HC Indiana in Flanders, the Netherlands, has become the first hockey club in the world to install the new S-Tec Orbion II pitch from SAPCA member, Lano Sports.
The new artificial turf system is one of the first in the world to meet the new ‘dry non-irrigated’ standards of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
HC Indiana decided to renovate one of its two hockey pitches in 2024. The club – one of the largest in the region – didn’t want to take any chances when it came to quality.
“We assessed three possible suppliers on several criteria,” says Maarten Van Hoecke, the club’s financial manager.
“The price tag played a role, of course, but we didn’t want to compromise on quality. So we asked the players of our U16, U19 and first teams on which pitches of our opponents they prefer to play. We made a ranking per supplier and Lano Sports came out as the winner. Lano Sports also scored excellently in terms of technical knowledge and response speed to our questions.
“A final crucial factor was the timing. During the summer break, we actually only had three months to install the carpet and everything around it – such as lighting, kickboards and fencing. The construction holidays also fell during that period.
“As with any construction project, some challenges arose, but in the end Scheerlinck, the loyal partner of Lano Sports who were also responsible for the national training pitches at Sportpark de Wilrijkse Pleinen in Antwerp, finished on time. A huge achievement.”
The timing of the project provided another boost. Lano Sports had a new artificial turf ready that perfectly matched the club’s sustainability ambitions.
“The S-Tec Orbion II technology is our answer to the FIH’s request to develop a dry, non-irrigated pitch for top hockey ,” explains Chris Vandenborre, Senior Product Development Manager at Lano Sports.
“Since the 1976 Olympic Games, water pitches have been the standard because they make very fast and technical hockey possible. But you need a lot of water to irrigate those pitches, from 12 to 18 cubic meters per match. In order to make the increasingly global sport of hockey more sustainable, the FIH entrusted the artificial turf manufacturers with the task of developing a dry pitch that approaches or – if possible – equals the advantages of a hockey pitch. Think of game comfort and speed, but also player welfare.
“In that development, you have to take into account all possible interactions between player, the pitch, ball and hockey stick. So not an easy task.
“As a pioneer in sustainable artificial turf, we already had developments in the pipeline when the FIH came out with the new innovation standards for a ‘dry non-irrigated’ category. At the end of 2023, we were the second developer in the world with the technology that met the requirements: S-Tec Orbion I.
“The FIH approved it, but in the meantime we were already working on the successor, based on a new yarn that had been developed even more specifically for ‘dry non-irrigated’ pitches. Six months later, S-Tec Orbion II was a fact and since then, the first pitch has been installed and put into use at HC Indiana.”
S-Tec Orbion II not only meets the ‘FIH dry non-irrigated’ standards, but also has the ‘FIH Global’ and ‘FIH National’ labels. The perfect evolution story.
HC Indiana’s Van Hoecke admits that buying into the S-Tec Orbion II story was seen “as a small gamble” – but one that paid off.
“We don’t regret the choice at all: our members only want to play on the new carpet,” Van Hoecke said.
“They find the speed of the new pitch incredible, even though we use three times less water than before. Even without watering, the quality of play remains outstanding. We hardly water the carpet and yet the speed of play is unprecedented.”
Lano Sport’s Vandenborre adds: “Our story doesn’t end with S-Tec Orbion II. For example, MakinH, a spin-off that originated at Ghent University, is working on a new, innovative ‘wet hockey ball’: the ‘rewetta’.
“We are also happy to share our knowledge and expertise with them to further highlight our pioneering role in sustainability. This pioneering approach is also one of the reasons why we enjoy the FIH Preferred Supplier status.”