The sand filled pitch at Ely Outdoor Sports Association is 18 years old and desperately needs replacing. The club are currently working incredibly hard to fund a new pitch but in the meantime need it to last another season.

The pitch already has 30 repairs on it; seams were failing as well as seams around original patches. Artificial Grass Cambridge were called in as a matter of urgency due to the dangerous nature of open seams around the nearside D and the possibility that such undulations would cause injury and club closure.

The challenge

The pitch had many different patches already in place. The challenge was to first try and match existing grass and to work on the worst areas first. One of the challenges of patching a sand filled pitch is getting the new patch to be the same height as the often-worn pile of the existing surface. The job also needed to be fitted in the schedule as quickly as possible and completed within two days.

The process

By using a combination of patches and carpet stretching, Artificial Grass Maintenance were able to re-join the worst damaged areas using new seaming tape and Envirostick all weather glue. All seams and patches need to be weighted to ensure they held when dry. All new grass put in had to be carefully graded with animal shears to even out the pile height. Any difference in pile height can cause ball deflection and possible injury.

After the patches were set and graded, Garside 2EW silica sand is then added to fill the pile. A final grading is then needed to again ensure a smooth as possible ball roll.

 

The result

A total of 60 repairs was undertaken within a two day time frame. As Julia Gilbert of Ely Outdoor Sports Association commented: ‘Rob and his team at Artificial Grass Maintenance repaired the astro pitch at Ely Outdoor Sports Association at very short notice during what was a very busy time of year for them. They did a fantastic job, ensuring that the repairs and patches were not only done properly but as cost effectively as possible. We wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.’