{"id":834,"date":"2019-11-07T13:51:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T01:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigerturf.com\/in\/?p=834"},"modified":"2021-10-03T15:51:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T03:51:05","slug":"artificial-grass-pitches-make-sport-accessible-to-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/in\/artificial-grass-pitches-make-sport-accessible-to-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial grass pitches make sport accessible to all"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Artificial grass pitches can really make a difference to a community, making sport accessible to more people, more often. Sport is widely recognised as having a host of benefits, from improving health, wellbeing and community cohesion, through to providing young people with positive activities and the opportunity to excel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roy Lavery, TigerTurf framework manager, works closely with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballfoundation.org.uk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Football Foundation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefa.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportengland.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sport England<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to install artificial grass pitches in communities across the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most recently, he pioneered a project with Jo Valks at Ealing Borough Council to install five pitches, providing facilities for all ages, genders and abilities, to participate in sport ahead of this summer\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.londonyouthgames.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">London Youth Games<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, they both explain why artificial grass can be a game-changer for communities, making sport accessible to those who wouldn\u2019t normally get the opportunity to take part.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>How can artificial grass pitches benefit your local community?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><b>Roy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Providing the right maintenance programme is in place, the number of hours you can play on an artificial grass pitch is significantly higher than a natural pitch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An artificial turf pitch is accessible throughout the day and into the evening, for a range of sports and activities. Depending on your needs, there\u2019s flexibility in the line marking and netting, so you can transition from a walking football game, to a \u2018Back to Hockey\u2019 session through to an \u2018A-team\u2019 practice &#8211; it\u2019s flexible for all sports and all abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re also not limited by weather. Matches and training sessions can carry on whatever the conditions, meaning your facility can confidently provide a packed timetable of activities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jo: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The artificial pitches at our facilities have allowed us to host trials in the build up to the games for those who live in the local community, both during the day and after school under the flood lights for the 30 sports squads involved in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.londonyouthgames.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">London Youth Games<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside our usual busy timetable of activities, the pitches have also been available for training on weekends, so our teams can build confidence in their performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The durability of artificial grass pitches really does mean more people can play more sport in our facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>How can artificial grass pitches benefit your club?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><b>Roy: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increased playing hours equals increased revenue. In the instance of Ealing Borough, and many others, several teams can be accommodated of all ages, to train and play on the pitch all-year-round.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Round-the-clock access also attracts those clubs or individuals who ordinarily wouldn\u2019t have considered using the facilities. This can increase club, school, and community centre profile, and showcases your facilities as the best on offer in your area, attracting talent and giving you an edge over competitors. Basically, the ability for more people to use the artificial grass pitches provides an opportunity for more revenue for the club.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jo:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We chose artificial grass because we wanted to provide facilities which can cater for the whole community and are available all-year-round. It\u2019s fantastic that we can now meet local demand and provide a jam-packed timetable of activities to suit all ages, genders and abilities &#8211; from toddler classes, to grassroots football, through to walking football games for over 60\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We now also have the flexibility to run a number of sessions on each pitch at any one time, so we can increase the revenue for the local community facilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>How can artificial grass pitches benefit sports players?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><b>Roy: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be the best, you need the best training facilities, and all-weather access means no practices get called off because of unplayable conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TigerTurf\u2019s longer-pile artificial grass, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/uk\/sports\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">designed with the latest in yarn technology<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, gives players an experience that\u2019s as close to playing on real grass as you can get, and no matter how often it\u2019s been used &#8211; pitch performance stays perfect. You can be confident that whoever uses your facilities will be able to train, or play, at their best, day-after-day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Jo: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was an absolute must that our pitches were suitable for beginners through to advanced sports players. With artificial grass, we don\u2019t have to worry about goal areas getting muddy, or certain parts of the pitch getting worn &#8211; with correct maintenance, our pitches remain of the highest quality game after game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tigerturf.com\/uk\/contact\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to talk about installing a TigerTurf pitch at your community facility, or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.londonyouthgames.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">follow Ealing Borough\u2019s success journey through the London Youth Games<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artificial grass pitches can really make a difference to a community, making sport accessible to more people, more often. 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