How to Improve Safety in Sports Fields

Aside from ensuring that the athletes wear proper gear, it’s also crucial to ensure that the sports field is safe for use. Compacted soil, worn areas, weeds, and muddy areas can make the field unsafe and cause injury to athletes and students.

Improving safety in sports fields

To improve safety, we have to address the problems mentioned above. For example, compacted soil (often a bare and hard surface) results from heavy frequent use of a certain spot or area. To address this, we can change the location of practices from time to time. This can help reduce compaction and somehow make the entire field look more uniform.

Worn areas are also a problem because often these are hard surfaces that might cause injuries (or less enjoyment of the field). These areas often have heavy traffic which discourages grass growth. These high-wear areas should be seeded often and it also helps to change the location of practices from time to time (just like what we can do with compacted soil).

Undesirable weeds are also a problem as these can provide an unstable footing to the athletes (and also make ball bounce unpredictable). To address this problem, it often requires professional assistance especially if you want a safe solution (e.g. no herbicides as much as possible).

When it comes to wet and muddy areas, it’s also important to address this problem because these areas can increase the risk and number of incidents of twisted ankles and other injuries. One way to deal with muddy areas is by improving the field’s drainage system. The goal here is to prevent the accumulation of standing water in the field (and make water easily run off the surface or infiltrate the soil).

Another way to improve safety in sports fields is by considering the use of artificial grass. With proper drainage (plus the artificial turf’s uniformity and minimal maintenance requirement), you can help ensure that the field is safe for use. If you require more information about artificial grass and if this is the appropriate solution for your sports facility, contact us today.