Durfee High School

The Client

Fall River School Department, MA

Durfee High School

Ken Pacheco, Chief Operating Officer

Bradford Bustin, Athletic Director

REVIVE AND RESTORE FOR SAFE PLAY

The Challenge

Fall River School Department knew it was time to replace their 14 year old fields, but in the middle of a new high school construction project, and the COVID-19 pandemic, funds were not readily available to replace the two, heavily used, synthetic turf fields. Due to the condition and age of the field, Brad knew that he was facing the potential shut down of the fields, and relocating all practices and games to other facilities until a plan for replacement could be determined. The fields had limited maintenance and the discussion with Replay was getting a GMax test that allowed the field to be safely used.  

Our Approach

RePlay Maintenance USA was introduced to Brad as a possible solution to keep the fields open.  When Replay surveyed the fields, it was quickly determined that the fields had a large amount of dead fiber mixed in with the infill, and the infill was extremely compacted. The compaction of the infill and the uneven distribution of the infill was leading to high GMax numbers that potentially could lead to the closing of the fields for use due to safety.  RePlay’s team identified the need for the decompaction and removal of fiber, the possibility of adding infill to reach satisfactory GMAX numbers, and to schedule the multi day Revive Plus Maintenance process to fix the identified issues. Replay spent three full days per field removing debris, fiber and contamination, lifting the crumb rubber infill, and redistributing the infill evenly across the surface.  

The Results

After completing the multi day process on both fields, an independent testing company was hired to complete GMAX testing and the field was able to meet the current GMax requirements.  One area had higher GMax numbers than preferred however, so RePlay added infill to the impacted area to reduce the GMAX number. With the passing GMAX test, Durfee High School was cleared to practice and hold games on both fields, eliminating the plan to transport athletes offsite for games and practices. RePlay will continue to work with both the athletic director and Chief Operating Officer through the use of Passport365, a web based app that holds their maintenance plan with the ability to track and record maintenance of the field.