Artificial turf, or synthetic turf, is a man-made surface manufactured from synthetic materials, made to look like natural grass. In Chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of Chemical reactions in order to get a product, or several products Grass is the common word that generally describes Monocotyledonous green Plants The family Gramineae ( Poaceae) are the "true grasses" and include It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well.

Contents 1 Background 2 Applications 2.1 Football (Soccer) 2.1.1 Soccer field developments 2.2 Ski & Snowboard 2.3 Field hockey 2.4 Landscaping 3 Advantages and disadvantages 3.1 Advantages 3.2 Disadvantages 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Background

David Chaney -- who moved to Raleigh in 1960 and later served as dean of the North Carolina State University College of Textiles -- headed the team of RTP researchers who created the famous artificial turf. North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, Coeducational extensive Research University located in Raleigh North Carolina That accomplishment led Sports Illustrated to declare Chaney as the man "responsible for indoor major league baseball and millions of welcome mats. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. " Artificial turf first came to prominence in 1965, when AstroTurf was installed in the newly-built Astrodome in Houston, Texas. AstroTurf is a brand of Artificial turf. Though the term is a Registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind For the aeronautical use see Astrodome (aviation Reliant Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome The use of AstroTurf and similar surfaces became widespread in the 1970s and was installed in both indoor and outdoor stadiums used for baseball and gridiron football in the United States and Canada. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Gridiron football is an umbrella term used in some countries outside North America to refer to several codes of Football played primarily in Northern America The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Maintaining a grass playing surface indoors, while technically possible, is prohibitively expensive, while teams who chose to play on artificial surfaces outdoors did so because of the reduced maintenance cost, especially in colder climates with urban multi-purpose "cookie cutter" stadiums such as Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium and Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium. Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of Stadium designed for use by multiple teams playing Baseball, American football, soccer, and in some Riverfront Stadium, later known as Cinergy Field, (2002 was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League Baseball team and the Three Rivers Stadium was a Multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium (informally called "The Vet") was a professional sports facility located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison

Applications

Football (Soccer)

Some football (soccer) clubs in Europe installed artificial surfaces in the 1980s, which were called plastic pitches (often derisively) in countries such as England. Tropicana Field is a Domed stadium in St Petersburg Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball 's Tampa Bay Rays since Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In England several professional club venues had adopted the pitches, QPR's Loftus Road, Luton Town's Kenilworth Road, Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park and Preston's Deepdale until the English FA banned them in 1988. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football club, based in Shepherds Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London Loftus Road is also a nickname of the Bulgarian FC Spartak Plovdiv ground the Todor Diev Stadium. Luton Town Football Club are an English football team based in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. Kenilworth Road is a Stadium in Luton, England which is home to Luton Town F Oldham Athletic Football Club (2004 Ltd, more commonly Oldham Athletic Football Club or informally Oldham Athletic, is an English football club Boundary Park is the main Sports Stadium of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire Deepdale is a Stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey Artificial turf gained a bad reputation on both sides of the Atlantic with fans and especially with players. Fans in Little Italyjpg|thumb|right|Fans in Little Italy Manhattan celebrating the victory of the Italian association football team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup]][[Image Wm-oly-de-cr The first artificial turfs were a far harder surface than grass, and soon became known as an unforgiving playing surface which was prone to cause more injuries, and in particular, more serious joint injuries, than would comparatively be suffered on a grass surface. Injury or bodily injury is Damage or Harm caused to the Structure or function of the Body caused by an outside agent or Artificial turf was also regarded as aesthetically unappealing to many fans.

In 1981, London football club Queens Park Rangers dug up its grass pitch and installed an artificial one. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English football club, based in Shepherds Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London Others followed, and by the mid-1980s there were four plastic grass pitches in operation in the English league. The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs They soon became a national joke: the ball pinged round like it was made of rubber, the players kept losing their footing, and anyone who fell over risked carpet burns. Unsurprisingly, fans complained that the football was awful to watch and, one by one, the clubs returned to natural grass. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered ^[1]

In the 1990s many North American football clubs also removed their artificial surfaces and re-installed grass, while others moved to new stadiums with state-of-the-art grass surfaces that were designed to withstand cold temperatures where the climate demanded it. The use of artificial turf was later banned by FIFA, UEFA and by many domestic football associations, though, in recent years, both governing bodies have expressed an interest in resurrecting the use of artificial surfaces as the related technologies continue to evolve. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (French for International Federation of Association Football) The Union of European Football Associations (Union des associations européennes de football is the administrative and controlling body for European football. UEFA has now been heavily involved in programs to test artificial turf with tests made in several grounds meeting with FIFA approval. A team of UEFA, FIFA and German company Polytan conducted tests in the Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim in Salzburg, Austria which is due to have matches played on it in the UEFA EURO 2008. It is the second FIFA 2 Star approved football turf pitch in a European domestic top flight, after Dutch club Heracles Almelo received the FIFA certificate in August last year. ^[2] The tests were approved. ^[3]

Soccer field developments

In the early 21st century, new artificial playing surfaces using sand and/or rubber infill were developed. Crumb rubber is a term usually applied to recycled rubber from Automotive and Truck scrap Tires. These "next generation" or "third generation" artificial grass surfaces are often virtually indistinguishable from natural grass when viewed from any distance, and are generally regarded as being about as safe to play on as a typical natural grass surface — perhaps even safer in cold conditions.

