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Opening of Oranda Jima House in Japan

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With the disastrous destructive powers caused by Tsunami on March 11th 2011, de Funakoshi Elementary School and its After School Club House was destroyed. To support reconstruction activities in the region, the Oranda Jima Foundation (OJF) was formed from a group of leading Dutch businesses in Japan. In March 2012 OJF promised to provide full support of the reconstruction of this club.

The Oranda Jima House, short for Funakoshi After School and Community Centre, was donated to the town as a public facility to serve the children and citizens in Yamada Machi. Located adjacent to the town’s nearby elementary school, the 194 square-meter building’s inspired design encompasses playrooms for children, a sound proof music room wherein children will host a local radio show and practice music, a small interior courtyard, workspace for staff, a Japanese tatami quiet space for rest and psychiatric counselling, a multi-functional room and kitchen as well as a wooden deck and exterior playground. The facility will accommodate 60 children, and the local community will use the house to support in developing the after school activities.

On May 24th Oranda Jima House was officially opened. Schmitz Foam Products partnered with the Dutch non-profit group the Oranda Jima Foundation to jointly realize this project. For our contribution, we donated the ProPlay surface for the artificial turf playground outside the building. Sumitomo and Hasetora Spinning donated the carpet for which they used the grey and white yarn donated by Ten Cate North America. We hope that the children of Yamada will be able to safely use this club house and playground for many years to come.

New rugby field Amsterdam installed in only 2 days!

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Following the example of major European clubs such as Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Blues, the National Rugby Center Amsterdam and the AAC Rugby union also received a world-class artificial turf rugby field at Sportpark ‘De Eendracht’.

The synthetic turf system at Sportpark ‘De Eendracht’ consists of a high quality artificial grass field from FieldTurf on top of a shockabsorbing ProPlay layer.

Despite the bad weather the almost 12,000 m2 field was installed within two days. On the first day, a team from K.S.P. installed the ProPlay in collaboration with Bas Lodewijkx Synthetic Grass Specialist. On the second day, J & E Sports BV immediately installed the grass. Due to the bad weather conditions it was a huge challenge to get the job done. Thanks to the workmanship of KSP, Lodewijkx and J & E Sports BV the installation went smoothly.

ProPlay shockabsorbing layers are globally leader in the field of shockabsorbing products for artificial turf. The combination of great shock absorption, pleasant play behavior, optimal sport technical characteristics and 25 year warranty are worldwide unique.

New rugby field Amsterdam moved in only 2 days!

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Following the example of major European clubs such as Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Blues, the National Rugby Center Amsterdam and the AAC Rugby union also received a world-class artificial turf rugby field at Sportpark ‘De Eendracht’.

The synthetic turf system at Sportpark ‘De Eendracht’ consists of a high quality artificial grass field from FieldTurf on top of a shockabsorbing ProPlay layer.

Despite the bad weather the almost 12,000 m2 field was moved within two days. On the first day, a team from K.S.P. moved the ProPlay in collaboration with Bas Lodewijkx Synthetic Grass Specialist. On the second day, J & E Sports BV immediately moved the grass. Due to the bad weather conditions it was a huge challenge to get the job done. Thanks to the workmanship of KSP, Lodewijkx and J & E Sports BV the installation went smoothly.

ProPlay shockabsorbing layers are globally leader in the field of shockabsorbing products for artificial turf. The combination of great shock absorption, pleasant play behavior, optimal sport technical characteristics and 25 year warranty are worldwide unique.

A look at synthetic turf in Netherlands

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Football is the most popular sport in the Netherlands. With 3565 registered clubs and over 1.2 million members, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is the largest national governing body for sport. Player participation has seen a constant increase, with a 12% overall increase since 2004.

To cater to the growth and the lack of capacity synthetic turf is a solution. There were 1450 full size synthetic fields for football in 2012, Commenting on the development of synthetic fields, Patrick Balemans, Policy Advisor, KNVB  said “There will be 1700 pitches before 2015 and by 2020 every 1 out of 3 competition fields, will be a synthetic turf pitch.”

He added: “With artificial fields there are nearly no cancelations, which means no delays in the competition schedule. Due to maintenance periods natural grass pitches cannot be used around 10 to 12 weeks a year whereas an artificial field can be used on a constant level throughout the year. Apart from the regular schedule, this is also vital for other factors such as the promotion of youth teams and young talents.”

Representatives from the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) along with the English Football Association (The FA) and FIFA will take part in a podium discussion to examine the future of artificial turf in football at this year’s IAKS (International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities) congress in Cologne. 

TenCate awarded synthetic turf systems tender for Dutch Jupiler League

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TenCate Grass has been awarded the tender by the Dutch Coöperatie Eerste Divisie for installing high-grade synthetic turf fields for professional football in the Jupiler League in the Netherlands. The installation of the first fields will already begin this summer and is provided by GreenFields, a subsidiary of TenCate. In this way the Jupiler League is building on the successful introduction by TenCate of the latest generation of synthetic turf systems in the Premier Division in the summer of 2012. It has been demonstrated that technically accomplished and attractive football at top level can be played on the TenCate fields.

The Coöperatie Eerste Divisie (CED) has taken the initiative to install synthetic turf football pitches in the stadiums of clubs affiliated with the Jupiler League. Interested clubs from the Premier Division and the Top Class can participate in the collective agreements and benefit from the same high-grade offer.

This football field tender and the choice of TenCate as a progressive party mark the turning point for synthetic turf in top-flight football in the Netherlands. TenCate will use its highest-grade synthetic turf systems for this important Dutch top-flight football project with international allure. This means a further optimization of the quality of the playing fields across the first division and reduction of cancellations during the competition, particularly during the winter period. A number of fields are already available for the Jupiler League and Premier Division, such as those installed last summer at Heracles Almelo and PEC Zwolle. This summer, similar fields will be installed at FC Oss and FC Den Bosch. Production of these fields is based on the 3D matrix weaving technology of TenCate, a patented technological innovation for the production of woven synthetic turf football fields. This enables the playing characteristics of a natural grass pitch to be replicated as closely as possible.

Synthetic turf systems from TenCate provide a playing experience that is true to nature. TenCate offers the fields to the professional clubs via subsidiary company GreenFields, which together with selected partners handles the installation of the fields. These high-grade fields – and in particular the woven GreenFields® MX system – enable a player to get his foot under the ball easily, just as in the case of natural grass. The ability to freely turn, accelerate and rotate is also comparable to that under natural conditions, consequently preventing increased pressure on tendons and muscles.

In addition to these sport-technical characteristics, the synthetic turf systems from TenCate offer maximum sustainability and a long-lasting natural appearance. Part of the winning bid of TenCate Grass relates to a 24/7 service package, whereby the club pays only for the use of the field and TenCate guarantees carefree playing pleasure. Furthermore TenCate is official partner of the CED / Jupiler League.