Ref: NS/776 Date: 14th January 2016

When it comes to the quality of their playing surface, only the very best will do for Holcombe Hockey Club in Kent - one of the country's leading club sides who boast no fewer than 12 full internationals among their ranks.

So when the time came for Holcombe to commission the reconstruction of their home pitch, the club knew they were in safe hands with leading synthetic surfacing supplier and official England Hockey Facilities Partner Notts Sport.

Through its unique position in the market, working with a variety of UK and international manufacturing partners, Notts Sport offers the widest possible range of FIH (International Hockey Federation) compliant pitches and systems with a comprehensive choice of solutions which are tailored to meet each customer's individual requirements.

With both their men's and women's first teams excelling in the National Premier League, the project to rebuild Holcombe's existing water-based pitch involved a full design appraisal with players and management alike - ensuring the playing and technical characteristics lived up to the standards of players such as Team GB men's captain Barry Middleton and Team GB players Sam Quek, Emily Maguire and Nicola White, among others.

Duncan Bennett, Managing Director of Notts Sport, says: "As with all the projects we work on, Notts Sport developed the bespoke design for the water-based pitch specifically to Holcombe's requirements, vision and feedback to a standard that meant the club also decided to incorporate the resurface of the adjacent second pitch using a sand-dressed grass designed to match the performance of the water-based pitch as closely as possible.

"Following the two-year development process, the reconstruction project and resurfacing of the additional pitch was specified and tendered to a range of specialist hockey pitch contractors. The contract for both pitches was then awarded to one of our approved contractors, S & C Slatter, after a comprehensive appraisal and interview process.

"Both pitches were completed over the summer ready for the start of the 2015/16 season and it is fantastic to see Holcombe's teams flying high in their respective leagues. The Notts Sport pitches have now had a few months of use and we're delighted to have received some really positive feedback from Holcombe's elite players."

Among the 12 internationals currently playing for Holcombe's men's and women's teams, 11 are members of Team GB. They have been delighted with the quality of their new playing surface.

England and Team GB defender Sam Quek says: "The new Holcombe pitch is an absolutely fantastic surface to play on. The ball absolutely fizzes across the surface and holds the water really well. It's a really great pitch and we're really lucky to have such an international standard pitch here. It's so much better than the old one."

Emily Maguire, who represents Scotland and Team GB, says: "It's a real international standard hockey pitch and we're really grateful to Notts Sport for helping us out and laying such a fantastic turf. The ball just plays really quickly across it and it means that we can play at really high-intensity and keep the standard of our game really high."

England and Team GB's Steph Elliott adds: "It's really nice and plays really well. It's a million times better than the old one. I actually fell on the pitch last season and my whole knee swelled up because the pitch was so hard, and now I fall and it's like you bounce back up!"

Established in 1984, Notts Sport is the leading specialist in the design, advice and supply of artificial turf for hockey and other sports.

The company has consistently proved that its bespoke designs for all types of hockey pitches provide exceptional performance for all standards of competitive hockey, as well as coaching and training.

Thanks to Notts Sport's unique, no-obligation Design and Advisory Service, all customers can benefit from expert advice and assistance from the design stage to installation and aftercare - all at no additional cost to the supply of the chosen surfacing solution. This minimises development costs and allows clubs and schools to receive specialist expertise and support without incurring costs prior to the scheme going ahead.

What's more, Notts Sport can also help schools and hockey clubs to work together to provide first-class facilities without any upfront capital costs through its Fast Track Funding initiative.

Under Fast Track Funding, the company will put in place up to 100% of the funding for a brand new pitch which can then be installed straight away. This has already been used by schools and academies around the UK with pitches completed and currently being constructed which would not have been possible without Fast Track Funding.

In many cases, the school can use the completed facility during weekdays, with the hockey club hiring it for evenings and weekends to provide guaranteed revenue over a set period to fund the repayments, creating long-term partnerships and sustainable facilities for both the school and club.

To find out more about the range of synthetic surfacing solutions for hockey available from Notts Sport, visit www.nottssport.com