer to put on our country's football pitches.