Artificial Turf:Those words “artificial pitch” mean little to most American sports fans. But the phrase is significant elsewhere in the world – and often provokes a strong reaction. In the United States, pitch is a baseball term (and what could constitute an “artificial pitch”? a lefty avatar throwing to home plate?). In the most British form of the English language, a pitch is the lawn, the field of play, for sports such as soccer and cricket. A pitch is traditionally covered by natural grass. Thus, an artificial pitch is fashioned with synthetic grass — artificial turf. An artificial pitch, of course, has many advantages over a natural grass pitch. The artificial pitch offers superior playability characteristics such as consistent traction, ability to sustain play even in inclement weather, and greatly reduced maintenance costs because it needs no watering or other traditional upkeep. Aesthetically, an artificial pitch looks perfectly green regardless of the conditions. But like their American counterpart, the football or baseball field with artificial turf, artificial pitches are somewhat controversial; purists maintain the games should be played only on natural grass. After rigorous testing and hand-wringing, FIFA declared that World Cup qualifying matches could be played on approved artificial pitch surfaces. The games were played with no apparent adverse effects. artificial turf.