The contract was awarded to Polytan by the Isle of Man government after a stringent tender and evaluation process by their consultants, PSD, and the project manager  Bell Burton.

The pitches are at Castle Rushen High School at Castletown, Queen Elizabeth II High School at Peel and Ramsey Grammar School. Work was planned so that two out of the three pitches would always be available at any one time. The Contract involved taking up and disposing of the original, 14 year old, partly sand-filled surfaces at the three sites and some small repairs to the shock pads.

Samples and testing of the existing shock pads showed that the pad at Rushen Grammar School had deteriorated to such an extent that full replacement was required. This was unexpected but additional funding was found, the work commissioned and the problem quickly resolved.

Terragrass CoolPlus is a sand dressed high performance hockey surface that is made of 100% Polytan PE monofilament yarn and sets the standard for the new generation of hockey pitch surfaces. The unique CoolPlus fibre technology reduces the surface temperature in sunny conditions.

The new surface combines durable texturising and ‘CoolPlus’ fibre technology to create a high quality innovative system that provides superb and sustainable  play characteristics for all levels of hockey.

The playing properties of a pitch are dependent on the yarn used to make the turf. It is the yarn that determines how straight and fast the ball will roll. The yarn also determines the level of traction and rotation and, therefore, the acceleration and deceleration of the players.

The CoolPlus yarn, developed by and manufactured by Polytan, is now used in a range of surfaces for hockey, football and rugby.