The official version of TPI's letter appears here and on the following page.
Turfgrass Producers International North Carolina Sod Producers Association Friday, April 5, 2019
Friday April 5 2019
Harry L. Smith, Jr. Chair, UNC Board of Governors 681 VOA Site C Rd Greenville, NC 27834
Dear Mr. Smith,
The recent decision by North Carolina’s flagship educational institution (UNC) to remove natural grass from Kenan Memorial Stadium and replace it with plastic, synthetic turf is troubling and should be cause for concern. The natural grass currently in Kenan Memorial Stadium was grown at a farm in Indian Trail, NC and its success has routinely been featured in local news and national magazines. It was also awarded Field of the Year by the national Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) in 2018. As a result, it is clear that this decision has little to do with field performance, health, or safety and more to do with the preference of an incoming coach. It also appears that this decision was made with little to no regard for the health and welfare of UNC student-athletes or of the countless children who will be affected if local schools and communities follow this example.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine recently published a peer-reviewed research article in 2019 that proves plastic, synthetic athletic fields result in a significantly higher injury rate among NFL athletes. The highlights of this research study are provided below and show that natural grass fields are safer than plastic, synthetic fields and result in fewer lower-body injuries to athletes. It has also been shown that 1 in 5 concussions are caused by head- to-turf impacts and that the critical fall height for concussions on synthetic turf is less than half of the critical fall height on natural grass.
American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019 Research Publication “Higher Rates of Lower Extremity Injury Rates on Synthetic Turf Compared with Natural Turf Among NFL Athletes”
1,280 NFL games (213,935 distinct plays) were played during the 2012-16 Seasons 4,801 lower body injuries occurred affecting 2,032 NFL Players Synthetic turf resulted in a 27% increase in non-contact lower body injuries
There was a 56% higher knee/ankle/foot injury rate on synthetic turf resulting in any time lost from injury and a 67% higher injury rate resulting in > 8 days time lost from injury.
There was a 68% higher ankle injury rate on synthetic turf resulting in any time lost from injury and a 103% increase in injury rates on synthetic turf resulting in > 8 days time lost from injury.
Applying the incidence rate ratios of injuries in this study, if every NFL game were played on natural grass during these 5 seasons, there would have been 319 fewer lower body injuries.
This is widely recognized among professional athletes and is documented in NFL player surveys:
82.4% of NFL players think that artificial turf contributes more to injury 89.1% of NFL players think that artificial turf causes more soreness and fatigue 89.7% of NFL players think that artificial turf is more likely to shorten their career
TPI Turf News July/August 2019
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