Safety is never more important than on your fields. That is why SportsGrass offers innovative products that not only improve the performance of your field, they also improve the safety for your athletes. With SportsGrass solutions, we will never sacrifice safety.
Unfortunately, new products and ideas are often met with false claims and challenges. We have heard our fair share. Fortunately for us, testing and the facts tell quite a different story. Why do people make these false claims? We hope it is just a lack of knowledge and understanding and not an intentional effort to mislead and disparage.
In any event, below we list out some of the false claims we have heard about our Product-Based artificial turf systems. We then present the truth, demonstrated by testing, to show how wrong these claims are and present the outstanding safety offered by our systems.
Welcome to the future of artificial turf.
False Claim #1
The synthetic grass field specifications [Product-Based System]… are very likely to create an UNSAFE synthetic turf system for players of the targeted age, size, and skill levels.
The Truth
Our SportsGrass® Turf System G-max Rating Exceeds All Recognized Governmental and Industry Safety Standards.
G-max testing measures the shock-attenuation performance of synthetic sports surfaces. The higher the G-max value, the lesser the ability of the surface to absorb the impact force.
A G-max value of 200 or lower provides an acceptable level of safety according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) and the ASTM.
False Claim #2
The Specifications [if using a Product-Based System] call for a G-max of 145 at substantial completion; however[,] Industry knowledge will show this value could easily be over G-Max 150 and will quickly exceed the 165 required by the STC.
This will create a major liability for injury.
The Truth
The real scientific research and testing of SportsGrass® turf systems demonstrates that negative claims like this claim regarding its G-max ratings are patently and demonstrably false. After substantial completion, independent testing confirms the SportsGrass® G-max rating as follows:
And after 20,000 cycles of Lisport wear testing, simulating up to 10 years of intense use, independent scientific analysis of ForeverLawn’s SportsGrass® turf system confirms the following G-max rating:
Accordingly, not only is the SportsGrass® turf system G-max rating upon substantial completion of 117 below the STC’s most stringent industry guideline of 165, but independent testing confirms the rating for this turf system remains below this industry guideline after up to ten years of intense use with a G-max rating of 164. Assertion that “[r]esearch and testing” suggests ForeverLawn’s product “exceeds 165 within first few years” is an unabashed and unsupported falsehood. Moreover, there is certainly no evidence, research, or testing suggesting in any way that the G-max rating for the SportsGrass® turf system “will create a major liability for injury.” Rather, the exact opposite is true: even at the very end of its useful life, the G-max rating for this product exceeds the safety thresholds of 200 accepted by the CPSC and the ASTM by over 35 points.
In short, the scientific evidence confirms that ForeverLawn’s SportsGrass® turf system G-max rating exceeds all recognized governmental and industry safety standards.
False Claim #3
This thatch fiber with low infill ratio will create a higher Rotational Resistance and therefore can create unsafe playing conditions with athletes’ cleats “sticking” in the turf and not allowing the feet to properly release causing lower extremity injuries.
The Truth
Again, the actual research and testing confirms that the rotational resistance rating of SportsGrass® synthetic turf system not only exceeds STC guidelines, but it also exceeds the rating of the “alternative systems,” too.
False Claim #4
This low amount of rubber infill without sand will create a large problem with vertical deformation causing lower extremity injuries.
The Truth
The Vertical Deformation Rating of ForeverLawn’s SportsGrass® Synthetic Turf System Fully Conforms with Industry Safety Recommendations.
This claim centers upon vertical deformation (foot stability), or how much the field is deformed when run upon. This generally measures the “softness under foot” when treading on the synthetic turf. The STC recommends:
False Claim #5
[T]he nylon thatch can absorb bodily fluids, insecticides, pesticides, etc. and is therefore a health concern.
The Truth
The Nylon Components of ForeverLawn’s SportsGrass® Synthetic Turf System are Non-Absorbent and Stronger, More Abrasion Resistant, and More Resilient then Component Materials Used in Other Synthetic Turf Systems.
Yet again, science conclusively disproves these unfounded assertions. Dr. Davis Lee, a chemical and polymer scientist at InnovaNet Technology Group, wrote:
