Bring your pads to Denver.

[Beaker]

One point I am happy to conciede is that when i first walked the HB fields I thought that the action turf would be ripping up kit left right and centre. It appeared grippy as hell and scratchy. But once we actually got playing it was the best surface I've ever used probably.

So in this case, it might be that appearances are deceptive.

That and i don't want Buddha calling me a pu$$y again, he gives a mean chinese burn.

 

[Kieran]

Originally posted by Red_Merkin
Although it makes me wonder how they're going to attach the bunkers...

Several old grannies, a few needles and a lot of thread I heard!

 

[Gyroscope]

OK, I was wrong. Only one injury (I know of), and it sounds as if he was diving wrong.

Where's the fun if no one is alarmist?

 

[Buddha 3]

Originally posted by gyroscope

Where's the fun if no one is alarmist?

That's actually a very good point...

 

[weedave]

Still would prefer the nice green cut grass.
Although in saying that we've played on solid concrete a few times.
You body feels very ' beat up ' so to speak the next day after diving/slding.

Dave

 

[Shuck]

Sounds like the surface was good. I was a bit sceptical when first playing on Astroturf, but afterwards it all turned out good. Loved it infact and made sliding a lot easier.

One thing Red did raise, how did they attach the bunkers? At Campaign they used sandbags on the corners, and that worked pretty well. What did the NPPL do?

 

[Beaker]

Originally posted by Shuck
One thing Red did raise, how did they attach the bunkers? At Campaign they used sandbags on the corners, and that worked pretty well. What did the NPPL do?

They literally sewed them onto the turf apparently

 

[scribble]

I saw a few ppl 10+ limping around on finals day. Then again that could have just been the commonly adopted walk utilised to stop themselves sliding on their arses off down the spectator slopes.

 

[Baca Loco]

The surface was fine for playing and sliding--even on Friday when it was soaked (or under water like parts of Angel and JT fields). It does however take a toll, especially on the fronts, who as Weedave noted, tend to feel it a lot more later on. We had a number of guys who were pretty sore and bruised by the time we were finished and eveyone was wearing every legal measure of padding allowed.

The bunkers were stitched directly to turf and the standing rule was uproot a bunker go to the deadbox and with players capable of sliding upwards of 25+ feet on rain soaked turf Friday that was rather harsh. Even so it worked out ok for the most part.

Regarding injuries, seems there were a few but nothing serious that I heard or saw.

However this comparison to football Astroturf I think is probably reasonably accurate. If so consider the longer term effects of playing on that surface. There's lots of very good reasons there are fewer and fewer Astroturf surfaces being used.

 

[shamu]

I didn't see any real problems with the turf. It looked like players were sliding well and using the additional "slide power" to pull off some longer breaks.

we didn't have any unusual or excessive injuries either. I had one dislocated shoulder on my field, but that's not unusual (one busted shoulder/knee/ankle per event is pretty much average)