Diocesan School to Build Multi-Purpose Astroturf

Diocesan School to Build Multi-Purpose, All-Weather Sports Turf


Diocesan School for Girls is to build a multi-purpose, all-weather sports turf which will enhance its existing excellent sporting facilities and ease a shortage of quality turfs available for Auckland secondary school competitions.

The competition-quality, wet-dressed turf will be used for hockey as well as other sports including tennis and netball at the all girls independent school in Epsom which currently has two of New Zealand’s top ranked secondary school hockey teams.

Diocesan’s First XI hockey team won the national Federation Cup and Diocesan’s Second XI won the national Chris Arthur Cup in September 2009.

Work on the turf, which will include an underground, 206-vehicle car park, a tiered spectator gallery for up to 280 people, changing rooms, a sheltered bus bay and night lighting, is scheduled to begin in early December.

The new facility – the second stage of a master plan to create more space for sports and recreation at the school – is scheduled to open at the start of the 2012 academic year.

Stage one of the plan is a state-of-the-art aquatic centre that opened in February 2009 and includes the only school pool in New Zealand with a moveable floor.

As well as that 25m by 20m pool, which is designed for sports codes including waterpolo, flippa ball and underwater hockey and for beginner swimmers, the aquatic centre has a learner pool, a physical education classroom, a purpose-built fitness centre and a tiered 380-seat spectator gallery.

The principal of Diocesan School, Ms Heather McRae, said the multi-purpose turf is part of a long term focus on developing the school’s already excellent sporting, cultural and academic facilities.

“Diocesan has a rich history of achievement in a range of sporting codes and the multi-purpose turf will help the school build on its culture of sporting excellence,” she said.

“It will also provide all students with even more opportunities to participate in the wide range of physical education and sporting activities that Diocesan offers at all levels, regardless of their abilities.”

As well as hockey, the all-weather turf will be used for general physical education and several other codes.

Ms McRae said Auckland has a shortage of competition quality turfs for sports so Diocesan’s new turf would help ease pressure on existing ones that secondary schools use.

“The turf will be able to be used as a much needed venue for secondary school level competitions at local, regional and national level – so it will be an asset to the wider educational community as a whole.”

There was also scope for it to be used for youth academies and elite teams, she said.

The facility’s environmentally sustainable features include a rainwater recycling system for irrigation, sensored lighting controls, and padded concrete walls to reduce noise.

ENDS

© Scoop Media