Turf Temp

[brucerobertt]

From an article on the New York Department of Heath's website ( http://bit.ly/7UKlyp ) :

"Synthetic turf fields absorb heat, resulting in surface temperatures that are much higher than the temperatures of the surrounding air. In June 2002 at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, the average surface temperature on a synthetic turf field was reported to be 117°F while the average surface temperatures on natural turf and asphalt were 78°F and 110°F, respectively. A maximum surface temperature of 200°F on the BYU synthetic turf field was reported. A turfgrass specialist at the University of Missouri reported measuring an air temperature of 138°F at "head-level" height on the university's synthetic turf field on a sunny 98°F day. The surface temperature of the field was reported to be 178°F. A study conducted at Penn State University measured surface temperatures on experimental plots of nine different types of infilled turf. Temperature measurements were made on three occasions. The average air temperatures reported were 79°, 78°, and 85°F. The corresponding average surface temperatures reported for the synthetic turf plots are 120°, 130° and 146°F."

As the number of stadiums with synthetic turf increase, the amount of time corps are practicing on synthetic turf is on the rise. Is the practice of a long afternoon practice on turf a counter-productive strategy? Yes, drum corps have to practice in the heat, but doesn't it make sense that a corps that doesn't get totally drained from the heat in the afternoon will perform better in the evening?

[dbc03]

Days like that are productive. That is when you find out what a corps is really made of. Anyone can rehearse well when it is 70 degrees with a nice cool breeze. Rehearsing well on turf with temperatures well over 100 though... that is the stuff champions are made of

[Carolina09Spirit]

I'm not sure about the heat...but I will say that marching on them is like as soft as a pillow. Well, ours anyway. I could almost go with no shoes, and be just as satisfied.

[Blake13]

It was like 98 in Dublin, Ohio and we had Dublin Coffman Stadium to rehearse in and yes, the turf was hot as a *****. It sucked.. a lot.

[adub]

In any case I always preferred to rehearse on a grass field because it is much harder to push your feet through a thick grass field so when show time came and you were on that turf it was like taking the weight off your bat right before you step into the batters box.

It for sure is much hotter on turf fields but as far as being counter productive because it is so hot I'm not sure if thats the case but that is a very hard thing to measure since you can't compare your rehearsal at that moment to what it would be like if you were off the turf. In most of my experiences I felt like we always had great rehearsals on hot turf fields. Theres something about the extreme heat that makes you shut up and do everything the best you can so you can get to that next water break quickly.

[corpsband]

From an article on the New York Department of Heath's website ( http://bit.ly/7UKlyp ) :

"Synthetic turf fields absorb heat, resulting in surface temperatures that are much higher than the temperatures of the surrounding air. In June 2002 at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, the average surface temperature on a synthetic turf field was reported to be 117°F while the average surface temperatures on natural turf and asphalt were 78°F and 110°F, respectively. A maximum surface temperature of 200°F on the BYU synthetic turf field was reported. A turfgrass specialist at the University of Missouri reported measuring an air temperature of 138°F at "head-level" height on the university's synthetic turf field on a sunny 98°F day. The surface temperature of the field was reported to be 178°F. A study conducted at Penn State University measured surface temperatures on experimental plots of nine different types of infilled turf. Temperature measurements were made on three occasions. The average air temperatures reported were 79°, 78°, and 85°F. The corresponding average surface temperatures reported for the synthetic turf plots are 120°, 130° and 146°F."

As the number of stadiums with synthetic turf increase, the amount of time corps are practicing on synthetic turf is on the rise. Is the practice of a long afternoon practice on turf a counter-productive strategy? Yes, drum corps have to practice in the heat, but doesn't it make sense that a corps that doesn't get totally drained from the heat in the afternoon will perform better in the evening?

From a logistics stand point you're probably breaking a lot more often for water. I suppose that would reduce productivity a small amount. But so long as everyone stays well-hydrated it should not be much an issue. If the staff running rehearsal doesn't take responsibility for keeping everyone hydrated then it could severely impact your productivity

[HighBrass09]

It was 105 degrees on the turn field at St. John Fischer this weekend with Empire. We pushed through and had our most productive rehearsal yet...a fantastic weekend.

[goalieguy]

Days like that are productive. That is when you find out what a corps is really made of. Anyone can rehearse well when it is 70 degrees with a nice cool breeze. Rehearsing well on turf with temperatures well over 100 though... that is the stuff champions are made of

OK - that makes sense (if you're a masochist)..They should be thankful they're not in those situations where your rehearsing on ASPHALT !!! - Now THAT'S some serious heat..I always loved having runthroughs on parking lots with that roofing type asphalt in between cracks in the pavement. They'd get so soft your foot would sink into it.

Ask anybody who marched DCM Prelims in 86,87 or 88 what it was like to see a 4 to 5 ft. high heat wall coming off of the old Astroturf in DeKalb..I remember the thermometer on the field along the front sidelines reading somewhere around 120+ back in '86..

Grass fields would generally provide NO relief..just a bit more cushion..

Pat

[euphononium]

I always enjoyed being on turf, no matter the temperature. That generally meant there was a nice press box so we got a lot done. The hottest that was ever measured when I was on tour was actually on grass at 10AM in PHX. 116 degrees at field level, 108 degrees at bell/head level. We went inside and slept after that

Edited July 8, 2010 by euphononium

[BigPapiBass5]

i just taught MB on turf and took my sandals off and my feet were burning.