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Paris Olympic turf required 63% less water than London 2012
Polytan’s Poligras Paris GT zero turf marks a watershed moment for hockey
The water usage stats from the Paris Olympic Games show a huge decrease in the amount of water required by the Paris hockey turf. The most recent Games saw a 63% water saving when compared with the London Olympics.
Sport Group companies, Polytan and AstroTurf, have provided the surface for the last eight Olympic Games and have been working closely with the sport to reduce its environmental impact in terms of both carbon and water savings.
The Poligras Paris GT zero turf developed to help Paris and the FIH to meet ambitious sustainability goals, marks the latest advancement in green turf technology. It is the result of shared values and a commitment to sustainable partnership.
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Water reduction since Sydney Olympic Games
With constant R&D, every Olympics since Sydney has seen a reduction in the amount of water required for optimum play. A big change occurred in 2014 with the introduction of the Poligras texturized turf which held water longer and reduced evaporation. As a result of this ongoing innovation, the Tokyo turfs required 39% less water than the turfs at Rio 2016.
“During the tournament temperatures pushed 40°C, yet the total volume of water used on the hockey turf for ALL matches, is approximately 20% of an Olympic swimming pool.”
Step change – Paris used 22% less water than Tokyo
The Paris figures confirm the most recent water reduction innovations provide a further 22% reduction compared to the Tokyo Games but texturized turf isn’t the only innovation at play. As environmental concerns became more paramount and the FIH began to champion the idea of dry turf, Sport Group started to develop Turf Glide technology.
This new and proprietary innovation which reduces friction and abrasion, allows the Paris turf to not only meet the FIH Innovation standards for dry hockey, it also dramatically reduces the amount of water required for elite performance.
As the FIH’s Jon Wyatt explains: “The water stats from Paris are hugely encouraging as we look to reduce the environmental footprint of our sport. Not only was the Poligras turf in Paris carbon-neutral, but the advancement in water savings it provided are a significant milestone in the journey towards a more sustainable future for the game.”
World Sport Pics
Total volume of water used in Paris would only fill 20% of an Olympic swimming pool
Sport Group’s Head of Hockey, Paul Kamphuis puts the water saving in Paris into context: “During the tournament temperatures pushed 40°C, yet the total volume of water used on the hockey turf for ALL matches, is approximately 20% of an Olympic swimming pool. If you put this amount of water in the Olympic pool at the La Defense Arena it would have only been 40cm deep.
This is a phenomenal saving and proves that just as hard work pays off for the athletes, the same can be said for our R&D team who have invested years of scientific training into this result.”
The play wet / play dry advantage for hockey globally
Poligras Paris GT zero only requires 1mm of water across the surface to achieve Olympic level performance and meet FIH skin friction requirements. For many hockey locations the atmospheric moisture, such as light rain or dew on a cool night, will be enough to transform the turf to Olympic level performance. For clubs and facilities who have an irrigation system and want to use it, they will use significantly less water.
Whether playing wet or dry, clubs benefit from meaningful savings on water and environmental costs without sacrificing performance. As Hagen Streit, the Women’s First Team Head Coach for Hamburg Polo Club in Germany reports:
“Even on the dry turf we can train almost equally, which gives us more flexibility and at the same time a consistently higher level of training.”
Hockey is a progressive sport, and with over 50 Poligras Paris GT zero hockey turfs installed around the world, clubs and colleges are ensuring hockey is a leading sport when it comes to sustainability.