Small Hockey - Big Future
Poligras helps hockey innovate at Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022
First Ever FIH Senior World Hockey5s event sports Poligras
The Olympic Capital of Lausanne is gearing up for its first ever Senior World Hockey5s event on 4 and 5 June. A bespoke, climate-positive Poligras pitch is being laid at the Place de Navigation, a spectacular location on the shores of Lac Léman. It will provide the stage for 10 world-class men’s’ and women’s international teams to showcase all of the excitement, pace and dynamism of Hockey 5s – one of the sport’s most exciting innovations in recent years.
A new format to boost the game
As well as attracting top-level teams, the event has been designed to bring the sport to a new audience. Hockey5s requires fewer players, less space and uses rebound boards on all four sides of the pitch which keeps the ball in play for more of the match. This means more action, tactical innovation, more goals and the adaptability to be played anywhere. Bringing this bite-sized version of the sport to the heart of the Olympic Capital is set to bring more people into the game with opportunities for everyone to see and participate.
As FIH Sport Director, Jon Wyatt explains:
“In today’s snack size world, like many sports, we need to cater for shorter attention spans and short, sharp bursts of excitement. Like Rugby7s and Twenty20 cricket, Hockey5s has been created to appeal to changing habits with smaller infrastructure requirements and creates non-stop action. This is great for the growth of the game and the Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne event, as well as the first ever Hockey5s World Cup in 2024, is an incredible opportunity to capitalise on that potential.”
Portable pitch technology goes green
The bespoke portable pitch technology developed by Poligras has created a flexible solution which answers the infrastructure challenges posed by existing venues and has enabled this weekend’s event to be staged in such a remarkable and easily-accessed location. Utilising 60% sugar cane and green energy at the manufacturing stage, it also adopts the green technology developed for Tokyo 2020 which is now being integrated into Poligras hockey turfs worldwide.
“We need to cater for shorter attention spans and short, sharp bursts of excitement. Like Rugby7s and Twenty20 cricket, Hockey5s has been created to appeal to changing habits with smaller infrastructure requirements and creates non-stop action.”
This drive to grow the game in a sustainable way as the global hockey community embraces the potential of green and portable pitch technology is part of Paul Kamphius’ remit at Poligras:
‘We’ve been helping hockey to innovate since the 1976 Games when we created the very first synthetic Olympic turf. We went on to realise the power of portable pitch technology at England’s FIH Pro League fixtures against New Zealand in 2019 when we helped to transform the home of Harlequins rugby into a world-class hockey venue. Our green, Hockey5s portable pitch innovation is the next stage of this journey. We’re extremely proud to be helping to bring this new condensed action format to such an iconic location and to continue playing our part in the sustainable development of the game.’
Poligras entrusted with hockey’s big heartbeat moments
Hockey5s will continue its journey beyond the Olympic Capital with the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in 2024 in Oman. Alongside the traditional 11-a-side FIH Women’s World Cup in 2022, FIH Men’s World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, this landmark addition to the global hockey calendar will also be played on Poligras.