AstroTurf® and European Hockey Federation Announces New Partnership Agreement
Courtesy of EHF Office
November 13, 2007
The European Hockey Federation (EHF) and AstroTurf ® synthetic sports surfacing have entered into a new partnership agreement which sees the turf's position as the official supplier of synthetic field hockey pitches to the Federation. The recently signed agreement between AstroTurf ® and the EHF extends the organisations' formal partnership, which first began in 1995.
Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf ® LLC, states, "It is our extreme pleasure to announce the continuance of the long standing sponsorship of the European Hockey Federation. During the past years we have been fortunate to have had input from the highest levels of the EHF for future product needs and design. Part of the changes in our offerings include the introduction of BIOCELTM technology in the System 5 AstroTurf ® which utilizes renewable resources as well as post-industrial and post-consumer products. This is only one of the ways we are trying to do our part in creating environmentally friendly offerings. "
Leandro Negre, President of EHF expressed "his thanks to Bryan Peeples and AstroTurf ® for placing their trust in EHF with this new partnership agreement." He went on to say "that this partnership agreement will be of great benefit to the Member Associations over the years ahead."
AstroTurf ®'s selection by the EHF as the organisation's official synthetic turf was a natural choice since the system is the world's most popular field hockey surface. First offered in 1965, AstroTurf ® is engineered to preserve field hockey's necessary "wet" characteristics without excessive watering, which allows the sport's ideal playing conditions to be maintained longer with less overall water usage. AstroTurf ® fields are constructed from 100% nylon fibre's, which provide a softer and less abrasive surface for better playability, player comfort, ease of maintenance and dependability. The economical and durable open cell foam pad used under the AstroTurf ® surface provides additional water containment and cushioning for athletes.
The first synthetic surface ever used for field hockey, AstroTurf ® made its debut in the sport at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal . Since then, the material has been seen frequently on both professional and amateur pitches.
