MINOT, N.D. (KXNET) — Springtime is here and those in schools are preparing for the sports season.
More schools are upgrading their fields to turf, and making the switch has not only benefited many athletes by reducing injuries but it’s also been good for the fields.
“Well that’s the beauty of turf, luckily again with Corbett Field and the softball diamonds and Dwayne Carlson that’s all-artificial turf so that drains right into the tiles,” says Mitch Lunde, Activities Director at Minot Public Schools.
The fields are ready to be played on once the snow melts, but that doesn’t mean the weather will cooperate.
“People can say ‘well the fields are ready but it’s no fun to stand out in center field when it’s 30 degrees.’ We need obviously for the temperatures to heat up you know we want to get into that, I hate to say wind chills of 40 to 45 because that’s still cold for a kid to stand out there.” says Lunde.
Mid-April is the goal to have the fields ready for spring sports, but that’s not always the case, so Minot Public Schools has a backup plan for when mother nature throws a curve ball.
“Everybody does the same thing, we try to open up the fields as soon as possible without damaging the fields, once they’re good to go we are able to get going outside,” says Lunde.
The high demand for these fields has caused schools to switch to turf for better maintenance to help with the annual upkeep.
