Bethlehem College celebrates opening of new hockey turf

Bethlehem College will celebrate the grand opening of its new artifical hockey surface, the College Sports Turf, this Saturday, 17 June. The festivities will take place from 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm on the new turf.

The opening celebrations will be highlighted by inter-school hockey games between primary and secondary students throughout the day, and an official ceremony at 3:00 pm. 

Development Manager and Trustee, Barry Mead says the new TigerTurf surface is a welcome addition to the school's existing facilities.

"We have transformed a grass, grazing paddock in to a custom-built, all-weather surface for our students.  It's an amazing transformation and we're very pleased with the result.  The primary uses of the new surface will be hockey, but it will facilitate PE and track activities as well.”

Mead explains the construction project included the installation of the artificial surface with hockey markings, services such as water and power to the site, lighting inherited from a field in Pakuranga, and team bunkers. 

He says durability, quality and maintenance were key factors in the decision to go with a TigerTurf surface when they were looking to overhaul the paddock. 

"The TigerTurf surface offers lower maintenance than natural grass, and it can be used more months of the year.  The installation of the new lights combined with the durability means the field will be used day and night.”

Principal, Phillip Nash said the greatest benefit of the new Sports Turf is the capacity it will create both for learning and for being active. 

"The new turf means students and the community now have more access to quality facilities, which translates to more opportunities to have fun and develop their team and individual skills.”

TigerTurf Operations Manager, Don Crockett added, "The surface is a sand filled hockey field with a 7 mm regupol rubber pad.  What this means in terms of performance for Bethlehem, is that it is an extremely durable and low maintenance surface that is playable in all weather conditions.”  

Nash says that the most important judges of the field will be the students. 

"Based on initial reactions from classes and teams who have used the surface, we're confident we've made a great investment in our students and the community.”