Astroturf & Track and The Beurel
LUMEN | NEW @ SJI
New @ SJI
Astroturf & Track and The Beurel
By Samuel Lim Zhi and Yeo Sheng Kai Darius
Space for football , rugby , ultimate Frisbee and more !
Over the last few months , students and staff alike have been waiting eagerly for the opening of the school ’ s new astroturf and track . Designed to suit the evolving sporting needs of our student athletes , the astroturf consists of a new track to support the training and athletic development of our students , along with a new turf of synthetic grass suitable for outdoor team sports such as football and touch rugby . After its extensive period of construction , the astroturf surely did not disappoint , allowing Josephians to engage in sports once more to de-stress and train after rigorous days of academic work .
Did you know ?
The world ’ s first astroturf was invented in the 1960s by a team of researchers from the Monsanto Company . Installed at the Houston Astrodome in 1966 , the invention earned its name from a combination of ‘ astro ’ ( referring to outset space and a homage to the Astrodome ) and ‘ turf ’. The Astrodome was a multipurpose indoor stadium in Texas that could not support natural grass due to limited sunlight , resulting in the development of artificial turf as a solution .
Events hosted on the astroturf so far :
• Year 4 Inter-Class Games
• Annual Parade 2023
• Various NSG C-Division football matches
• Miscellaneous CCA trainings
Krithik SS ( ML401 )
“ At first , when the astroturf first opened , I thought it felt much bouncier than the natural grass on the original field . Following the Annual Parade where I commanded the NCC ( Land ) contingent and the Year 4 Inter-class Games where I was my class ’ goalkeeper , I have since gotten used to it . The synthetic astroturf has also kept my clothes cleaner due to the lack of mud . However , the risk of getting ‘ turf burn ’ is a lot more apparent , especially if you try to slide after scoring in sports when playing on the astroturf , even with long pants on , which can be quite painful . All in all , I am still a big fan of the upgrade . :)”
Gabriel Foo ( ML401 ) scoring against LE402 during Y4 ICG on the new astroturf
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