Law Dawg Sports

Archive for April, 2009

Artificial outdoor sports surfaces can be used to play a variety of sports, including football, hockey, tennis, netball, basketball, athletics, and many more. Made from synthetic materials like polyethylene or polypropylene, these man-made sports surfaces are easy to maintain and can be used all year round unlike natural grass sports surfaces.

Artificial outdoor sports surfaces at many sports facilities are commonly used as Multi Use Games Areas where a variety of sports are played- all on the same surface. However, as different sports have different requirements, the artificial sports surfaces can be so designed as to exhibit different playing characteristics. Let us examine some of the unique characteristics of different synthetic sports pitches:

In-filled artificial turf made of polypropylene: This is the most common type of synthetic, man-made sports surface. The technology used in developing such a sports surface has been approved by FIFA. In this case, polypropylene ‘grass’ fibres about 5 cm long are lubricated with silicon and tufted into a primary cloth. The back of the cloth is then given a latex coating. The whole thing is then in-filled with about 4 cm layer of sand or rubber granules to keep the fibres upright. Such a surface is widely used for playing football.

In-filled artificial turf made of polyethylene: This in-filled artificial turf is made of a foamy material called polyethylene. In this case, the pitch has a base of expanded polyethylene which acts as an effective shock absorber. The lubricated polyethylene grass fibres are shorter and more densely packed than polypropylene fibres. These synthetic fibres are also interspersed with short, curly, spring like fibres that keep the pile upright. In addition, the turf also gets an 8mm filling of rubber granules.   

Sand-dressed artificial turf: This variant in artificial outdoor sports surfaces is lightly   in-filled with sand. The pile of the artificial carpet is filled with fine sand only up to 5-8 mm from the tip of the fibres. For this reason sand cannot be seen in this type of artificial turf.  

Unfilled artificial turf: Some outdoor sports surfaces feature unfilled pile. As a result, such pitches offer greater protection to the players by reducing the abrasive effect caused by sand infill. However, these pitches are required to be sprayed with water frequently, sometimes even prolonged showering is required prior to their use and also during intervals in the game. These water-based artificial sports surfaces are used as elite level field hockey pitches.

In-filled artificial sports surfaces can cater to a wide range of sports. This is possible by varying the length and the density of the synthetic grass fibres, which helps in changing the playing characteristics altogether. For instance, synthetic athletic surfaces are made to tolerate the use of spikes, besides offering protection to players from falls and injuries.

The popularity of synthetic sports surfaces in the 1970s all across the USA and Canada prompted many sports facilities around the world to opt for them.  Artificial sports surfaces could be used for football and hockey pitches, tennis courts or for synthetic athletics tracks.  They have also found prominence in Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) where a variety of games can be played on the same surface.

Manufactured from synthetic materials, polypropylene and sometimes, polyethylene, an artificial sports surface offers the same playing characteristics as natural grass surfaces. However, there are many advantages that they enjoy over natural grass. First, an artificial sports surface is usable all year round. This means whatever be the weather, you can always enjoy the scheduled football or hockey match.  Wet or frozen winters cannot stop you from enjoying your favourite game.

Another advantage of opting for artificial sports surfaces is their low maintenance costs. In fact, it is one of the main reasons for the artificial sports pitches being favoured by sports clubs and other sports facilities providers. By installing a synthetic sports surface, they can do away with many activities like regular watering, draining, mowing, applying fertilizers, weeding, and so on of grass pitches. This could considerably bring down their annual outlay on maintenance, which can be used for other productive activities.  

An artificial sports surface, be it a synthetic football pitch or an athletics track, can be so designed as to minimise the risk of injury to players when they slide or fall on the surface. This is possible because such an artificial turf is usually equipped with a “shock absorbent layer” just beneath the top layer. Also, water-based or unfilled artificial sports surfaces, a variant of synthetic sports pitches and used for playing hockey, protect players by minimising the abrasive effect caused by sand in-fill. Similarly, the artificial athletics surfaces are specially built to offer the benefit of slip-resistance to the players.

Artificial sports surfaces are also available in a choice of colours. This allows court markings to be made in different colours for different sports on the same surface. This is particularly true in the case of MUGAs. Synthetic athletics tracks also allow the use of multi-coloured striping and event markings. This allows the same track to be used for multiple events besides enhancing the look of the tracks.

If you browse through fitness magazines,you have to admit that the fitness models look so attractive showing off their sexy and fit body. You immediately think, "I wish I have a body like her!".

You can stop wishing now. If you want to have a body like a fitness model or simply want to look like them, then you have to workout using The Fitness Model Program. This popular Fitness program is endorsed by top female fitness magazines and elite trainers. It is a fat burning and muscle toning program which will help you lose fat, cellulite and build a feminine sleek and sexy muscle tone with only 4 short workouts per week.

Let us first look at 3 Myths Busted by the creator, Jennifer  Nicole Lee about using the Fitness Model Program:

Myth #1

I would have to hire an expensive nutritionist to create a personalized diet for me to look like a Fitness Model ™

FALSE! Nutritionists are not necessary! They do not specialize in sports related athletic goals and objectives. I am a certified specialist in Sports Performance, Nutrition and Supplementation- thus I am much more qualified to tell you what you need than a generic nutritionist. In addition, you will be wasting your time, money and energy listening to a mainstream dietician who really only relies upon the word "diet".

Question- What are the first 3 letters of the word DIET- Exactly! We don’t want you to die- we want you to live and live optimally looking and feeling like a Fitness Model ™

Myth #2

I have to kill myself in the gym training 3 hours a day and eat little to nothing to gain these types of results!

FALSE! With the Fitness Model™ Program you will learn how to work out smarter not harder- People who train for more than 2 hours a day are overtraining and end up hindering rather than helping themselves. With my Fitness Model™ Program, you will learn exactly what to do, and your workouts will last no longer than one hour 4 to 6 times a week! After all I am speaking from experience- I have 2 kids and a business to run and don’t have 3 hours a day to train in the gym!

The Fitness Model Program™ is not a female bodybuilding program and won’t make you big and bulky, but it will help you burn fat and speed up your weight loss. These are the facts. The weight loss research simply does not lie. The way you are currently training for fat loss is probably not only getting you less than satisfactory results, but may actually be causing overuse injuries or an unhealthy exercise obsession. You just don’t have time to waste. As a busy woman, you deserve a fast acting fat loss program that helps you lose weight and burn belly fat in as little time as possible!

Myth #3

I would have to buy an expensive gym membership and spend thousands of dollars on a personal trainer who would kill me in the gym to look like a Fitness Model™!

FALSE! You can and will achieve that coveted Fitness Model™ Look with this Fitness Model Program™ with at home convenient workouts. I know firsthand how to achieve the Fitness Model™ look by working out in the comfort of your own home, with the essential at home fitness equipment. The fact is that you only need 5 small, easy to put away pieces of equipment that you need- and yes I only said 5 pieces of equipment.

The whole program consists of 12 weeks of Complete Top Fitness Model Food Plans, Exercise Routines plus Beauty Secrets!