AstroTurf synthetic sports surfacing has signed an agreement with the European Hockey Federation (EHF) to be the official supplier of synthetic hockey pitches to the organisation.

The recently signed agreement between AstroTurf and the EHF extends the organisations’ formal sponsorship, which first began in 1994. 

Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf LLC, states, “It is our extreme pleasure to announce the continuance of the long standing sponsorship of the European Hockey Federation. During the past year we have been fortunate to have had input from the highest levels of the EHF for future product needs and design. Part of the changes in our offerings include the introduction of BIOCELL technology in the System 5 AstroTurf which utilises renewable resources as well as post-industrial and post-consumer products. This is only one of the ways we are trying to do our part in creating environmentally friendly offerings. We have selected LANO SPORTS to b our primary distributor into the European sports marketing area. We feel their long standing, respected position in carpet and sports field manufacturing mirrors our efforts in the United States.”

Leandro Negre, President of EHF expressed “his thanks to Bryan Peeples and AstroTurf for placing their trust in EHF with this new sponsorship agreement” He went on to say “that this sponsorship agreement will be of great benefit to the Member Associations over the years ahead.” 

Astroturf’s selection by the EHF as the organisation’s official synthetic turf was a natural choice since the system is the world's most popular field hockey surface. First offered in 1965, AstroTurf is engineered to preserve field hockey’s necessary 'wet' characteristics without excessive watering, which allows the sport’s ideal playing conditions to be maintained longer with less overall water usage. AstroTurf fields are constructed from nylon 6.6 fibers, which provide a softer and less abrasive surface for better playability, player comfort, ease of maintenance and dependability.  The economical and durable open cell foam pad used under the AstroTurf surface provides additional water containment and cushioning for athletes. 

The first synthetic surface ever used for field hockey, AstroTurf made its debut in the sport at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Since then, the material has been seen frequently on both professional and amateur pitches.