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School Sports & Recreation

The Importance of Playground Surfacing

  We believe playgrounds are essential spaces for children’s physical and social development. However, their safety is of paramount concern to parents, educators, and community leaders. Playground surfacing plays a crucial role in safeguarding children from injuries while they explore, play, and grow. In this article, we will delve into the world of playground surfacing,

Pros and Cons of Each Type of Playground Safety Surfacing

  By Michele Breakfield Playground safety surfacing creates spaces where kids can run and play without getting hurt. This surface lies underneath and around playground structures, swings, slides, climbers and other equipment to protect kids if they fall. When choosing safety surfacing for your playground, it’s important to review all of your options, as some

Breathing New Life into School Gymnasiums

  In this article, our focus is directed towards the importance of schools refreshing their gymnasium floors to maintain optimal conditions. The gymnasium floors, playing a pivotal role in a school’s setup, can degrade with the passage of time, influencing safety measures and overall visual appeal. We’ll shed light on the advantages of refurbishing, guide

Why Physical Education Is Important

  By Pete Charrette Participating in a high-quality PE program may provide numerous benefits for students, perhaps more than any other subject. Physical education is critical to our health, well-being, and overall development. Unfortunately, it is not always understood by everyone. The fact is that we, as educators, must be our students’ and others’ own

Concrete Bleachers or Aluminum Bleachers?

  Choosing the best seating solution is critical for those who visit your outdoor athletic facility to have an enjoyable experience. The seating you choose impacts both the overall design and appearance of your sports arena and what type of experience visitors have during an event. In most settings, there are two main types of

Which Type of Volleyball System Is Right for Your Facility?

  By Kara Oughton Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the world, so it’s no surprise that there are endless equipment options and styles available on the market. So, just how do you choose? Consider your facility size and layout, play level, multi-sport accessibility, and budget when making purchasing decisions. Below we

When Is It Time to Upgrade Your Playground Equipment?

  Your playground looks quiet now, but spring is around the corner! Warm weather means kids will be ready for outdoor activities…but is your equipment ready for them? Let’s take a look at evaluating your play spaces and find out if it is time to upgrade your playground equipment. Your Equipment Is More Than 10

Playground Safety Surfacing

  When it comes to playgrounds, the most important factor to children is obviously the fun factor. Give them slides, give them climbers, and please never forget the swings! Parents, on the other hand, have a different list of wants for the parks and schoolyard playgrounds that their children will be playing on. At the

Sports Floor Safety and Longevity

   The importance of maintaining the quality and safety of a sport floor Many schools have wood sports floors. They are expensive to build, which is why it is important to maintain their quality and surface safety. Most gymnasiums are used for many different activities, like basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, social activities, and even floor hockey.

Are You a PE Pirate?

  By Pete Charrette “Always be yourself, unless you can be a pirate. Then always be a pirate.” Historically, pirates have been given a bad rap…and for good reason. They were cruel and ruthless characters who plundered the high seas to steal treasure and pillage innocent groups of people. They could be despicable and merciless,

Synthetic Turf and Injury Prevention  

  Outdoor athletic facilities bring your community together under Friday night lights. It serves as the place for athletes to gather for fun, competition, and personal achievement. Preserving health and safety requires preventative field maintenance to eliminate injuries. This ensures your athletes have a solid foundation to be healthy on and off the field. Assessing

5 “Must-Haves” for Middle School PE

  By Tim Mueller What equipment do you need to teach a quality middle school PE program? Wouldn’t it be awesome if every school had an unlimited budget, and we all had fully stocked equipment rooms with the latest and greatest equipment? Assuming most PE programs already have basic sports equipment, there are several items

A Primer on Poured in Place Rubber

  By Hal Gourad Every year, on average, 220,000 kids are sent to the emergency room due to injuries on public playgrounds. Since 80% of those injuries are due to falls, and 70% of those falls are to the surface of the playground, adequately surfacing your playground is very crucial. Besides playground mulch, rubber mulch,

Choosing a Playground Surfacing System

  By Marissa Bauer Building, expanding, or refurbishing a playground for your school is always an exciting process. Often, we spend most of our thoughts and energy on selecting new equipment and colors. While equipment type and aesthetics are an important part of the conversation surrounding any playground renovation, it is critical to not overlook

Purchasing a New Gym Floor? 

  By John Ficks Here are some considerations to ensure a successful experience. Buying a new gym floor should be an exciting and enjoyable experience. This is your opportunity to choose a floor system that will serve as the platform for a variety of activities for many years into the future. If the purchase is

Hardwood Athletic Floors: Why Hard Maple?

  By Randy Randjelovic If an athletic facility in North America has a wood floor, there is a good chance it is made from Hard Maple. Also known as Sugar Maple, it is the same tree that gets tapped in late winter to turn 40 gallons of collected sap into one gallon of maple syrup.

What PE Equipment Should I Buy?

