Athlete Hydration during Physical Activity in Excessive Heat on Artificial Turf and Natural Grass (2021, $5,000)
Editor’s Note: An earlier report of this research project was featured in the article, “Assessing Differences in the Termal Stress of Soccer Players on Natural Turfgrass and Artificial Turf,” in the April 2022 issue of SportsField Management magazine.
Project Report by YouJoung Kim, PhD, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning; Chase Straw, PhD, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences; Steven E. Riechman, PhD, Department of Health and Kinesiology; Brown D. Robert, PhD, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning; Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
Playing soccer on a scorching hot summer day may affect athletes’ physical performance and lead to exertional heat illness. Microclimates, human-level meteorological conditions modified by nearby man-made and natural objects, have been shown to be significantly impacted by differences between natural turfgrass (NT) and artificial turf (AT) (Francis, 2018; Jim, 2017; Guyer, 2020). But less attention has been paid to how athletes’ thermal sensation is affected between the two field types. Terefore, the purpose of this study was to compare Texas A&M University Men’s Club Soccer players’ thermal stress when competing on NT and AT fields. While quantifying objective and subjective thermal comfort, particular attention was given to determine differences in the players’ physiological and perceived thermal stress on each field type. Microclimate and questionnaire survey data were collected on each field type and from all players, respectively over four summer days in September 2021. An energy budget model that can estimate human thermal comfort using energy flux theory was used to quantify their physiological thermal stress.
Method and Materials
Study site Two soccer fields at Penberthy Rec Sports Complex in College Station, Texas, were selected as sites for the study. According to the Köppen climate classification, College Station’s climate is considered Humid Subtropical Climate (Cfa), where the average daily high temperature between June and September is above 88.8 degrees Fahrenheit (F) [31.56 degrees Celsius (C)].
Both soccer fields are managed by SSC Services for Education at Texas A&M University. Te NT field was 105,000 sq. ft. (9,754.82 sq. m) and consisted of ‘Tifway 419’ hybrid bermudagrass on native soil, and the AT was 115,000 sq. ft. (10,683.85 sq. m) and consisted of Astroturf RootZone 3D3 Blend 52 that was installed in 2008 and had a blend of monofilament, slit film, and nylon “root-zone” fibers with crumb rubber infill. Te area around the fields was wide-open with no presence of natural or man-made objects nearby (e.g., buildings, water bodies, trees, and vehicle roads) that may potentially affect thermal conditions. Te study area location, field layouts, photographs of the weather sensors used, and infrared thermal imagery taken from grass and turf are shown in Figure 1.
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TPI Turf News September/October 2022
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