Raleigh, NC–AstroTurf and GeneralSports Venue (GSV), the brand’s exclusive U.S. licensee, together with Sports Construction Group (SCG), the nation’s top designer-builder of field hockey pitches, recently announced their joint sponsorship of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The partnership with the NFHCA included sponsorship of the 2008 NFHCA Convention held in January in Hartford, Conn.
In December 2006, GSV reintroduced the iconic AstroTurf brand, offering advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, reestablishing the brand as the synthetic turf industry’s leading innovator. In January 2007, GSV aligned with SCG to provide AstroTurf 12 synthetic turf for specialized field hockey installations. AstroTurf 12 is a short-pile, knitted nylon product recognized worldwide as the preferred surface for field hockey.
“The joint sponsorship of GSV/AstroTurf and SCG gives us the support of two of the leading names in field hockey,” said Jenn Goodrich, executive director of the NFHCA representing nearly 700 members nationwide. “We’re grateful for their continued involvement and their important contributions to our sport.”
SCG VP Jim Savoca and VP Sports Marketing Lee Defreitas have consulted within the sport of field hockey for more than 50 years and have long-standing affiliations with the AstroTurf brand. Cleveland-based SCG is nationally recognized for its specialty in the construction of field hockey pitches requiring high degrees of planarity, extremely tight tolerances and sophisticated drainage systems.
“The alliance between SCG, GSV/AstroTurf and the NFHCA enables us to provide category leadership in the sport of field hockey that no one else can approach,” Savoca said.
In addition to the state-of-the-art turf products under the AstroTurf brand, recent innovation from GSV includes an exclusive, first-to-market agreement with the developers of a Sports Antimicrobial System (SAS) that includes SportsAide and TurfAide™, designed to help safeguard the health of athletes by protecting facilities against bacteria that can cause dangerous infections such as staph. Powered by the proven AEGIS Microbe Shield®, TurfAide is offered in all AstroTurf branded systems, including AstroTurf 12.
“AstroTurf is proud to provide the level of innovation and quality that field hockey coaches and players demand,” said Doug Whitmer, GSV senior vice president, sales and marketing. “As co-sponsors of the NFHCA along with SCG, we look forward to strengthening our relationships within the sport and to making the game safe, competitive and exciting.”