It may look dramatic in slow motion replays, a spray of black rubber erupting behind a tackle or a hard hit ball. But the “rooster tail” is not something we want to see from a well designed turf system.
When there is too much infill in the turf system, the material becomes highly mobile. That leads to:
- Inconsistencies across the field as infill migrates from one area to another
- Uneven playing surfaces and changes in Shock Absorption, Gmax, and CFH, impacting both player performance and welfare
- Increased risk of infill escaping the field and entering the environment
Good turf system design tackles this by:
- Increasing fibre density to hold infill in place
- Compacting and positioning infill lower in the pile
- Using a shockpad layer to reduce the amount of infill required
AND
- In the most advanced systems, removing the need for infill altogether
The amount, shape, density, size and material type of infill can influence infill splash-out but none can fully eliminate the “rooster tail” effect unless you removal all infill.
Reducing that fly-out means better consistency, lower maintenance, improved player performance, and reduced contamination into the environment.
