Sustainable Playing Fields: 8 Steps to an Easy Field Facelift

Abstract

According to the National Safe Kids Coalition, 30 million young people play organized sports in the United States annually. One million of them are treated annually in an emergency room and 50% of those treated injuries are preventable. As more people are encouraged to be active in their daily lives to combat health issues and obesity, an increased demand on recreational and sport facilities and playing surfaces will increase the degradation of the playing surfaces and thereby increase the risk of sports related injuries. Continual maintenance and upkeep of playing surfaces can be become a sinkhole for budgeted dollars if a facility use plan and a maintenance plan are not in place for dealing with the increase in play on athletic fields and parks. So why do the statistics of athletic injury matter? As we manage sports fields, our jobs are to reduce the number of injuries on our playing surfaces. We need to make our fields as safe as we can. There are a number of agronomic practices that many times are overlooked or forgotten about when managing sports turf. “8 Steps to an Easy Field Facelift” is a list of the management practices we can employ that will sustain our fields safer for play for a longer period of time at minimal cost.