Playing Australian football on artificial turf: what do the players think?

To investigate Australian Football players' perceptions of the safety and performance attributes of artificial turf, considering the influences of gender, surface composition, level of exposure and injury status.

Cross-sectional.

Senior male and female Australian Football players, 18-35 years, from two clubs training and competing on artificial turf were invited to participate. Players completed a validated and reliable questionnaire assessing their perceptions of physical performance and injury risk on artificial turf.

118 community-level Australian Football players completed the questionnaire: 68 males and 50 females. Overall, players preferred artificial turf in wet conditions (57.3 %) and natural turf in dry conditions (71.4 %). Natural turf was also favoured for competition (82.2 %) and training (55.0 %). Females and individuals with greater exposure - defined by the frequency of turf interactions - preferred artificial turf for training, and wet conditions (p < 0.05). Gender (p = 0.031) and injury status (p = 0.008) significantly impacted performance-related perceptions. Players' preferences and their perceptions of performance and injury risk were significantly influenced by the surface composition (p < 0.001). Skin-related injuries (48.3 %) were the most commonly self-reported injury. Significant differences in injury likelihood and/or severity statements were found when analysed by gender (p = 0.011), exposure (p < 0.001), injury status (p < 0.05) and surface composition (p < 0.05).

These findings demonstrate that player perceptions of artificial turf are influenced not only by surface composition but also by individual experiences and biases. By recognising and responding to these individual factors, stakeholders in the Australian Football community can refine their approaches to encourage acceptance and adoption of artificial turf.