{"id":1683,"date":"2020-02-26T13:31:47","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T01:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/?p=1683"},"modified":"2025-06-05T01:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:00:34","slug":"why-do-we-water-hockey-pitches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/why-do-we-water-hockey-pitches\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we water hockey pitches?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watering hockey fields are normal at top-level hockey tournaments. So, why do we water hockey pitches?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A watered pitch presents fast, consistent playing conditions and a soft surface for hockey sticks and knees. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>What benefits come from watering the pitch?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watered pitches are safe surfaces, as the water layer absorbs impact better than a sand-filled pitch does. A watered pitch also gives players the ability to control their slides.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Falls on these surfaces are less likely to leave players with abrasion injuries to their skin, as the surface of watered pitches is softer and cooler to play on.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hockey balls move at a consistent speed on watered surfaces as the grass blades form a denser, faster surface without sand infill.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A faster, more responsive style of play develops on a water pitch, with a ball that runs more freely than it does on sand, where it can become sticky during the game.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Players find their sticks last longer on wet turfs, without being worn by friction on sand, reducing the cost of replacing sticks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ball bounces consistently on the denser watered grass surface and at an appropriate height, compared with the ball bounce produced on a dry pitch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TigerTurf watered hockey pitches give players a supportive, consistent grip for good traction, without causing twisted ankles and knees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sand infill is not required.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2868 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2021\/10\/Hockey-393x400.jpg.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"393\" height=\"400\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2021\/10\/Hockey-393x400.jpg.webp 393w, https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2021\/10\/Hockey.jpg.webp 515w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 393px) 100vw, 393px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><strong>There are also downsides<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there are also many downsides, which not only affect the players but also the spectators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>The pitch is usually irrigated by pop-up sprinklers or water cannons \u2013 both these systems have to be carefully managed to prevent disruption to the game and spectators during the irrigation process. Players have to manoeuvre around the water sprinklers, and spectators may have to move to avoid being sprinkled, depending on wind direction.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The water cannons or pipes occasionally burst or malfunction \u2013 this will then mean a \u2018dry\u2019 turf. While some of our water turfs can be played on as dry surfaces, disruption to irrigation may lead to games having to be stopped or delayed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure pitches don\u2019t flood, they are built with a slight convex curve to allow water to drain away.\u00a0 This creates additional problems as the pitch dries unevenly and the ball roll can be unpredictable.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Potentially, water can be wasted. Depending on wind direction, some of the water may drift away from the hockey field and onto spectators, the car park and sometimes missing some of the hockey pitch.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When wind is a factor, the angle of the water cannons may have to be changed to allow for wind direction and strength.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inaccuracy in aligning water cannons can result in unevenly watered turf, with dry and flooded patches.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the drainage is not effective, heavy rain can flood the watered turf, causing problems for players and preventing play.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TigerTurf is continuously looking for ways to improve the performance of the synthetic turf systems, looking beyond just the artificial grass surface to base systems, irrigation systems and lighting systems that will create superior playing fields.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TigerTurf\u2019s latest innovation is the development of <a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/product\/ecocept\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>TenCate\u2019s EcoCept base system<\/strong><\/a> which takes TigerTurf <a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/sports\/hockey\/\">hockey pitches<\/a> up to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Can TenCate&#8217;s Ecocept Base System improve performance?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It doesn\u2019t look like much, but Ecocept is a carefully engineered shock pad a highly efficient drainage system and an eco-friendly building solution for <a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/sports\/hockey\/\">hockey<\/a> sports fields.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EcoCept base system was developed specifically to support our technical sports surfaces, improving shock absorption and drainage. It uses recycled plastic material and can reuse the synthetic grass from obsolete pitches. It also reduces water wastage, site excavation, and base preparation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>EcoCept absorbs shock readily, reducing impact injuries<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EcoCept augments the biomechanical properties of our performance sports surfaces, reducing the effect on players\u2019 joints of repeated impact during many hours of play. It meets all FIH, IRB and FIFA standards for shock absorption capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Irrigation and drainage of hockey pitches using TigerTurf EcoCept<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Irrigation of hockey surfaces becomes cheaper, and water management more efficient. EcoCept has capillary drainage action that engenders superior lateral drainage capability. This lateral drainage is part of the reticulation system that carries water to large collection tanks for continuous irrigation of the pitch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Players and supporters will not be sprayed by water sprinklers or cannons during the game as EcoCept is an internal watering system that maintains a consistent water level. That\u2019s going to be a winning point!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The wind has no effect on the irrigation, which remains even over the entire surface when using the EcoCept system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rainwater is drained immediately from the playing surface, and collected for irrigation, so the pitch is never flooded.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1945 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2-288x400.jpg.webp\" alt=\"Far North Coast Hockey with TigerTurf Logo\" width=\"288\" height=\"400\" title=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2-288x400.jpg.webp 288w, https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2-777x1080.jpg.webp 777w, https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2-768x1067.jpg.webp 768w, https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2-1105x1536.jpg.webp 1105w, https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2020\/04\/Far-North-Coast-Hockey-Copy-2.jpg.webp 576w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 288px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 288\/400;\" data-original-sizes=\"(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Reduces disturbance of the site and construction costs<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EcoCept drains sites so effectively that drainage trenches are not required, reducing the amount of soil removed, and bringing down the cost of base construction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This, in turn, minimises negative effects on the site by reducing truck movement. And as large amounts of crushed stone are no longer required there will be even less disruption to the site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Made from recycled and recyclable materials<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EcoCept has a minimal carbon footprint, being an environmentally friendly product incorporating recycled material. As 80% to 90% of this material is formed from waste plastics and rubber, some of it recycled from obsolete synthetic turfs, <a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/product\/ecocept\/\">EcoCept<\/a> is especially appropriate for use in hockey turfs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information on <a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/nz\/product\/wett-pro\/\">TigerTurfs WETT<\/a> hockey surfaces and Ecocept performance base systems call us on 1800 802 570 or visit tigerturf.com\/au.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watering hockey fields are normal at top-level hockey tournaments. So, why do we water hockey pitches? A watered pitch presents&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-performance-base-systems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1683"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3576,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions\/3576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}