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Latest News
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Newest Addition of the Sportsturf Scoop Focuses on Establishing Tall Fescue Athletic Fields
March 14, 2013
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Can turf-type tall fescue be established on an athletic field during the summer and be ready for fall play? Is perennial ryegrass a better choice for summer establishment? Find out the details of our study that focused on turf-type tall fescue use on athletic fields.
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Center for Sports Surface Research featured on Big Ten Network
February 21, 2013
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The Big Ten Network show BTN LiveB1G recently featured Penn State's Center for Sports Surface Research.
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Penn State turf students place high in national competition
February 21, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Three teams of Penn State students recently competed in the Sports Turf Managers Student Challenge, and two earned Top-3 finishes in their divisions.
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Synthetic Turf Wear Resistance Testing Expands to Include Slit-Film Products
January 20, 2012
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In addition to the monofilament synthetic turf wear testing program currently underway, Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research is now offering a few lucky facilities the opportunity to have a sample of their new slit-film fiber fields tested for upright fiber wear resistance.
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New Sportsturf Scoop Video: Sports Turf Injury Research
September 7, 2011
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In the past, synthetic turf was blamed for contributing to athlete injuries. But, as synthetic turf has evolved into a surface that more closely resembles grass, has injury risk changed? In this edition of the Sportsturf Scoop, we look at the latest research comparing injury rates on infilled synthetic turf and natural grass.
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New Sportsturf Scoop Video: Understanding Gmax
June 30, 2011
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Gmax is one of the most commonly tested characteristics of athletic fields. But, what does a Gmax test tell us? What is the science behind the testing? In this edition of the Sportsturf Scoop, we address those questions and more as we breakdown the process of this important test.
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New Sportsturf Scoop Video Focuses on Surface Temperature of Synthetic Turf
June 7, 2011
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The next video in our Sportsturf Scoop series examines one of the biggest issues with synthetic turf – high surface temperature. In this video, we look at reasons why these surfaces get hot and under what weather conditions peak temperatures are reached. We also focus on the effectiveness of attempts to reduce surface temperature along with current research we are conducting here at Penn State.
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Want Your Synthetic Turf Field Tested for Wear-Resistance?
May 27, 2011
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Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research is offering a few lucky facilities the opportunity to have a sample of their new field tested for upright fiber wear resistance. The data will be compiled in an online database and be available to the public.
If you are installing a new field at your facility and would like to be considered for our testing, all you have to do is fill out this form. You will also be required to collect a sample at your facility and mail it to us. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to test all fields being installed but plan to test several of each and every monofilament product being installed in today’s market place. We plan to test several samples from each available product each year.
Currently, we will only be accepting monofilament products. Email us at fibertesting@psu.edu for more details.
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Penn State Turfgrass Science Students Travel to STMA in Texas
January 24, 2011
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This year's national Sports Turf Manager's Association annual conference was recently held in Austin, TX. Besides professors, Turfgrass staff, and Beaver Stadium grounds personnel, Penn State sent 19 students including 12 undergraduates from the 4-year turf program, 4 two-year turf students, and 3 turf science graduate students. These students traveled to the event to either compete in the SAFE Foundation's Student Challenge or receive a SAFE Scholarship or both. We took a couple graduate students to help manage/coach the undergraduate students.
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Serensits Presents at SportSURF Conference
January 20, 2011
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This past spring, Tom Serensits, Manager of our Center for Sports Surface Research, gave two presentations at the SportSURF conference at the University of Loughborough, UK. This unique international conference brought together researchers from around the world to discuss safety and performance of playing surfaces. Tom's presentations focused on surface stability of natural turf and human health issues associated with synthetic turf.
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From the Field - December 2010
January 3, 2011
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Injuries are a part of sports. From a little leaguer taking a bad hop off the shin to an NFL player suffering a devastating hit, it is impossible to prevent all injuries during competition – some are just inherent to the game. However, equipment innovations, enhanced strength and conditioning training, and improved playing surfaces each have the potential to reduce the risk of injury. As turfgrass scientists, our primary focus is on the playing field and its influence on injury risk.
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From the Field - November 2010
December 1, 2010
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Over the past several years, skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria have received considerable attention due to potentially life-threatening health complications.
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Penn State Graduates Re-sod Lincoln Financial Field
November 30, 2010
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Penn State Turfgrass Science graduate and Director of Grounds for the Philadelphia Eagles Tony Leonard and his crew recently completed a field re-sodding at Lincoln Financial Field. Tony’s assistants, Chad Cochenour and Nick Gialloreto, are also graduates of the PSU’s turfgrass program.
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Study finds no public health concern with fields containing crumb rubber infill
November 24, 2010
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The State of California recently released the results of a study focusing on potential health hazards related to playing on synthetic turf fields containing crumb rubber infill. The study found that inhaling the air above fields poses no public health concern. Additionally, infilled synthetic turf was shown to contain fewer skin-infecting bacteria than natural grass.
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From The Field - October 2010
October 11, 2010
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In the not-too-distant past, when an athlete got his "bell rung" he would typically go to the sideline for a couple of plays to clear the cobwebs and then return to the field. With the increased attention now given to concussions, those days are thankfully behind us.
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From The Field - September 2010
September 3, 2010
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Most ACL injuries are due to rotational torque in the joint. Injury risk is often evaluated by measuring the amount of resistance to shoe rotation.
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Risk Assessment of Artificial Turf Fields
July 30, 2010
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In response to public interest and concern, four Connecticut state agencies completed a two-year comprehensive evaluation of the health and environmental impacts associated with artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill.
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From The Field
June 30, 2010
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From the Field is a monthly column written by members of the Sports Surface Research Center at Penn State University. Each month we will try to comment on or direct you to the latest research and practical information concerning your playing surfaces. As our expertise and experience is mainly with natural and synthetic turf surfaces, that's where we'll begin.
