May 17, 2012
Jim Dobmeier
Hats off to Athletic Business Magazine for elevating the awareness of the value a ShockPad adds to a synthetic turf athletic field in the May issue. The synthetic turf industry continues to grow because natural grass systems cannot withstand the intensity and demand of the many sports, and numbers of teams that play those sports, while maintaining consistent and safe playability.
The goal of a synthetic turf system should be to replicate natural grass in perfect condition. One of those desirable characteristics is an excellent shock-attenuation level. While A-Turf builds infilled synthetic grass fields both with and without a ShockPad, a significant percentage, roughly 30%, of A-Turf fields installed across the nation include a ShockPad.
The investment in a ShockPad is based on very sound reasoning: First and foremost, because synthetic turf systems with infill and a pad yield shock attenuation that’s virtually identical to perfectly conditioned natural grass, and does so for the life of the system. This is huge in this day and age of concussion concerns! Secondarily, the pad is easier on the carpet backing than stone and that lengthens the life of the turf carpet. Another benefit is the pad will last at least two turf life cycles, and time will likely reveal it will last a third lifecycle of the turf.
