Hard Porous Pitch Maintenance: 01. Introduction

A popular artificial sports surface, especially during the 1950s and to early 1980s, until synthetic surfaces arrived on the scene.

It was quite common as a school facility, particularly where a joint use arrangement existed between a school and an adjacent sports centre.

Use of a surface would typically be reserved for school usage during the day, until about 5pm and then the surface would be available at evenings and weekends for adult and non-school.

Hard porous surfaces were an early form of MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) and were a suitable general-purpose surface between a grass pitch, which may have relatively poor drainage, but where high usage is required, and a synthetic grass pitch.

Other sections for this entry include:
2. The Pitch
3. Construction
4. Usage Management
5. Routine Maintenance
6. Brushing / Drag-matting
7. Selective Top-dressing
8. Rolling
9. Luting
10. Weeds / Moss
11. Localised Compaction
12. Marking Out
13. Irrigation
14. Renovation work
15. Top-dressing
16. Frost
17. Salt
18. References