Despite Desert and Water Scarcity

The Namib is perhaps the world's oldest desert, and as the so-called "Namib Sand Sea," it is even listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stretching over 2,000 km of endless dunes and gravel plains along the Atlantic coast in southwestern Africa, it extends more than 150 km inland in Namibia. The Namib, which literally translates to "large emptiness," is undoubtedly one of the most inhospitable places on earth – with desert floors as hot as 70 °C, nighttime temperatures below 0 °C, frequent sandstorms, and sometimes decades-long drought periods. It is precisely here, near the "Walvis Bay Gymnasium Primary School," where we installed our Poligras Paris GT zero surface. Located at the edge of the settlement of Walvis Bay – Namibia's third-largest city with over 100,000 residents – this newly established institution actively combines academic education with cultural and sports activities, including hockey and tennis.

At the border between the school and the desert, we have installed the climate-neutral hockey turf Poligras Paris GT zero together with our partner Trompie Sport. It is the second field of its kind on the African continent. Our officially FIH-certified Dry Hockey field requires no sand infill and no irrigation, making it, as part of the FIH Innovation Category Dry Turf Hockey Field, a milestone in sustainability for hockey sports. Historically, a large amount of water was needed to play professionally on such fields. Thanks to technologies specifically developed by Polytan for this turf, it can be played on with or without irrigation.

The unwatered hockey turf system deployed in Namibia enables hockey to be played at the highest level, even in the driest regions of the world. Thus, Walvis Bay becomes a model for overcoming one of the most significant challenges in this sport – water scarcity being a global issue. The turf's intense green color not only underscores this focus symbolically but also creates a striking contrast against the gray to yellowish desert sand in the immediate vicinity of the field.

In addition to the hockey court, we installed four multi-purpose courts featuring our Laykold surfaces, mainly used for basketball and tennis matches in Walvis Bay. Laykold is recognized as the leading sports surface for major tennis events in the USA and Canada. Seven of the twelve most prominent hard-court tournaments, including the U.S. Open, are played on Laykold. At the Walvis Bay Gymnasium Primary School, the playing surface features a dark blue color, while the surrounding areas are in dark green. The Laykold system consists of a structured acrylic resin with premium pigments and specialty quartz sand. Its proven quality and excellent playing characteristics make Laykold equally appealing for basketball courts due to its exceptionally smooth and even surface.

The goal of the Walvis Bay Gymnasium Primary School is to provide comprehensive education that equally includes sports. We are proud to support this project with one of our most advanced surfaces, enabling students to play hockey at the highest level despite the desert environment and water scarcity.

Images: Maryka du Plessis