With fitness all the rage these days, there's an uptick in gyms, arenas and courts looking for expert flooring solutions to support the growing cadre of fitness enthusiasts. Sports floors can take on a variety of looks, depending on the type of sport being played and the look and feel of the space. Outdoor sport flooring, for example, has to be resistant to intense heat, rain, wind, and durable enough to withstand the activities of the sport and general wear and tear. They have to be flexible enough to reduce the tension on players' knees and joints, comfortable enough to be used regularly, and must provide traction and shock absorbency. Baseball, football, soccer, track and field, lacrosse, tennis, basketball are often played outdoors and they each require the appropriate playing surface.
There are two main types of outdoor athletic surfaces in use today - track and field surfaces and artificial turf. Track surfaces are often made from recycled rubber materials that provide excellent traction and shock absorbency to avoid common injuries to the legs, feet, and ankles. They're also designed to drain and repel rainwater to keep the surface dry and safe. The vulcanized rubber tracks are treated to make the rubber much stronger, more flexible, and more resistant to heat and other environmental conditions, making these surfaces ultra safe, durable, consistent, and easy to maintain.
Cheaper, safer, and much more manageable than natural grass, artificial turf has become the go-to for sports arenas that need a grassy - but not necessarily real grass - surface to play on. These high performance turfs mimic the look and feel of natural grass with none of the maintenance required, and provided optimum shock absorbency and stability. They're popular in soccer, football, baseball, and other sports that are traditionally played on natural grass surfaces.
In contrast, indoor sports floorings are much more varied and depend on the type of sport being played. Basketball, volleyball, wrestling, tennis, and track need different sports surfaces to accommodate them. Maple hardwood flooring is the most common type of indoor sports flooring, especially for basketball and other multi-player courts. This durable flooring is endlessly customisable, and looks good with regular maintenance. They come equipped with subfloor systems that help with shock absorption, but also come with a high cost of maintenance.
Another great option for indoor sports flooring is polyurethane. An extremely durable type of flooring, polyurethane can handle heavy impact from equipment and regular use, and is the only totally seamless sport flooring on the market. They're highly customisable and require much less maintenance than the traditional hardwood flooring.
Recycled rubber flooring can be used for many different purposes, but is especially ideal as weight room flooring and flooring for training and fitness centers. This type of flooring is one of the most economical athletic floors and it is also very durable, easy to maintain, water and stain resistant, shock absorbing, and is widely available in interlocking tiles.
Vulcanized rubber athletic floors are among the most durable and high performing indoor sports floors in the industry. The term refers to rubber that's undergone a chemical process known as vulcanization. This involves mixing natural rubber with additives such as sulfur and other curatives to make it stronger, more flexible, and more resistant to heat and other environmental conditions. Vulcanised rubbed floorings consist of multiple layers to provide maximum comfort and shock absorbency for a wide range of uses from weight room flooring to multi-purpose field houses. The top layers are highly slip resistant, anti-microbial, non-porous, and easy to maintain while the lower layers provide shock absorbency and stability. Vulcanized rubber can also resist compression and handle bleachers and other heavy equipment. These high-traffic resistant floors are safe, resilient, and built to take support daily activities at gyms, multi-purpose halls, and fitness centres.