Types of Outdoor Sports Surfaces

Playing surfaces vary widely from sport to sport, and each surface has its own drainage needs.

These outdoor courts and athletic fields include:

• Tennis Courts: Tennis courts are often porous, so rainwater can drain through them into the ground below and cause erosion. On top of that, different tennis courts use different materials, often hardcourt, grass, or clay. In fact, each of the major professional tennis tournaments uses a different surface material: the U.S Open and Australian Open use hard court surfaces, Wimbledon uses grass, and the French Open uses clay courts. Each surface reacts differently to rainwater and the elements. Overall, all tennis surfaces deal with draining rain and withstanding subfreezing temperatures that can compromise their materials.
• Baseball Fields: Baseball fields’ drainage problems stem from the fact that many of them have natural turf. Natural turf fields are never completely flat, and the soil beneath them can erode, leading to flooded fields after a rainstorm. The fields are unusual shapes with raised dirt mounds and dirt diamonds carved out of them. All these factors create risks for drainage problems.
• Soccer Fields: Players run up and down the field during a soccer game, compromising the turf and the soil beneath. Constant movement can affect the field’s surface shape and level, which can cause drainage problems. Whether the soccer field has natural or synthetic turf, its drainage system needs to withstand frequent periods of constant foot traffic and the elements.
• Football Fields: Football fields develop different drainage problems depending on whether they’re made of natural or synthetic turf. Natural turf needs its natural grass to stay healthy. If the grass isn’t healthy, the turf can erode. Synthetic turf doesn’t have natural soil beneath it, but it can still face erosion. However, synthetic turf can also sustain large amounts of standing water if the field doesn’t drain properly. Football fields are significant investments for schools, universities, and communities, so proper field drainage is critical.
• Volleyball Courts: Most outdoor courts and fields use either natural grass or solid synthetic material, but outdoor volleyball courts often consist of sand. Sand is much more prone to clogging than natural grass or synthetic turf. Volleyball courts need drainage systems that prevent the sand from clogging and creating pockets of standing water on top and erosion beneath the court.
• Golf Courses: Golf courses often develop drainage problems because their surfaces vary so much. One course contains multiple types of grass, sand traps, and hilly terrain. A golf course requires a drainage system that can handle all those variables while keeping the course dry.

How Does Hydraway Improve Outdoor Sports Surfaces?

Our Hydraway strip drain system improves outdoor sports surfaces by taking in a higher inflow rate of water than traditional perforated pipe drainage systems. Hydraway’s needle-punctured, thermally bonded construction prevents soil, sand, and silt from clogging the system. It’s also easier to install than traditional drainage systems, and it allows water to flow over 70% of its surface. The Hydraway installation process provides minimal disruptions for golf courses, and it prevents surface water from pooling on tennis courts. Our drainage system adapts to different types of sports turf without requiring significant modifications.

Improve Your Sports Field Drainage With Hydraway

How does your outdoor sports field or court currently drain? Do you deal with frequent standing water or flooding after rainstorms? Hydraway drains surface and subsurface water, so you don’t have to deal with excess water anymore. If you’re ready to switch to a more efficient and effective drainage system, reach out to us today.

We work with our professional partners to install our systems on all kinds of sports surfaces, and we’re ready to improve your field’s or court’s drainage. Connect with us now to let us know what problem you’re dealing with. We’ll ship one of our systems to your contractor and help them install the system properly, so you can reap its benefits.