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Hybrid system XtraGrass™ at the Ricoh Arena is a success

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The hybrid system from TenCate, called XtraGrass™ is proven to be a success at different stadiums in the Netherlands and the UK where the pitch is used for soccer and/or rugby. After its first season at The Ricoh Arena,  XtraGrass™ has proved a hit with both players and staff at Wasps RFC and is more than ready for another exhilarating season of sports.

We visited The Ricoh for the last match of the season and filmed Wasps V London Irish to see for ourselves how the pitch had held up with dual sports plus a number of events that have taken place on it. We were very pleased with how it looked! Due to the strength and increased durability of -XtraGrass™ it can withstand dual sports play as well as single sports providing a 100% natural grass feeling and a green looking pitch all year round!Curious to see the hybrid pitch after a rugby match? Click here to watch the video

The XtraGrass™ pitch received some fantastic comments from Wasps:

“The pitch is very durable and very flexible, it’s a good, hard playing surface” David Armstrong, Wasps Group CEO

“Its always a nice surface to play on, we can play good attacking rugby on it” Jake Cooper-Woolley, Wasps Prop

“It suits our style of play, it’s a beautiful pitch” Dan Baugh, Head of Strength & Conditioning

With – XtraGrass™ already installed at a number of high profile venues including The Ricoh Arena, The Kassam Stadium and Vitesse (Netherlands) and installations taking place currently at The Lensbury Hotel and PSV, the hybrid pitch is proving itself to be an optimum playing surface in the world of professional sports.

 

 

 

 

 

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Field in a box™ ready for the Olympic Experience in Scheveningen

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With the start of the Olympics 2016 ahead of us, NOC*NSF organized an Olympic Experience for all Dutch people that would like to experience the Olympics close to home. The goal of the event is to bring people together at one location where they can experience the Olympics but also practice the different Olympic sports.

TenCate has installed a Field in a box™ at the beach with a hockey pitch in front of  the container so all visitors can come and play hockey on the pitch. No need to bring your own gear as hockey sticks and other attributes are all taken care of! Are you curious to see how the Field in a box™ container was made? How did we manage to get it on the beach? Please watch the full video here:  box? Please Click here to watch the making of Field in a box. If you would like to know more about the Field in a box concept  Please visit our website.

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Field in a box™ part of the Olympic Experience in Scheveningen

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During the 2016 Olympic Experience on the beach of Scheveningen, the Netherlands, Field in a box™ will be shown to the visiting public as the Box full of hopes & dreams©. A temporary mini hockey court of 20 x 40 meters is constructed for the Dutch Olympic Committee NOC*NSF, and the Royal Dutch Hockey Association KNHB. Anyone that wants to experience the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro the best but has no ability to travel to Brazil this year, is welcome on the beach of Scheveningen, near The Hague. During daytime a variety of sports can be played under the guidance of more than 20 different Dutch sports associations, such as the KNHB. In the afternoon and evening, the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil can be followed live on large screens, and can be enjoyed during media commentaries, other entertainment and the presence of former athletes and former Olympians.

The event takes place from 6 to 21 August and is intended for sports fans, families and other interested parties who want to experience the best of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro from the Netherlands. TenCate organizes four special days for selected stakeholders and TenCate relations interested in the Field in a box™ concept.

Learn more about Field in a box™ op: www.fieldinabox.com

Learn more about the 2016 Olympic Experience: http://denhaag.com/en/event/40096/olympic-experience

Cruyff court installed at the UN head office in New York

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Together with former Dutch soccer legends the UN ambassadors have played a tournament in June on the temporarily installed Cruyff Court. Even Dutch Minister Bert Koenders was there and participated during the soccer tournament.

“Sport, and especially football, brings people and communities together by emphasizing similarities and building bridges between different views, cultures and people. Football opens doors and makes things negotiable,” according to Minister Bert Koenders. The aim of the event was to raise awareness for the important role of sport in promoting peace, development, health and education. “On this day the unifying power of football symbolizes that the Netherlands is a partner for peace and development,” said Mr Koenders. The Cruyff Foundation and the KNVB WorldCoaches are joining forces to provide children from all over the world with opportunities to exercise. “That fits perfectly with the commitment of the UN to make sport part of programs for development and peace.”

TenCate Grass has been a longstanding partner of the Cruyff Foundation and produces the artificial grass fibers for the Cruyff Courts. There are now more than 200 courts worldwide constructed and this number will continue to rise in the coming months. Sport connects people and the Cruyff Foundation is aimed at inspiring young people so they can exercise together and develop themselves.

