Sport Group's Polytan & Poligras helps hockey innovate at Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022
First ever FIH senior world Hockey5s event
The Olympic Capital of Lausanne hosted the first ever senior international Hockey5s event this weekend (4th and 5th June). This debut of Downtown Popup Hockey made possible by a bespoke, climate-positive Poligras turf, was a breakthrough moment for hockey.
The turf was installed at the Place de Navigation, a spectacular location on the shores of Lake Geneva. It provided the stage for 10 world-class men’s and women’s international teams to showcase all the thrill, pace and dynamism of Hockey 5s – one of the sport’s most exciting innovations and an important part of hockey’s future.
The winners were Uruguay, who won every match, overcoming hosts Switzerland in the women’s final. While India who started the event as favourites in the men’s event, prevailed over Poland.
A New Format to Boost Hockey
The event was designed to showcase the amazing potential of Hockey 5s as a hockey-as-entertainment event, as well as the potential for developing and growing the game.
“Like Rugby7s and Twenty20 cricket, Hockey5s has been created to appeal to changing habits with smaller infrastructure requirements and creates non-stop action.”
Hockey5s requires fewer players, less space and uses rebound boards on all four sides which keeps the ball in play. This means more action, more goals, more entertainment and the adaptability to be played anywhere.
As FIH Sport Director, Jon Wyatt explains:
“In today’s snack size world, like many sports, we need to cater for shorter attention spans and short, sharp bursts of excitement. Like Rugby7s and Twenty20 cricket, Hockey5s has been created to appeal to changing habits with smaller infrastructure requirements and creates non-stop action. This is great for the growth of the game and the Hero FIH Hockey5s Lausanne event, as well as the first ever Hockey5s World Cup in 2024, is an incredible opportunity to capitalise on that potential.”
Downtown Popup Hockey played on Green Technology
The bespoke portable turf technology developed by Poligras has created a flexible solution which answers the infrastructure challenges posed by ‘downtown’ locations. This enabled the event to be staged in such a remarkable location.
Utilising 60% sugar cane and green energy at the manufacturing stage, it also adopted the green technology developed for Tokyo 2020 which is now being integrated into Poligras hockey turfs worldwide.
‘We’ve been helping hockey to innovate since the 1976 Games when we created the very first synthetic Olympic turf. We went on to realise the power of portable pitch technology at England’s FIH Pro League fixtures against New Zealand in 2019 when we helped to transform the home of Harlequins rugby into a world-class hockey venue. Our green, Hockey5s portable pitch innovation is the next stage of this journey,’ says Paul Kamphius, General Manager for Asia-Pacific and Global Lead for Sport Group’s hockey business.
‘The condensed action format at the Hockey5s event was thrilling to watch. We’re excited to see the game innovate and are proud to also have played such an integral part in the sustainable development of the sport.’
Poligras Trusted & Chosen with Hockey’s Big Heartbeat Moments
Hockey5s will continue its journey beyond the Olympic Capital with the inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in 2024 in Oman which will be played on Poligras.
Alongside this, the 11-a-side 2022 Women’s World Cup, 2023 Men’s World Cup and the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, will also be played on Poligras.