By Dan Bond, CAE
Sports field managers have incredibly difficult jobs. Managing sports field playing surfaces to the safest level possible for people of all ages and abilities – from pee wee to professionals – requires substantial education, honed skill sets and abundant resources at your disposal. This is in addition to the significant challenges presented by COVID-19. The Synthetic Turf Council (STC) has spent the past year working to create additional resources to help you achieve your synthetic turf surface goals.
Updated technical guidelines
In July, the STC released the updated Guidelines for the Essential Elements for Synthetic Turf Systems. This technical document improves the level of confidence in the process of selecting synthetic turf systems by owner/user/clients, selection teams and design professionals. It also facilitates a guideline for industry testing for all the parties and aids in the confirmation of meeting the expectations and the delivery of systems, products and services in order to promote genuine satisfaction by the user/owners of synthetic turf systems. This is in addition to the Performance and Durability Guidelines for Shock Pads document that was released in 2020. What better way to ensure managing sports field playing surfaces to the safest level possible than referencing the latest industry guidance? All technical guidelines are available through the STC Technical Guidelines page (https://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org/page/guidelines).
Infill control resource
Through our close relationship with the Europe Middle East Africa Synthetic Turf Council (ESTC), the STC is pleased to share a new resource to control infill levels for synthetic turf sports fields for every region/climate (see graphic). The resource contains sections on field construction, design and, most importantly, maintenance. The maintenance section includes helpful guidance for field managers on brushing and cleaning. Feel free to use/share with your field crews.
STC Annual Meeting
The STC will host its 2021 Annual Membership Meeting October 18-20, 2021 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Ariz. The meeting will feature multiple in-person networking opportunities, valuable educational programming, and an Exhibitor Showcase that highlights the latest products and innovations in the synthetic turf industry. It’s the first face-to-face STC meeting since 2019. Registration and agenda information can be found at https://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org/page/annual_meeting.
Dan Bond, CAE, is president and CEO of the Synthetic Turf Council. If you have thoughts on any of the above topics, he would love to hear from you at dan@syntheticturfcouncil.org.