Continued Partnership for TenCate Grass and KNHB

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The Royal Dutch Hockey Association and turf producer TenCate Grass will continue their successful partnership, which began a few years ago at the World Cup Hockey in The Hague. As part of the collaboration, the artificial turf hockey pitch for the new Wagener stadium by TenCate Grass will be equipped with the latest GreenFields® TX surface. This pitch will be built in time for the 2017 European Field Hockey Championships.

The state-of-the-art GreenFields® TX artificial turf pitch, is being developed in close collaboration with elite hockey players and will focus on the optimum properties for player performanceat top international hockey level.

Leading hockey System

Ton Raaphorst, Managing Director of TenCate Grass EMEA, is enthusiastic about the ongoing collaboration: “We are delighted that our excellent relationship will be continued with the KNHB. Along with the KNHB we strive for further sustainable development of our GreenFields hockey systems , aimed at optimum playability opportunities for both elite athletes and grassroots hockey in theNetherlands.”

A renewed partnership

Erik Gerritsen, Director of the KNHB, also welcomed the continued collaboration with TenCate Grass: “The KNHB strives to build long-term relationships with its partners, sponsors and suppliers. We are proud that TenCate Grass in the coming years will remain with us. The extended collaboration also assures us a good playing field for the European Championships in 2017 in Amstelveen.”

Europe’s first Field in a box™ opened in Madrid

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The first TenCate Field in a box™ system is installed and opened in Europe. The first European Field in a box™ was opened in Madrid. The field was commissioned by UEFA. FedEx helped make the installation possible. FedEx is fully committed to social investments in the markets in which it operates. The TenCate Field in a box™ system from TenCate Grass connects sports to social, educational and economic objectives.

TenCate Field in a box™ is an integrated, easy-to-install solution based on an artificial grass system and is comprised of an artificial turf mat of 20 by 40 metres, a foundation and boarding. Materials from TenCate Grass and TenCate Geosynthetics are used as a basis for the system. The system is packaged and delivered in a container, installed on location and equipped with all the extras. The field can provide incentives for employment opportunities and increase involvement from the local population. The system also addresses the global goals of the UN for sustainable development.

Cañada Real Galiana, Madrid
The field in Madrid was provided on behalf of the football organisation UEFA and is located in Cañada Real Galiana, an underprivileged neighbourhood in the Spanish capital. Funding for the installation of the field in Madrid was provided by FedEx. The courier and logistical services company is impressed by the innovative design of TenCate Field in a box™ and in particular by its sustainability. The FedEx Trade Networks division provides international transportation services and can ship the containers all over the world.

Delivering for good
With its global ‘delivering for good’ programme, FedEx is fully committed to social investments in the markets in which it operates. It is utilising its tools and networks to connect local communities to facilities that they would otherwise have no access to. In Madrid, FedEx is working together with Red Deporte Y Cooperación. This local, non-governmental organisation is involved in education, health, integration, peace-building and sports participation. As the main sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, FedEx is working together with the UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld. That is a global, non-profit network that uses football as a tool to bring about social change and to define communities that could profit most from a sports field. Red Deporte Y Cooperación is a part of the streetfootballworld network.

‘A smart approach’
TenCate Grass has already been approached for cooperation by a variety of institutions and companies both domestically and internationally, explains Hein Heerink. Heerink is product manager at TenCate Grass and co-designer of the system. ‘It is important for us to show that we can take a smart approach to installing artificial grass fields that also have a social objective. The first fields will serve as credentials for future projects.’

Introducing a new concept: Field in a box™

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The TenCate Field in a box™ system from TenCate Grass links sport with social, educational and economic aims. Sport brings people together and helps to promote participation and integration. The system offers teaching and educational facilities and can help to boost employment and to strengthen the local community. Development cooperation focuses on helping these countries to develop further and to achieve a higher standard of living for their inhabitants. Until several decades ago Western organisations involved in this work were still following a top-down approach. Now there is far more of a bottom-up approach: grassroots development.The aid or cooperation aims at both facilitating economic progress and improving education, health care, infrastructure and the emancipation of minorities and vulnerable groups. The input and involvement of the local population are at the heart of this cooperation.

