The new FIH testing guidelines for hockey pitches explained

The new FIH testing guidelines for hockey pitches explained Recent updates to the FIH Quality Programme for Hockey Turf have seen a raft of changes brought in, improving the way hockey pitches and products are tested for certification. Here Eric ODonnell from leading sports surface development experts, Sports Labs, discusses what this means for your new facility.

Whilst the 2012 Handbook provided an edited and more detailed account of the testing methods used to evaluate hockey products and playing surfaces, the new FIH Quality Programme for Hockey Turf released in April 2017 incorporates a significant update to the requirements for both products and the field of play.

What does it mean?

The upshot of this revision is that products and installations put forward to be certified by the FIH are being more thoroughly examined. For the manufacturer, this will mean developing new hockey surfaces to meet the requirements, and developing new surfaces as further criteria are added. For the club, school or university investing, the handbook provides more scope to ensure your facility is certified to the appropriate FIH mark.

Durability is also important and so they undertake a series of simulated wear tests. They look at abrasion resistance, carpet strength, directional stability, turf bind and the strength of joins. All the yarns used in these turfs must also meet standards in fibre polymer characteristics, tensile strength, UV tests and toxicology requirements.

What do I need to know?

1. Forward planning

2. Forward planning

The number of product classes available for categorising a product has been increased to six. These range from Global Elite to Multi-sport, giving you much more choice depending on the needs of your installation.

The new requirements will also see the materials used to manufacture artificial grass hockey pitches more closely examined for properties such as yarn type

3. Material matters

The new requirements will also see the materials used to manufacture artificial grass hockey pitches more closely examined for properties such as yarn type, density, or dtex, and thickness. Fill materials are also being examined thus ensuring that the information listed by manufacturers is consistent with what is being installed.

4. Stricter testing

The UV Radiation test, which is conducted on the yarn filaments, within the artificial grass has been increased from 3000 hrs to 5000 hrs. Additionally, a new test classifying skin friction has been added for Global category products with further tests measuring durability, player-surface interaction, shock pad and toxicology set to be introduced in due course.

5. A new game format

Finally, the relatively new format of Hockey 5s courts has been officially introduced into the classification, and can be offered up for certification.

There are a number of other changes that we havent gone into here, such as maximum and preferred slopes, tightening up of allowable deviations around the mean for ball roll tests

There are a number of other changes that we havent gone into here, such as maximum and preferred slopes, tightening up of allowable deviations around the mean for ball roll tests, restrictions on pad re-use for some categories and restrictions on colour for some categories. Please do not hesitate to call for how these changes may impact your facility.

There is much to take in here, and the impact of any new requirements can sometimes take time to filter through to the market. However, it is certainly fair to say that the level of testing of products and facilities has been stepped up and ultimately, this will help to bring the FIH in line with organisations like FIFA and World Rugby.

" The turf installed by Altius Sports provides a truly world-class surface for various sports ranging from football, badminton, volleyball, cricket, athletics to kabaddi and kho kho. It serves as a giant water harvesting plant, doing great service to the community by replenishing the water table season by season. Goes without saying that it has transformed our ever balding and difficult to maintain green patch into a delightfully inviting, dust free zone that everyone rushes to given any free moment. "

Meenakshi Sahni

Principal - Modern School Vasant Vihar

" We have no doubt that their work has contributed very positively to the vision that we are at the DSK Dream City Pune have for the future of developments of sports in India. "

Brig S.K.Sharma

Director & CEO - DSK Dream City

" Altius Sports has been more than a business partner for Paro Football Club. We are deeply thankful to them for fully committing their time and resources to complete our project on time and in budget. Moreover, they have helped the club further by sponsoring the kit used by the club players. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors and have every confidence that they will keep growing because of their dedication to customer service, their willingness to go the extra mile and for always prioritizing customer satisfaction over their bottom line. "

Karma Jigme

President - Paro Football Club, Bhutan

" Congratulations to Altius Sports on completing 10 successful years! Their TigerTurf, installed at our Naval Tata Hockey Academy, Jamshedpur,is really helping our players to improve their technique and playing skills. The turf is fast and pushes the players to learn to play a fast game. Another important thing is that the pitch holds water very long, helping us conserve water and contribute our bit to the environment.Having got our FIH Global certificate renewed till 2021 recently, we are happy with the quality of the pitch and hope to continue our successful association with Altius Sports in the coming years. "

Neelam Babardesai

Head of Sports - Tata Trusts

"The American International School Dhaka contracted Altius Sports to do our renovation project on our soccer field. The timeline for completion was followed very closely and final deadlines were met. The school is very happy with the work Altius Sports did and everyone enjoys the field. The new turf meets our standards and the drainage system works much better than our previous field. We had huge storms with a great deal of rain over a 2 day period and the drainage worked beautifully as the rain water was absorbed without puddles on the field."

Steve Herrera

Superintendent - American International School Dhaka, Bangladesh

"Lincoln Schools partnership with Altius Sports has helped change the face of our campus and given our students opportunities to participate in a wealth of sports and activities on our multi-sport surfaces. Our all-weather turf football field was installed in 2016 and performs as well as it did on day one. Additionally, our multi-sport outdoor court helps students perform in sports like tennis, basketball, futsal and volleyball. In sum, the facilities have given us the freedom, flexibility and tools to help develop our students skills in a safe and highperforming environment."

Luke Davis

Director of Advancement - Athletics & Aquatics, Lincoln School, Nepal

"Altius Sports had installed TigerTurf at Jio World Garden in the year 2014 -15, which is one of the largest installations of its kind. The quality of the turf is excellent and we have hosted a lot of different types of events some even involving movement of cranes (with due protection) on the turf. The quality and workmanship of installation is excellent. We wish Altius Sports the very best"

Rajmal Nahar

Senior Executive Vice President - Reliance Industries Limited

" I would like to place on record our appreciation for the sports surfacing provided by Altius Sports for the basketball, tennis and multi courts in the campus which has ensured enthusiastic participation by the students and a good sporting atmosphere. On completion of 15 successful years by Altius Sports, we wish them great success in future endeavours and are very pleased to have been a part of their journey. "

Alok Chandra

Chief Administrative Officer - IIM Calcutta

" At the American International School Chennai (AISC), we see learning spaces as the third teacher. Since 2012, Altius Sports has been our mission-aligned partner on the re-design and renovation of gymnasiums, playgrounds, a running track, soccer pitches, turf tennis courts, and the list goes on. At AISC, we prepare students for the future and Altius Sports has helped us make that possible. "

Andrew A. Hoover

Head of School - American International School Chennai