California has Playground Safety Regulations that require all play areas to be inspected and approved before they are opened to the public but there is no law that applies to sports fields.

Is Sports Field Impact Testing required?

There have been numerous serious injuries on high schools and professional sports fields recently but there is no mandatory requirement for Impact Attenuation testing of sports field surfaces to limit the effects of these injuries.

Synthetic sports fields have become very popular due to the high demand for playable fields in all weather.  Because of the cost of developing and maintaining a good synthetic field it makes sense to have Impact Testing performed as soon as fields are completed to assure that the field has been installed to meet the requirements of ASTM 1936 and to establish a base reading which future tests can be compared with.  Sports fields should be retested every year or two to extend the life of the surfacing and to assure that they continue to provide the required protection for the players.

How is Sports Field Impact Testing done?

ASTM F 1936 is the Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Turf Playing Systems.  It describes a test method and sets the maximum impact attenuation for all types of installed turf playing systems.  The turf playing system typically includes field areas within the inbounds lines and areas outside the inbounds lines extending to the sport specific limit lines as defined by the appropriate regulating body or appropriate standard, or both.  All of these locations are areas where an athlete should expect compliant impact attenuation characteristics.

ASTM F 1936 specifies 8 specific locations that must be tested on each field and each site must be tested 5 times.  The five test values are averaged at each location.  This drawing shows the typical testing pattern required by ASTM F 1936.  The Impact Test requires a different piece of equipment than the equipment used for playground surfacing.  We use the "A" Missile.  This devise drops a 20# head form from a height of 24 inches.  The Average Gmax must be less than 200 at each site.

How do I schedule Impact Testing for my Sports Field and how much does it cost?

The cost will vary depending on the travel time and the number of sites to be tested.  Please contact us for a quote specific to your project.