Many clubs have installed the new synthetic grass surfaces, most commonly as part of an all-weather training capability. Other clubs which have maintained natural grass surfaces are now re-considering artificial grass. With football clubs in Europe are looking to reduce both the maintenance costs and the number of winter matches that are cancelled due to frozen pitches, the issue has also been re-visited by that sport's governing bodies.

The Scottish Premier League banned synthetic pitches for competition matches in 2005, following a two year experiment by Dunfermline Athletic who installed XL Turf, made by the Swiss firm, XL Generation. The Scottish Premier League, currently known as the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for sponsorship reasons and often known as the Premier League or SPL Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline The management of Dunfermline were happy with the surface, but the league banned the use of the artificial pitch due to complaints by visiting clubs such as Rangers and Celtic). Rangers Football Club are an Association football team based in Glasgow Scotland, who currently play in the Scottish Premier League. The Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the east end of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League.

"The most common type uses polypropylene "grass" about 5 centimetres long, which is lubricated with silicone and tufted into a primary cloth and then latex is applied to the back of the cloth to give it stability by anchoring in the tufts. Polypropylene or polypropene ( PP) is a Thermoplastic Polymer, made by the Chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications The whole thing is then "infilled" with a 4-centimetre layer of sand and rubber granules, which keeps the fibres upright and provides the right level of shock absorbency and deformability. The majority of the 15 or so turf manufacturers approved by FIFA use this technology. The other sort, typified by Dunfermline's pitch, has a base of expanded polyethylene, a foamy material originally developed as a shock absorber for the car industry (see diagram). The grass is also made of lubricated polyethylene fibres, but they are shorter and more densely packed than on an infilled pitch, and are also interspersed with short, curly, spring-like fibres that keep the blades upright. The finishing touch is an 8-millimetre filling of rubber granules. " ^[1]

UEFA later announced that starting from the 2005-06 season, approved artificial surfaces were to be permitted in their competitions.

Regardless of the views of the governing bodies, criticism of artificial surfaces in soccer continues, notably in reference to the FieldTurf surface at Toronto F.C.'s BMO Field and the Giants Stadium home of Red Bull New York. FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of Tarkett Inc is a Peachtree City GA -based company that manufactures and installs Artificial turf playing surfaces identified Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club located in Toronto, and the first non-American team in Major League Soccer (MLS BMO Field (ˈbiːmoʊ "BEE-moe" is a Soccer-specific stadium located in Exhibition Place in the city of Toronto. Giants Stadium, is the home Stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets football teams of the NFL, and the Red Bull New Red Bull New York is an American professional soccer organization based in New Jersey that fields a team in Major League Soccer called the Current and former players have recently criticised the surface, expressing concerns that, among other things, it may exacerbate injuries. FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of Tarkett Inc is a Peachtree City GA -based company that manufactures and installs Artificial turf playing surfaces identified

A full international fixture for the 2008 European Championships was played on 17 October 2007 between England and Russia on an artificial surface, which was installed to counteract adverse weather conditions, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Standings and results for Group E of the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying tournament The English national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football The Russia national football team (Сборная России по футболу is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex ( Большая спортивная арена Олимпийского комплекса Лужники) in Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of ^[4][5] It was one of the first full international games to be played on such a surface approved by both FIFA and UEFA. However UEFA have ordered that the 2008 European Champions League final which is due to be hosted in the same stadium in May 2008 must take place on grass and stressed that artificial turf should only be considered an option where climatic conditions necessitate. ^[6]

Ski & Snowboard

Some ski and snowboard clubs and resorts in Europe installed artificial surfaces in the 1960s and 1970s. Often called pista del sole, after its ability to be used in warm, sunny, conditions, these installations have now, largely, fallen from favour and are increasingly uncommon.

