Astro facilities are increasingly common at grass roots level. Certainly here in Scotland this trend will continue as local authorities and community organisations seek facilities which can be used and generate income more or less year round. I think it is fair to say they players prefer grass but what do referees think? Are there any issues which make refereeing on astro easier, more difficult or just different?
Astroturf - what do referees think?
- Thread starter OIREF!
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Less potential for SFP. Players don't go to ground with the same 'enthusiasm'
Them black granules are bloody annoying too..... Don't they still cause cancer too or did they just brush that under the carpet??
It's gone very quiet on the black granules which is a surprise given the level of adverse attention this was getting ~ 2 years ago.
The French government have just removed an artificial old tyre 'coral' reef that they paid for because it was poisoning the blooming fish!!! Mmmmm, wonder why our government allows such things to be used for our kids!!!
I think because you have to eat it or breathe it to be a hazard....but I'm no expert.........
santa sangria
RefChat Addict
We have mostly rubber bits astro pitches... they replaced the gravel fields we used to have at grassroots. Top 2-3 tiers mostly grass, tiers 3-8 mostly astro, some gravel left for small sided.
I've had a bit of both at the weekend. For more sliders on grass obviously especially in wet, far more potential for impact on the deck. Our grass pitches are pretty good but it's still so much easier to pass on the deck on astro - so, there are more long balls on grass. The lines are straighter and pitches flatter with astro too!
Compared to gravel, which was an incredible equaliser for the worst players, obviously astro is light years more preferable, and TBH I am happier playing and whistling on astro versus grass.
However, there comes a time in the astro pitch's life when the seams go and it breaks up like carpet - then it's a nightmare.
I've heard complaints on here about crabbing on astro but I don't get that - if anything slippery grass is far more off-putting and hazardous for my hammies than astro is for me knees
I've had a bit of both at the weekend. For more sliders on grass obviously especially in wet, far more potential for impact on the deck. Our grass pitches are pretty good but it's still so much easier to pass on the deck on astro - so, there are more long balls on grass. The lines are straighter and pitches flatter with astro too!
Compared to gravel, which was an incredible equaliser for the worst players, obviously astro is light years more preferable, and TBH I am happier playing and whistling on astro versus grass.
However, there comes a time in the astro pitch's life when the seams go and it breaks up like carpet - then it's a nightmare.
I've heard complaints on here about crabbing on astro but I don't get that - if anything slippery grass is far more off-putting and hazardous for my hammies than astro is for me knees
The very latest generation of artificial pitches aren't based on the rubber granules. I'm referring to the surfaces on which it's mandatory to wear studs. If the granules are still used, they aren't noticeable. I think this might have saved my marriage!
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I referee on astro quite a bit. Many of our high schools have astro and we have a VERY large sports complex that has MANY astro pitches both indoor and outdoor. They also have numerous baseball fields that are all turf which they turn into soccer/football fields when they have an all-turf tournament.
Here are my thoughts as a referee and player
Here are my thoughts as a referee and player
Player -
Pros -
You get a true roll and can play on the ground. Nothing worse for a technically superior team than to have their advantage dimished due to a poor grass pitch constantly producing freak bounces.
Slide tackling - I don't mind it. They old turf used to burn the skin off of your legs. The new stuff is just fine. I have done many slides with hardly a mark
Cons -
The pitch is FAST without grass to slow the ball down, need to really adjust the weight of your passes
Cutting on turf is harder on the knees. It may not seem like it to the younguns but at 48, I feel it in my knees
IT IS HOT - The last tournament I worked they went on mandatory water breaks for the turf fields then when we got to the finals and fewer games were getting played, they moved the championship games off of the turf to grass due to the heat.
Refereee
Pros-
Don't have to worry about mud, holes, etc. Not going to roll an ankle stepping in a hole as an AR!
Lines -
The lines are always accurate (a slight con is when the field is used for multiple sports/field sizes multiple different color lines can confuse players
TECHNICAL AREAS!!! - so nice to have these lines present. Spectator boundary lines are great to have as well
Shoes - It is nice to wear my all black running shoes which have better cushioning than my cleats
Cons -
IT IS HOT - Summer tournaments working all on turf can be rough
Cutting - This is not so bad for the CR. The crab is not an issue as an AR but the rapid starts/stops from a sprint make my knees sore after a while and the twist off of the left leg to take off into a sprint is a bit more uncomfortable.
IT IS FAST - the turf games seem to switch ends more rapidly in my experience. It might just be the caliber of teams but it seems that way to me.
Overall I like the turf as a CR. As an AR, I think I prefer a grass field with a smooth path on the touchline. As a player, I do like the turf compared to a poor grass field, BUT if I could play on high quality grass field.... I'd take the grass.
Peter Grove
RefChat Addict
I don't recall there ever being any peer-reviewed scientific study that has confirmed a link between the black granule-type infill used in artificial turf fields and cancer. Plenty of suspicions raised and anecdotal evidence but nothing conclusive that I have come across. The most recent findings of a properly-conducted scientific study that I could find, was published on the US National Library of Medicine's website in April 2018. It was conducted in California and its conclusions were as follows:
There could of course be some newer studies that I'm not aware of.