Tuff Group were engaged by Tamworth Regional Council in the redevelopment of Tamworth Hockey Centre in early 2020. This project scope included the redevelopment of two existing Global standard FIH (Fédération Internationale de Hockey) pitches, and the construction of an entirely new third pitch. The development is part of the council’s bid to bring elite-quality sport to regional communities, providing a facility capable of hosting state and national hockey championships.

Tuff Group has overcome a multitude of hurdles in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic; many members of their Victorian-based construction team have been relocated to Tamworth for several months to prevent unnecessary travel whilst continuing to deliver the project. As air travel has been severely restricted, any team members required to travel have completed the lengthy road trip between Melbourne and Tamworth. To reduce the risk of introducing the virus onto the work site, the workforce was restricted to all workforce who had previously been onsite and disallowing any new subcontractors.

Tuff Group’s National Construction Manager, Gavin Longworth, ensured that sanitisation and hygiene protocols were applied at the highest standard throughout the site. Some of these measures included the thorough sanitisation of all tools, the breakroom, and vehicles several times daily. Strict COVID-19-specific OHS measures were introduced and deployed for all of Tuff Group’s worksites to ensure that projects could continue to operate safely.

Being a design and construction contract, Tuff Group’s in-house design team undertook the design of the project, which included evaluating the existing pitches to assess the remediation methodology required to bring the existing asphalt surface back within FIH tolerances. It also
included the complete design of the third, new pitch.

This project presented unique subgrade conditions that were managed and mitigated through a collaborative approach between Tuff Group and the Tamworth Regional Council, minimising project risk whilst maximising project outcomes.

To ensure all pitches offered identical gameplay, the third new pitch was built to the same grades as the existing two pitches. As a result of changes to FIH Construction Guidelines, the new pitch was only eligible for National qualification under FIH Standards.

Tuff Group’s team has pushed through unprecedented and challenging times to continue to deliver this project for the council and local community; a credit to the dedication and skill of Tuff Group’s project team. The expansion and upgrade of these facilities is part of a $9.6 million
injection into the Northern Inland Centre of Sporting Excellence, funded through a partnership between the NSW Government via the Regional Sports Infrastructure Fund, Tamworth Regional Council, and the Tamworth Hockey Association.