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.
Canoeing is basically the activity of paddling a canoe or kayak. Essentially a canoe or kayak is a humanly powered boat that is both light and small and pointed at both ends. It is propelled by the use of a paddle. A canoe is propelled using either a single or double bladed paddle, with the peddler sitting on a raised seat. A kayak on the other hand, is propelled with a double bladed paddle and the peddler sits with their legs in front of them. Kayaks are a closed deck boat with the peddler sitting inside, whereas a canoe is an open boat. The term canoeing is a generic term for both types of activity.
Canoeing is both a recreational and sporting activity, although it can also be used as a method of transportation.
Sport
The International Canoe Federation or ICF is the world wide organisation for canoeing. It creates the rules and protocol that governs the various different disciplines of a canoe or kayak competition. The ICF now recognises a number of different competitive and non-competitive disciplines, with two of them featuring in the world famous Olympic games.
Sprint This is the original canoeing discipline and is occasionally referred to as Racing. The races usually cover 200, 500 and 1000m courses and include both kayaks and canoes.
Slalom This discipline consists of a timed decent down a the rapids of a white water course, where the competitor must guide their canoes or kayaks through a series of gates. Competitors are expected to go against the flow of the river and across it.
Marathon As the name implies this is a long distance race over a flat water course that varies in length from anything between 2 miles to over 200 miles.
Canoe Polo Once again, as the name implies, this is polo in canoes. It is usually a fast paced battle between two teams of 5 players.
White water Racing Again, the name is quite self explanatory. White water racing (also referred to as Wild Water Racing) involves competitors racing specialised canoes or kayaks down a white water river. Canoe Sailing Canoe Sailing is a race that involves the competitor using modified canoes with sails.
Recreational There is no strict definition for how to recreationally canoe, the distinctions are being increasingly blurred as new canoes and equipment are being developed. The general emphasis however, is just to have fun!
Equipment
Right, so what equipment would you need? Let's first warn you that compiling all of the necessary kit can be quite expensive. At the beginning you may be able to loan or borrow equipment from a club. These will be the bare essentials, just enough to get you started. This would consist of the following:
The extras you may invest in at a later date could be:
- Cagoule - Wet suit - Wet suit Boots / Shoes
All in all, other than the inherent costs of any sporting or recreational activity, there are only positives in regards to canoeing. It can be the most enjoyable, fun and enlightening experience so why not give it a try!
Both Stanley Degeorgio & Adam Thompson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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