One year to go until ‘Hockey Zero’ takes to the Olympic Stage
Polytan’s Jean-Pierre Bailly talks hockey in France, how the Olympic hockey venue is shaping up and carbon zero turfs.
With a year to go until Paris welcomes the world and Sport Group turfs its 11th Olympic hockey venue, we caught up with Jean-Pierre Bailly, Commercial Director for Polytan France. He gave us his view on what the Games mean for France, their impact on hockey in the country, how Poligras’ latest turf technology is helping Paris2024 meet its sustainability goals and gives us an update on how the turf installation for the world’s biggest sporting stage is going.
What do the Paris Olympics mean for sport in France?
People are very happy about the Games. Sport is really popular in France; even the smallest towns have community sport facilities. Our football team is very successful and we compete for medals in many of the Olympic sports.
From a global point of view, it is exciting because it is a chance to show what a dynamic country we are. France is the most visited country in the world, and the Olympics will further showcase what we have to offer.
The opening ceremony is going to be held on the Seine and it will be astonishing. There will be 10,000 athletes on boats going through the city and the estimate is that 600,000 people will be able to watch it from the banks.
Later in the year, France is also hosting the Rugby World Cup which will have a huge number of fans. So, it is a great time for sport in France.
“Each turf saves 73 tonnes of CO₂ compared to a conventional turf, so hockey is saving over 200 tonnes of CO₂ for these Olympics.”
What benefit will France get from the Olympics?
The Olympics has stimulated regeneration and will undoubtedly have a positive financial impact, but almost more importantly will be the impact on education, health, civic engagement and sports participation and accessibility.
The goal is to encourage people to play sport for individual and community health benefits. There are plans to create 5000 new sport and recreation facilities in France and this has given funding to cities and towns with a focus on small facilities such as playgrounds, basketball and futsal courts.
Although Polytan France normally does large sport facilities, we have built some of these, including basketball courts in Boulogne sur Mer, Beauchamp and Nogent sur Oise.
How has it impacted hockey in France?
The Games provide a boost to all sports including hockey.
It is not a large sport in France but it is developing. The clubs are mainly in the north, near the Dutch and Belgium borders but there are also some clubs in Paris and further south.
Some new hockey facilities have been built which is important for the sport. Unlike in Holland or the UK, in France it is very rare for a hockey club to have its own facilities. Sports facilities are provided by the cities, and these are large facilities which hopefully include a hockey turf.
The French Hockey Federation has also been doing a great job. Mrs Isabelle Jouin is the President and she is really pushing the sport forward.
What new facilities have you installed?
Over the last few years, we have built some new turfs including the CREPS Ile de France located at Chatenay-Malabry where our national hockey team trains.
Recently we installed Poligras Paris GT zero turfs at St Martin le nœud, Lille and Lambersart. These cities wanted the latest Olympic turfs for their clubs and to attract some of the national teams as they come to France ahead of the Games. Lambersart, for example, is a great location for national team training. It is close to Brussels and only 1.5 hours to Paris by train.
CREPS Ile de France
Lille Hockey Club
We are a partner of the Lille Hockey Club, which is one of the most prestigious clubs in France. Earlier this year we installed a Poligras Tokyo GT turf at the club, and we will install a Poligras Paris GT zero in the next few months.
When will the Olympic hockey venue be ready?
The hockey is being played at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes which is only 15km from the center of Paris.
It will feature three Poligras Paris GT zero turfs. There are two competition turfs and one warm-up. We are installing the E-layer in August and the turfs will be laid by the end of October.
It will be a great venue for hockey and has a rich history. It was used for the 1924 Olympics and the main stadium will seat 15,000 hockey fans. The hockey tickets are already sold out, so it will be a phenomenal atmosphere for the sport and the players.
How is hockey helping the Paris2024 sustainability goals?
Sport Group has a long history with the hockey. Between AstroTurf and Poligras we have provided turfs for 11 Olympic Games, so we have a responsibility to help the sport progress.
The ‘Poligras Paris GT zero’ turf was developed for the Paris Games to ensure that hockey was one of the most progressive sports. It is hockey’s only carbon zero turf. The science is amazing – the turf is made from 80% sugarcane and manufactured with green electricity. And it plays beautifully.
Each turf saves 73 tonnes of CO2 compared to a conventional turf, so hockey is saving over 200 tonnes of CO2 for these Olympics.
What about the water and dry hockey?
With our FIH partnership, we are very committed to hockey so we began our R&D on dry turfs some years ago.
The result is that the Paris turf also features anti-friction ‘Turf Glide’ technology which means it requires less water for Olympic level fast and fluid play, plus is can be used for dry hockey at national level.
Because of its ‘Turf Glide’ technology, the Paris turf is certified in the FIH Innovation category which is for dry hockey turfs. This means that when dry, the turf plays better than a sand-dressed turf. So, for many facilities and clubs this gives them the best of both worlds; it is Olympic-quality when wet (if they irrigate it, or if it rains), and national quality when dry.
This wet/dry crossover is a breakthrough for the sport and gives the clubs great flexibility.
And finally, how are the French hockey teams looking?
As the host, and having ranked within the top-25 since Tokyo2020, our women’s and men’s teams automatically qualify which is great. The men’s team is quite strong and could cause an upset. They are ranked 11th in the world and at the World Cup this year they drew 5-5 with Argentina and made the quarter finals.
The women’s team is ranked 26, which is a bit lower, but hopefully they will have an impact on the tournament, especially as the home fans cheer them on.