Non-governmental organisations
TenCate Field in a box™ is a ready-made solution in a single container of 84 cubic metres. Inside the container are all the components for a sports pitch measuring 40 x 20 metres. The container itself can easily be converted into a sports canteen, a room for people to meet, a classroom or an office. Optional extras include GreenSource® for water filtration, outdoor fabrics for fencing and roofing, customised printing and LED lighting. In order to expand the functions of the sports pitch, TenCate is entering into partnerships with non-governmental organisations, such as WorldCoaches. A non-governmental organisation (NGO) is not dependent on government, and focuses on such goals and interests as the promotion of human rights, health, environmental protection and development work. An NGO often has an advisory, facilitating and supporting role in development projects. Through its WorldCoaches the KNVB has since 2009 been using football to help advance the local community in developing countries.

More affordable
The coordinator of WorldCoaches, Johan van Geijn, is enthusiastic about the TenCate Field in a box™ concept. ‘There is an enormous demand in developing countries for a better foundation to enable children to play football and to train them in the neighbourhoods. It is often the price of the base that means that the initiative comes to naught, due to the high costs. Thanks to further development of the groundwork at TenCate Field in a box™, the installation is now much more affordable. The container immediately provides the local community with additional space for training and mentoring. This makes a great contribution towards a more vibrant neighbourhood. The improved base with synthetic turf has also made it possible to start developing a business model for using and running the facility.’

For more information on field in a box, please visit: www.tencatefieldinabox.com.

GreenFields becomes Official Supplier to PSV Eindhoven

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GreenFields, the innovative market leader in synthetic turf systems, has undertaken to be the Official Supplier to PSV Eindhoven until 2018. GreenFields – part of materials technology company TenCate – will, under the terms of the agreement with PSV Eindhoven, install various new synthetic turf systems at De Herdgang sports complex in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. GreenFields and TenCate will use the PSV sports complex as the FieldLab for sports-related technical research and as a showcase for international customers.

De Herdgang in Eindhoven boasts numerous pitches produced by TenCate and installed by GreenFields, including the main pitch on the youth side, the synthetic turf pitch near the professionals and the innovative FieldLab. All the pitches are equipped with the latest technology related to synthetic turf systems. The mini-pitch, which has already been installed and on which youth teams can enjoy very specific training through the use of innovative techniques, has also been provided with a woven GreenFields® MX synthetic turf system.

More intensive training

Marcel Brands, technical manager of PSV Eindhoven, states that he is delighted with the installation of the new synthetic turf pitches at De Herdgang. “The GreenFields pitches enable all the youth teams to train more intensively and to make even better use of the pitches. And what is even more interesting is the fact that we together with GreenFields are going to look at the development of hybrid pitches.” A XtraGrass™ hybrid system is a combination of a natural grass pitch reinforced with a woven synthetic turf backing. This system is fully recyclable and in part biodegradable.

Innovation driven

Toon Gerbrands, general manager of PSV Eindhoven and Ton Raaphorst, director of TenCate Grass and GreenFields signed the contract earlier this month. Raaphorst is very enthusiastic: “PSV made the sealing of our collaboration an unexpectedly great moment. It was well deserved, as both parties are driven by innovation: on the one hand, sporting innovation and on the other, technological innovation. And don’t forget, GreenFields is the holder of credentials from countless professional sports organisations worldwide, including American Lacrosse, FIFA, World Rugby and the FIH – the International Hockey Federation. GreenFields has more than 3,000 sports pitch installations across the world.”

First Cruyff court in Liverpool installed with TenCate Ecocept™

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GreenFields and the Cruijff Foundation are proud to announce the official opening of the new court in Anfield-Liverpool. The new court is part of a £260 million regeneration of Anfield, courtesy of funding partners Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Football Club and Your Housing Group, working together to improve housing and sporting facilities in the area. There are currently only two existing Courts in the UK, both of which reside in London: Cruyff Court Dennis Bergkamp and Cruyff Court Tottenham Hotspur – the Anfield Sports and Community Centre Cruyff Court will be the first outside of the UK’s capital, and the first which GreenFields have installed.

This particular Cruyff court is very special as it is the first court where the new TenCate Ecocept™ performance sports base is used. TenCate Ecocept™ is a new innovative sports base specifically developed for synthetic turf athletic playing surfaces. Is integrates seamlessly with the synthetic turf product. This product is a new sports base which utilises a 50/50 mix of recycled rubber and plastic, and saves roughly 140 tonnes of materials from landfill for every full size pitch. This system gives an improved shock absorbency for players, due to the stability of the base, and provides several functions in a single layer.

In the meanwhile the Cruyff Foundation, founded in 2003, has installed more than worldwide – including Argentina, South Africa, and Brazil. The foundation supports various projects that encourage young people to exercise in a safe environment.