The Woodlands Christian Academy is 1st high school in Texas to install PivotTM by Tencate turf system for football field

On Friday, October 11, The Woodlands Christian Academy became the first high school in Texas to unveil its brand-new PivotTM by Tencate turf field during its TAPPS Football Division II District 4 opener against Cypress Christian Academy.

The revolutionary turf field is currently only used in Texas by Rice University and three municipal parks in Southlake, TX. PivotTM by Tencate boasts no rubber infill, no microplastics, and no PFAS (Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), which makes the turf 100 percent recyclable and one of the most environmentally friendly options on the market.

Hellas Construction, Inc. installed the Woodlands Christian Academy’s field over two weeks this fall and features the PivotTM by Tencate 1.25” pile height turf. This turf system has undergone extensive European testing by the Center for Turf Innovation (CTI) based in the Netherlands. The CTI’s testing included measuring Pivot’sTM turf/cleat release, turf recoil, lower limb joint loading, athlete speed, and temperature data against high-quality grass and rubber pellet-filled turf fields. In each test, the PivotTM turf system performed comparably with the high-quality grass fields and consistently better than the rubber-filled turf systems.

“We love being on the cutting edge of sports technology,” TWCA Athletic Director Randy Hollas said. “This turf was designed for some of the biggest leagues in the world, and we feel blessed to be only the second football field in Texas to feature this product.”

“During our research, we tested many different turf products and companies,” Hollas added. “We visited Arkansas to see the PivotTM turf system in person and were highly impressed. The turf mimics natural grass, has no rubber infill, and will stay cooler than our previous turf system. It will be great for our school, athletes, and coaches.”

“We started to develop the PivotTM turf system about three and a half to four years ago,” Tencate Sports CEO Charles Dawson said.

“For this type of turf, the majority of development begins in Europe. We worked with our partners at PSV Eindhoven, Liverpool, and Arsenal football clubs to develop turf that mimics high quality natural grass,” he added. “After 52 iterations of the product, our PivotTM turf system is the highest-performing, safest, most stable, and most environmentally friendly turf we have ever created.”

According to Dawson, most 3rd generation infill systems impact performance, footing and the response of athletes by returning negative energy to the athlete upon impact. PivotTM by Tencate instead uses a cooling additive to the backing of their turf, which has “no impact on footing, stability, player response, or surface stability,” Dawson said. The cooling additive also helps absorb heat, pulling it from the surface to the backing of the system to help keep the turf cooler, while being less abrasive than infill used in most turf systems.

The Warriors debuted their new field with a 49-21 win over Cypress Christian to move to 1-0 in district play and 5-1 overall. TWCA will host Second Baptist School on Friday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m.