Shock Pads are here to stay. Our friends at Sports Turf Company, Inc. published this fantastic article highlighting key things parents, coaches, and athletes need to know about the fields they’re playing upon. The article provides a brief history for the innovations in turf, but also highlights current safety standards and hints at future standards being written today.
Here is a brief excerpt, but we encourage you to read the entire article by following the link below.
PADS TO BECOME MORE IMPORTANT
Gmax measures the force reduction of a field. A lower Gmax reduces the likelihood of an athlete receiving a concussion from impact with the field.
A Gmax reading above 200 means life threatening head injuries may occur. By comparison, a well maintained natural grass field may have a Gmax of around 85.
Brock USA is at the forefront of testing and design of pad systems to improve safety of synthetic turf fields. By adding a Brock pad underneath, Gmax readings stay much closer to natural grass fields. AstroTurf field systems over a pad have superior footing, are firmer for faster play, reduce incidence of concussions and ankle/leg injuries.