Field hockey

For more details on this topic, see field hockey history. Games similar to Field hockey have a long history around the world

The introduction of synthetic surfaces has significantly changed the sport of field hockey. Field hockey is a Team sport in which players attempt to score goals by hitting the Ball across the pitch with a stick Since being introduced in the 1970s, competitions in western countries are now mostly played on artificial surfaces. This has increased the speed of the game considerably, and changed the shape of hockey sticks to allow for different techniques, such as reverse stick trapping and hitting. Due to the cost of synthetic pitch installation, India and Pakistan have lost their once dominant position in international competition. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and

Field hockey artificial turf differs from soccer and football artificial turf in the way that it does not try to reproduce a grass 'feel', being made of shorter fibres similar to the ones used on Dunfermline's pitch. This shorter fibre structure allows the improvement in speed brought by earlier artificial turfs to be retained. This development in the game is however problematic for many local communities who often cannot afford to build two artificial pitches: one for field hockey and one for other sports. The FIH and manufacturers are driving research in order to produce new pitches that will be suitable for a variety of sports. The International Hockey Federation ( Fédération Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon, or FIH) is the global governing body for the Sport of Field hockey

Pitch categories

• Unfilled: Often called "water-based", the pile is unfilled. The pitches require wetting, hence the name "water-based", often via prolonged showering with pitch-side water cannon prior to their use and occasionally during half-time intervals depending on the prevailing atmospherics. They are favoured by most sports since they offer more protection for players by minimising the abrasive effect created by the sand. These pitches form the majority of the elite level field hockey pitches in use today.
• Sand-dressed: The pile of the carpet is filled to within 5-8 mm of the tips of the fibre with fine sand. The sand cannot be seen. It can be confused with unfilled pitches.
• Sand filled: The pile of the carpet is filled almost to the top with sand. The sand makes the pitch rough and harder. In comparison to water-based pitches or minimal sand-dressed pitches, ball speed across the surface is often noticeably slower.

Landscaping

Since the late 1990s, the use of synthetic grass has moved rapidly beyond athletic fields to residential and commercial landscaping artificial lawns. This trend has been driven primarily by two functions: the quality and variety of synthetic grasses that are available has improved dramatically, and cities and water conservation organizations have begun realizing the value of artificial grass as a conservation measure.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• Artificial turf can be a better solution when the environment is particularly hostile to natural grass. An arid environment or one where there is little natural light are examples.
• Ideal for holiday homes when maintenance of lawns is not practical. It is also a solution for elderly homeowners who find the upkeep of lawns too much hard work.
• Suitable for roof gardens and swimming pool surrounds.
• Artificial turf pitches can last up to ten years.
• Some artificial turf systems allow for the integration of fiber-optic fibers into the turf. This would allow for lighting or advertisements to be directly embedded in a playing surface, or runway lighting to be embedded in artificial landing surfaces for aircraft. ^[7]

Disadvantages

• The abrasions caused by artificial turf have been linked to a higher incidence of MRSA infections ^[8].
• Some artificial turf requires infill such as silicon sand and/or granulated rubber made from recycled car tires. This material may carry heavy metals which can leach into the water table. ^[9]
• Periodic disinfection is required as pathogens are not broken down by natural processes in the same manner as natural turf. This notwithstanding, recent studies suggest certain microbial life is less active. ^[10]
• Turf toe is a medical condition which is often associated with playing on artificial turf pitches. A metatarsalphalangeal joint Sprain is an injury to the joint and connective tissue between the foot and one of the toes
• Friction between skin and artificial turf causes abrasions and/or burns to a much greater extent than natural grass. ^[10] This is an issue for some sports: for example, football in which sliding maneuvers are common and clothing does not fully cover the limbs. Football is the word given to a number of similar Team sports all of which involve (to varying degrees kicking a Ball with the foot in an attempt to score a However, with some third-generation artifical grasses, this is almost completely eliminated by the use of polyethylene yarn.
• Artificial turf tends to be much hotter than natural grass when exposed to the sun. ^[11]
• Many players claim that the lack of "give" in artificial turf leads to strain and injury in the legs, especially amongst players used to playing on natural grass. Some players refuse to play on artificial turf, and there have been cases of players not signing with a particular team for fear of damaging their legs by playing on artificial turf.

See also

• List of brands of artificial turf
• AstroTurf
• FieldTurf
• Artificial ski slopes

References

External links

• [1] This site is for artificial turf contractors
• Turf toe, a general introduction
• Use of rubber and environmental considerations. This article discusses new technology which is planned to mitigate some of the problems of using recycled car tyres (tires). It also quantifies the amount of rubber on a typical pitch as 100 tons or 22,000 old car tyres.
• Rubber pollution in a domestic environment. This article looks at the impact of rubber crumb on a domestic environment.
• Artificial Turf for Football : a technical overview 2007
• Artificial Turf for Football : Testing and Requirements FIFA-EN-DIN; an Overview 2007
• FIFA Football Turf
• English Football Association guidelines for choosing artificial grass pitches
• List of the major synthetic turf benefitsArtificial ski turf
• Artificial turf for ski

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