July 18 is Hockey Turf Day
Celebrating Day One of Hockey’s turf transformation.
Watch ‘The Surface’, a unique hockey documentary, where hockey stars including Jamie Dwyer, Luciana Aymar and Ric Charlesworth discuss hockey’s transformation from grass to turf.
At 10am on the 18th July, 1976 the whistle blew in the opening match of the 1976 Montreal Olympics between India and Argentina. This whistle rang out around the hockey world. It was Turf Day One.
Day One featured 4 matches. India won 4-0; the next match saw Australia defeat Malaysia 2-0 which was followed by Pakistan 5 v Belgium 0, and finally West Germany and NZ played out a 1-1 draw.
So, the first official Day One of hockey turf, featured 4 matches and 13 goals.
The turf
The turf was made by AstroTurf in the US using nylon fibers. It rained during the Montreal Olympics and the turf played much better. Hence hockey’s wet turfs were accidentally born.
AstroTurf’s hockey fields, with their iconic green color, paved the way and were used at Olympic Games and World Cups. The nylon technology continued to evolve and is still used by hockey around the world.
The turf natives
By the turn of the century 25 years later, turfs had become commonplace and a new generation of players who had been raised on turfs arrived on the scene. These were hockey’s first turf-natives and they bought with them an explosion of skills and speed.
London – more noise and color
By 2010, the sport was headlined by stars like Luciana Aymar and Jamie Dwyer, who were reinventing the game. Hockey was lightning fast, non-stop and brilliantly skilful. And it was about to take center stage at London 2012. It was time to step out of the shadows, change perceptions and proudly show hockey’s transformation to sports fans around the world.
At London 2012 hockey moved from green, and the veil of grass was gone. It was time to show the world how innovative hockey was.
The Poligras London Blue was designed to broaden the appeal of the game, to be electrifying for players and fans and to provide greater visibility for TV audiences.
It was a success. 600,000 fans watched hockey at London 2012 which made it the third most attended sport at the London 2012 Games. And the blue turf stood out on the Olympic park as a key feature.
Hockey’s new frontiers
The future is shaped by pioneers, and hockey’s innovative spirit continues as the game seeks new experiences and opportunities for players, fans and broadcasters, and commits itself to the environmental challenge ahead.
And the game requires a surface that can take it into the future.
Poligras Tokyo GT, developed for Tokyo 2020 was made from 60% sugar cane, and this technology was enhanced further so that the Poligras Paris GT zero turf developed for the Paris 2024 Games is hockey’s first carbon zero turf.
Hockey’s transformation is perhaps unique in sport. Has any other sport totally changed something as fundamental as the surface? Hockey’s move was bold, and a brilliant success, the game became more dynamic and thrilling as the potential of a perfect surface was realised.
18th July is a date to celebrate the enjoyment of hockey for all players around the world. With fast running, 3D skills, 360 degree fluidity, slap hits, tomahawks, drag flicks, shave tackles…hockey has no limits.
Happy Turf Day to the game we love.