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As demand for sporting fields continues to increase, NSW’s new guidelines for synthetic fields are a welcome manual to the decision-making behind the management and implementation of these fields. Though the question of how it tackles this critical issue persists.

Just this month, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure released its Synthetic Turf Sports Fields in Public Open Space: Guideline for Decision-Makers.

A comprehensive study that outlines the application of creating more community-based synthetic fields in NSW, backed up by former NSW reports.

The Guideline is broken up into two chapters:

• Section 2: Decision making for sports field surfaces – provides key information, considerations, and resources to help inform the decision-making process for selecting a sports field surface. This includes the pressures on public open space, the types of surfaces available to meet community needs, and the social, environmental, health, and economic considerations.
• Section 3: Guide for synthetic turf sports fields – provides advice for projects considering and developing synthetic turf sports fields. It guides the reader on how to achieve best practice when planning, designing, delivering, and managing synthetic turf assets.

As stated in this guideline, it was produced due to the necessary need for synthetic fields to be created to keep up with a number of sporting demands.

Majorly, a growing increase in population of the state, with the population of NSW forecast to grow by 85,000 people each year, reaching 9.8 million by 2041 as outlined in the guideline.

There is also the need for reliable and safe sporting facilities for the community, making the demand and capacity of these fields necessary.

Just last year Football NSW and its associations were facing the tough reality of weather impacts as a winter of heavy rain made many of the natural grass fields unplayable.

With too few synthetic fields to use state wide, thousands of players over the state had shortened seasons and struggling management of the scheduling was met with a huge discourse of disappointment.

As is the nature of Australian sport, many codes must compete for very little space, especially when these spaces are council owned. The preparing of this is no easy task and central to this guideline.

This guideline is comprehensive and valuable for the creation of desperately needed synthetic fields.

The document combines the importance of balancing sustainability, functionality and community needs when considering synthetic turf for sports fields.

This can only be achieved through thoughtful stakeholder engagement in planning to creating multi-faceted spaces with a strong guideline of principles to make the decision of development.

This is a successful start and a very important document for the functional push for more synthetic fields and a huge step forward in providing the grounds for the production for more sporting facilities.

However, one problem is evident. The speed of production of synthetic fields, like any development, cannot fit the speed of demand.

This report importantly outlines the need of all fields is evident and also the ways in which these decisions should be made for synthetic or not. The case study of Allan Border oval in the paper is a perfect example.

Though another case study is an example in the Northern Beaches of Sydney displays the growing situation in another sense.

A local football summer competition called Small Sided Game (SSG) has voiced concerns about its reduced space allocation as the council decided for the coming playing season. Usually played on several grass fields, as it has been classified as a high-impact sport has been reserved to a singular synthetic field for the upcoming season.

The business has calculated that this would mean the loss of around 1000 participants from an average 3,500 participant strong season. A tough reality for the business as it loses such a large part of its revenue.

It is also a huge loss for the community as a thriving local business and summer sport will be considerably constrained and many people will be missing out on this vital activity.

Other environmental and health issues are associated with synthetic fields, such as the impact of injuries on the surface and the dangerous presence of carcinogenic microplastics.

Synthetic fields contribute to plastic migration and rising local temperatures, as heat islands effects potentially worsening soil and water pollution.

These issues have been presented in the guidelines and its relative supporting studies; therefore, they are factored into the overall guideline.

The problem remains, sports a vital part of our Australian culture and community needs to be able to grow physically with its demand.

Yet, is a synthetic revolution the only option?

Natural turf, available in many areas already, needs to be more effectively maintained and preserved, not just due to the logistical demands but for the community and environment demands, grass fields are crucial.

The NSW government needs to find a way to encourage the creation of synthetic fields but also more effectively maintain existing grass fields in a multi-pronged approach.

Football Australia’s $3 billion plan presented to the federal government has stated the need for funding in the growing demand. Synthetic fields and field upgrades is central to this request.

This document is the perfect start to push the necessary development process in the coming years, in conjunction with a multi-pronged approach with quick relief for existing fields and longer development for which synthetic fields is needed.

Otherwise, if situations like the one happening with SSG will continue to affect our communities, the participants who are the backbone of Australian sporting community are the ones who take the biggest hit.

The positive impact of leisure activities on physical, mental and communal health cannot be understated.

If maintaining access to sport — one of Australia’s most important cultural pillars — requires investment, then it must be made. Especially for football, the most played sport in both NSW and the nation.

There are little other endeavours that could trump its importance.

You can read the full report here.