FAQ

It is important to understand the differences between contrasting Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs). The subtype descriptions are:

• Long Pile Carpet - A longer pile artificial grass carpet, often referred to as a ‘third generation’ or ‘3G’ pitch. Most pitches have a rubber crumb and sand infill within the pile, some may have organic infills such as cork or timber pellets. Rarely, there will be no infill. Used predominantly for football but can be used for other sports such as rugby. Pile length is typically 55-60mm for football and 60-65mm for rugby however, some carpets can be as short as 40mm.

• Sand Dressed - This has sand base rather than sand infilling. A sand dressed pitch has a heavier amount of fibres which are more exposed, giving it a greener appearance. This is the preferred surface for club hockey.

• Sand Filled - 20-25mm tufted carpet covered filled with graded sand laid over a rubber shock pad and engineering base. Most common surface for STP's, used in particular for hockey & football, but can be used by other activities, such as American Football, Lacrosse, and training for Rugby and Athletics.

• Water Based - Similar pile to sand based, very dense synthetic sports surfaces that are irrigated with water. Combined with some form of underlay/shock-pad, sometimes integral. The carpets or the pad are typically designed to hold up the water flow at a specific rate. This is the preferred surface for Hockey and is used for first class games.

The facility type specifics will detail dimensions of the facility and a pitch count.

A full size AGP will be marked out for adult football (11 a side football match) and will have dimensions typically around 100x60m, with a minimum size of  88x53m. Full size AGPs will only have a pitch count of one even if small pitches are overmaked. See screenshot below;

A small size AGP will be solely used for smaller sided matches. There will be multiple dedicated pitches therefore the pitch count for that facility will be greater than one. The screenshot below shows an example of a site that would have the ‘small AGP’ flag ticked, with the pitch count showing as six and the dimensions relating to what one pitch measures. In this instance 35x15m.

If a site has separate artificial grass pitch sizes within one structure, they will be referenced as different facilities as the sizes are different. For example, a site may have multiple ‘5 a side’ pitches, but then have a ‘9 a side’ pitch or ‘full sized’ pitch alongside. This would class as two separate facilities. The below facility would be logged as two artificial long pile (rubber crumb fill) facilities, one with a pitch count of four, and the other with a pitch count of one. The dimensions would then display the common dimensions of each pitch type.

The pitch count within a facility will not include those from a facility that is at a different location on the site. The example below shows a site that has multiple AGP facilities and pitches. Even though there are multiple long pile carpet pitches, there should be three different AGP facilities registered on site (one sand filled and two rubber crumb filled). Again, the rubber crumb filled pitches in this instance will be referenced as having a pitch count of six on one facility, and four on the other, including the common dimensions of each pitch, and not the whole size of the facility.