Magazine: NZSTI Sport Partnership with ISA
By Tiffany Smith in Industry News on 13th Jul 2008 11:50
This article has been supplied by the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI). NZSTI is New Zealand's leading sports turf consultancy group, recognised by SPARC (Sport and Recreation NZ) as the "standard setting body" for turf maintenance and management. They can offer advice for all natural and synthetic turf surfaces.
ISA Sport (the sports facilities arm of the Dutch Sports Ministry) is well known in Europe. It is the primary organisation in the
Netherlands for developing, planning and managing sports field installation and new technologies with sports surfaces. The New Zealand Sports Turf Institute recently entered into a partnership with ISA Sport for performance testing of sports surfaces in Asia and the Pacific.
As the commercial arm of the Dutch Sports Ministry, ISA Sport is the accredited testing house for several international sports bodies including soccer’s governing bodies FIFA and UEFA, the Federation of International Hockey (FIH), the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The NZ Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) is the accredited testing house for the World Bowls Board and has been actively involved in developing and using performance testing methods for a number of years.
With the Institute’s recent strategic review, it was decided that the company would strengthen its involvement in performance testing, looking to build on its reputation and its Asian base. Around the same time, ISA Sport was looking to expand globally and was considering setting up an operation in the Asia/Pacific region.
Past communication identified that there are good synergies between the two organisations and that working collaboratively would achieve the aims of both groups. After visits to New Zealand by ISA’s Ties Joosten and Frank Meuleman, as well as a reciprocal visit to the Netherlands by NZSTI’s Bob Jones, terms and conditions were agreed upon and a Memorandum of Understanding signed.
The partnership will see NZSTI staff carry out performance testing work in the region under ISA Sport’s quality control guidance. The major business is expected to be with the third generation football turfs, which have now been accepted for international play by FIFA and UEFA.
NZSTI Board member Peter Dale commented that many organisations would give anything to have direct linkage with international bodies like FIFA and IAAF and that the partnership is of great significance to New Zealand sport as a whole. “That ISA identified the Institute as a logical partner in this exercise clearly indicates the high regard in which the NZSTI is held internationally”, he said.
NZSTI’s synthetic surfaces business unit Manager Bob Jones says the new development is very exciting and is a big step forward, given that the NZSTI can now offer its services to sports like hockey and tennis in this country.
Previously, for all performance testing of synthetic surfaces in the Asia/Pacific region, ISA Sport had to fly in its specialists from Europe. The new partnership will make servicing the region more cost effective for clients and the local sports community.
Although geographically miles apart, contact between the two companies date back for over fifteen years. In different trade related assemblies Keith McAuliffe met several times with ISA Sport’s senior expert Franklin Versteeg, always keen to learn from each other’s expertise.
The new partnership will make Total Quality Monitoring for synthetic sports surfaces available for the Pacific region. The concept of Quality Monitoring during the construction of sports venues is designed to help lower costs and risks to sport associations and municipalities. This concept has proven to be very successful in Europe, where it has been implemented by the numerous bodies (such as hockey, football and athletics associations).
The NZ Turf Management Journal is printed quarterly (Feb, May, Aug,
Nov) and is specifically tai lored to the turf industry with a range of topical, technical and research articles, book reviews and trade information
www.nzsti.org.nz
Post your own comment on this article
 "ISA Sports Sign")
Netherlands for developing, planning and managing sports field installation and new technologies with sports surfaces. The New Zealand Sports Turf Institute recently entered into a partnership with ISA Sport for performance testing of sports surfaces in Asia and the Pacific.
 "Fifa Ball")
The partnership will see NZSTI staff carry out performance testing work in the region under ISA Sport’s quality control guidance. The major business is expected to be with the third generation football turfs, which have now been accepted for international play by FIFA and UEFA.
