Duke Univ. waters astroturf during worst drought ever

[AngryAmish]

via fark

"It's not even real grass.

But in the midst of what may be the worst drought ever in North Carolina, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are watering the synthetic turfs used by their field hockey teams."

I guess Duke really does think it is better than everyone else.

[XemaSab]

1. What about the lacrosse team?

:hide:

[Richard Steele]

2. I've seen them doing that. I have no idea why it's done, but it PISSES me off. nm

[Sandaasu]

3. Duke sucks. (nt)

[supernova]

4. To be fair

From the article:

The International Hockey Federation requires the college teams to saturate the synthetic turfs before each practice and all games.

It's not just the way the ball bounces, athletics officials say, although field hockey balls do bounce better on saturated fields. When the turf is wet, coaches add, field hockey players have better grip on the surface and report fewer injuries.

Beth Bozman, Duke's field hockey coach, said she understood why passers-by could get all worked up over sprinklers going full blast amid conservation pleas.

"I drive a hybrid, and I recycle," Bozman said. "I'm as green as anybody. I understand."

Durham, which has about 69 days left in its water supply at the current use rate, has banned all outdoor watering. Duke, which could not supply a number for the gallons used on turf watering, gets a business exemption to spray the field and other places on campus as long as overall consumption decreases by 30 percent.

edit: My 2 cents. It's a ludicrous reg on the part of IHF (and why don't we have natural grass hockey fields anyway? ) and Duke and other schools ought to complain to them about the drought conditions here. Sports isn't a good reason to waste water.

I guess they are making up for it in other ways on campus.

[Lance_Boyle]

5. I guess UNC thinks it is better than everyone else, too.

Come to think of it, every college or university with a field hockey team thinks it's better than everyone else! The HORRORS!!! :eyes:

[BrotherBuzz]

6. I'd be cool with it if they were green enough to incorporate recycled water

A lot of golf courses in my area use treated water piped directly from the local water-treatment (sewer) plant. A lot of municipal landscaping is watered with the same.