INDOOR SPORTS FLOORING
The floor is designed to enable participants to move
more freely and to reduce the risk of injury; both in
the short-term and over a sustained period of time
regularly hired out for a variety of clubs the combined sprung floor system a Mondo’s Altro Mondoflex flooring
and classes and, as a result, floors need number of factors had to be considered. installation at St Joseph’s College
to be able to cope with a multitude of “The Altro Mondoflex sprung system
sporting and non-sporting activities.” was installed as part of a complete refur- “The installation of the Gerflor surface
Despite the introduction of the new bishment of the sports hall at St Joseph’s improves the quality of our training en-
European Standard, there are still other College,” Jack explains. “As is often the vironment,” said Moss. “It mimics the
factors that may need to be addressed case, timescales and budgets were tight types of floors used in international
in planning sports facilities, in terms of and we had to find a product that met competition and will also help reduce
flooring solutions. Multi-use facilities all of the requirements for safety, dura- impact injuries and foot traction prob-
will need to be adaptable to cope with bility and aesthetics, while minimising lems compared with a wooden floor.”
different demands, although the guid- the time the hall was out of use.” However, National Badminton Centre
ance of Sport England and NGBs do offer According to Jack, the floor adheres manager Mark Burbridge points out
further technical advice. to both Sport England’s Design Guidance that it is not solely about elite perform-
Notes and the European Standard; ers, with a number of clubs based at the
Sports Flooring factors that form part of the facility guid- facility set to benefit. He explained: “We
For multi-use, flooring manufacturer ance notes which must be included in a have 17 clubs that are based here and
Mondo has recently equipped planning application. The facility guid- more than 150 individual members. It
St Joseph’s College in Ipswich, Suffolk, ance notes are outlined by Sport England will give all these players the opportu-
with a new Altro Mondoflex rubber sur- and state that facilities need to adhere to nity to play on the same type of surface
face as part of a wider overhaul of the the latest technical specification, some- that international competitions are
college’s indoor sports hall. However, thing that could contribute towards a played on and greatly benefit the many
Mondo regional sales manager Craig successful planning application. young players that regularly play here.”
Jack said that in order to install However, while a club will normally It’s just as important to provide the
be directed – via Sport England – to an right flooring solution as it is the level
NGB for guidance relating to flooring of coaching available, or the standard
solutions, sometimes the NGB needs to of equipment, to ensure that partici-
adjudicate on the specification for its pants are given every chance to benefit
own facilities. This was the case with from sports in the UK. Achieving Sport
the wooden surface at the National England’s target of one million people
Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes, participating in more sport by 2013
Buckinghamshire. In order to meet the will be determined by whether people
required criteria the flooring is being re- feel comfortable and enthused by
placed with a Gerflor combined system, the facilities on offer.
which will incorporate a point elastic For many projects, knowing what
floor on top of a sprung undercarriage. flooring solution to provide – whether
The floor is designed to enable partici- it is for one particular sport or for a
pants to move more freely and to reduce range of sports, could also contribute
the risk of injury; both in the short- towards the chances of obtaining plan-
term and over a sustained period of ning permission. As Sport England’s
time. Badminton England performance planning guide highlights, schemes that
director, Ian Moss, believes that the in- adhere to the relevant technical and
stallation will provide a boost for elite facility guidance are just as crucial as
competitors preparing for competitions other planning requirements. ●
in the lead up to London 2012. Pete Hayman is a Leisure Media journalist
66 Read Sports Management online sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009
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