Duke Field Hockey
Photo provided by Duke Athletics

Duke University’s Williams Field wins sports project award

AstroTurf received the 2023 Single Field Sports Project of the Year for its work on the Duke field hockey program’s new turf at Williams Field, installed in 2022. The award was presented at the sixth annual Synthetic Turf Council (STC) Awards Ceremony in New Orleans.

The STC Single Field Sports Project of the Year award recognizes an outstanding sports project installed by an STC member company that exhibits innovation and quality reflective of the STC mission. AstroTurf is the winner for its installation for Duke University Field Hockey.

Duke field hockey is the first collegiate team in the United States to install AstroTurf’s Poligras Tokyo GT (Green Technology) field hockey system. The standout feature of “True Blue” is the blue Tokyo GT turf, specially designed for the Tokyo Olympics. It consists of 60 percent sugar cane, a sustainable crop that actively captures CO2 from the atmosphere.

“This pioneering project by Duke University Field Hockey, in collaboration with AstroTurf, demonstrates the Blue Devils’ commitment to sustainability, innovation, and providing their student-athletes with an exceptional playing surface,” said STC. “By introducing the first Poligras Tokyo GT field in the United States, they pave the way for the future of eco-friendly field hockey surfaces and set a shining example for other institutions and sports organizations to follow. This Tokyo GT turf was installed over a 10mm E-Layer pad to provide shock absorption and consistency throughout the field.”