Is the Long Pile type of Pitch which is currently being used for soccer, suitable for hockey?
None of the turf carpets which are sometimes referred to as “long pile” or “3G” have been submitted to FIH by manufacturers for testing against the hockey performance requirements. This is because they would probably fail. The carpet for these turfs is not as dense as an unfilled, filled or dressed hockey turf. The pile is much longer especially the part that is left unfilled by sand or rubber. The diameter of a hockey ball is much smaller than a soccer ball and so a hockey ball sinks further down into the longer unfilled part of the pile of this type of pitch. Consequently, there is much more frictional drag on a hockey ball which restricts its movement. The same principle also applies to the hockey stick and therefore makes deft stick-work difficult. In addition, if the unfilled part of the pile is longer than a normal hockey pitch the stick can more easily get under the ball causing lifting. Having said all that, there are signs that some of the pitches now being manufactured primar
