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The Game of Hockey

ISSUE 00110 AUG 2026WINDSOR, NS44°59′N 64°08′W

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Field manual · surfaces

Water Based Hockey Pitches

A water-based hockey pitch is a synthetic carpet with no infill between the fibres, wetted before play so the ball runs on wet pile. That single decision — water instead of sand — determines how the game plays on it, what it costs to run, and how often it has to be re-marked.

“Astro turf” is a brand name that became a habit. It describes none of the three surfaces below precisely, and a supplier who uses it without saying which construction they mean is not yet telling you what you are buying.

The three surfaces

01 Unfilled, irrigated

Water-based

A dense, unfilled pile held upright by its own construction and wetted before play. The ball runs on wet fibre.

Cross-section through a water-based hockey surface Schematic cross-section: an unfilled pile carrying a film of water, over a carpet backing, a shockpad, an engineered base and a sub-base.

Schematic, not to scale.

In play
The fastest and truest of the three, with a low, consistent bounce and very little skin burn on a slide. It is the surface top-level hockey is played on, and the reason elite skills look the way they do.
What it demands
It has to be irrigated, which means a water supply, a pump and a sprinkler system that can wet the whole field in a few minutes, and a plan for what happens in a drought or a frost.
For marking
Lines are applied to a fibre that is repeatedly soaked and dried. Paint choice matters more here than anywhere else, and re-marking cycles are shorter.
02 Partly filled

Sand-dressed

Sand carried part way up a long pile. The tips stand clear of the fill, so the ball still meets fibre rather than sand.

Cross-section through a sand-dressed hockey surface Schematic cross-section: a long pile with sand filled part way up it, over a carpet backing, a shockpad, an engineered base and a sub-base.

Schematic, not to scale.

In play
Closer to water-based than sand-filled in ball behaviour, without the irrigation plant. The compromise most clubs land on when the fixture list is mixed and the budget is finite.
What it demands
Regular brushing to keep the sand level and the pile upright, and topping up as fill migrates towards the goalmouths and the touchlines.
For marking
Stable to mark, but a line laid when the fill is low sits differently from one laid after a top-up. Mark after dressing, not before.
03 Filled to near the tip

Sand-filled

Sand almost to the top of a long pile. The ball and the player are largely in contact with the fill.

Cross-section through a sand-filled hockey surface Schematic cross-section: a long pile with sand filled almost to the tips, over a carpet backing, a shockpad, an engineered base and a sub-base.

Schematic, not to scale.

In play
Slower and less predictable for hockey, and harsher on a slide. It is the surface that most often carries football, rugby training and community use as well, which is usually why it was chosen.
What it demands
The most forgiving of neglect in the short term and the least forgiving over years: compacted, contaminated sand is what eventually kills these pitches.
For marking
Lines can be marked to last, but they sit on a surface that moves under boots as well as sticks. Multi-sport marking sets complicate the picture further.

Side by side

No layer thickness, pile height or infill depth is quoted anywhere on this page. Those are product specifications, they differ between manufacturers and installations, and a number copied from a website is not a specification for your pitch. Ask the installer, and ask for it in writing.

How the three surfaces differ
Measurement One end of the range The other Note
Ball speed and trueness Water-based: highest and most consistent Sand-filled: slowest, most variable Sand-dressed sits between the two, nearer the water-based end.
Irrigation required Water-based: yes, before every match Sand surfaces: no The water requirement is the single biggest running-cost difference.
Routine upkeep All three: drag brushing and debris removal Sand types add levelling and topping up Follow the installer’s schedule; it is usually a warranty condition.
Line marking All three: 75 mm, to the same geometry Re-marking interval varies by surface and use The rules do not change with the carpet. Only the paint’s life does.
Where each is usually found Water-based: elite and performance venues Sand-filled: community and multi-sport Sand-dressed is the common club compromise.

Maintenance, in time order

A hockey surface fails slowly and then all at once. Almost every premature replacement traces back to skipped brushing, contaminated infill or a drainage problem left alone.

  1. Each session Clear debris and litter. Check for standing water, torn seams and loose line paint.
  2. Weekly Drag brush the full field, working across the direction of the last pass so the pile is not trained one way.
  3. Monthly Check infill depth and level on sand surfaces; top up hollows at goalmouths and along the touchlines.
  4. Each season Deep clean or decompact to the installer’s schedule. Book re-marking before the fixture list starts, not into it.
  5. Every few years Independent surface test if the venue hosts graded matches. Plan replacement well before performance failure, not after it.

Questions worth asking before choosing

  1. Who else uses the pitch? A surface that must also take football training four evenings a week is not going to be specified for hockey alone, and pretending otherwise at the design stage stores up an argument for later.
  2. Where does the water come from? A water-based pitch without a costed, permitted supply and a working irrigation system is a sand pitch that plays badly.
  3. What grade of hockey will be played on it? Competition conditions, not the rules of play, are what require particular surface certification. Ask the national association before committing, not after.
  4. Who maintains it, with what machinery, and on whose budget? If the answer is “the grounds team, when they can”, choose the surface that survives that.

What this page does not tell you

It does not certify surfaces, rank manufacturers or reproduce the facilities standards that sit behind competition approval. Those documents are published by the International Hockey Federation separately from the rules of play, and they are the authority on testing and certification — not this site, and not a supplier’s brochure.