  By Ben Landers It can be overwhelming trying to figure out what PE equipment you should have, as you try to decide what to spend your money on and how to make good decisions that will give the biggest benefits to your students. Before you start to order equipment, think about planning an outline

Athletic Fields Within Your Budget

  Nearly every school has athletic-based activities even if only physical education classes or intramural activities. Students are being introduced to a variety of athletics as part of daily curriculums in an effort to create more active lifestyles, but all too often the schools don’t have a safe and reliable athletic space for the students

Not Just Fun & Games

  By Kevin Cook The race occurred when I was 8 years old. It took place in a field at church camp. My best friend, Bryan, and I went to Boys Camp for a week every summer. Camp was filled with sports, crafts, games, cafeteria food and, of course, the Snack Shack. In 1969, our

How to Make the Perfect Athletic Equipment Purchase

  By Ken Morley III The microcosm of school athletics is really a world of its own. Most of those involved on the surface are coaches, athletes and parents all excited to compete and prove themselves in the arena. Lurking in the shadows of these heroes of the day is a network of people that

Bring the Power of Play!

  So, you’ve decided to build a new playground! By reading this article, you’ve already taken the first step toward improving your school and planning the play area of your dreams. We created this fun and easy-to-follow guide to walk you through the process of playground planning step-by-step. Assess Your Needs At the beginning of

Playground Surfacing: Where You Need It, When You Need It

  By Jim Dobmeier Some of us remember the old days when liability was a less-often-used word, and rarely, if ever, was it used in the same sentence as playgrounds. In that same era, playground surfacing as a two-word tandem had yet to be uttered or written. Times have changed! In the playground industry, the

Gym Floor Cleaning and Disinfecting for COVID-19

  By Hayden Delia We’re living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus has affected nearly all aspects of our life, from hitting the gym to going to church. It’s been difficult for everyone to adjust to the “new normal.” Among the hardest-hit places are schools and exercise facilities (gyms, YMCAs, etc.) We want to use our

Investing in a Synthetic Athletic Field

  By Jim Dobmeier Have you found yourself on a decision-making committee that’s responsible for delivering the best possible synthetic athletic field for your school? If so, a bit of anxiety is par for the course. The easy part of the decision is recognizing the many benefits of synthetics. Synthetic fields can be used virtually

Benefits of Stall Bars

  By Brian Kolenich Stall Bars as we know them today have a rich history. They were pioneered in Sweden during the early 1800s by Per Henrik Ling, founder of the Swedish Royal Gymnastic Central Institute. He was also a pioneer of physiotherapy and gymnastics during this era. Brought to America decades later as the

Playground Planning Checklist to Help Create the Ultimate Play Experience

  Planning the perfect school playground is easy when you have the right tools. Follow these five easy steps to create the ultimate playground for children in your community and beyond. Envision Your Play Area A great playground will complement your school unique personality and be a destination for years to come. Work with a

Bringing Safety to the Surface

  Did you know that roughly 70 percent of all playground related injuries are caused by falls from playground equipment? When building a playground environment, your choice of surfacing should be the most important factor. One of the most important things we can do to help provide a safe play environment is to include a

Selecting an Indoor Sport Flooring Finish

  By Eric D. Lussier Your gym is enclosed, the HVAC is running, and the basketball backboards are in place. The final touch to your athletic facility is the only item outstanding: the sports floor. There are many options that you may consider when it comes time to choose from the varied athletic surface options

3 Keys to Purchasing Athletic Gear for Your Team

By Travis Armideo As an athletic trainer or team coach, you only have so much in your budget to use on athletic equipment, and you have numerous players to outfit. But while the costs add up quickly, price tags shouldn’t be your only concern. Sure, spending $120 here for a pair of shoulder pads and

When to Replace Sports Padding

By Michelle Robinson Padding is only as good as the protection it provides. When vinyl and foam are subjected to varying temperatures, extreme weather conditions, areas of activity, or the passage of time, they are subject to wear and tear. Under these circumstances, padding may tear, separate, sag, or deteriorate. Even constant impact can affect

Replacing Your Gym Floor

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Their organizations are located around the world and boast a total of over 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils. One of those councils is the Kenmore Knights of Columbus in Buffalo, NY. The Kenmore facility hosts a wide variety of community events for

Five Ways Gym Equipment Can Make Money for Your School

In an era of shrinking budgets, school administrators shouldn’t neglect the revenue possibilities from turning a gymnasium into a multi-use facility. By specifying the right gym equipment, you can maximize the use of your space and host more events, creating an additional revenue stream. Here are five pieces of gym equipment that can make money

School Playground Equipment Considerations

Educators know that play is one of the most effective ways for children to learn. That is why a well-designed and well-installed playground is an indispensable part of a school. Here, we provide some suggestions for School Boards and PTAs to consider when choosing playground equipment and installing play structures on their grounds. Before you

Why Playground Surfacing Matters

When you are building a playground, surfacing may be the last thing you think of. However, surfacing is of the utmost importance. In fact, when you are building a playground, track or some other environment that relies upon safety flooring, surfacing, and the process that creates it should be a high priority. So, why is

Today's Preferred Sports Surface

Sports flooring differs immensely from floors designed for any other purpose. Because the needs of athletes come first, performance, safety and comfort are inherent characteristics. Floor design can focus on a specific activity, say aerobics versus basketball, or on multiple purposes to suit the exact need of a facility or application: gymnasiums; handball, squash and

Making the Shift to Artificial Turf

Jackson Christian in Jackson, Tennessee, has launched construction of an artificial turf installation on the newly named Southern Capital Field at Ronnie Fowler Stadium. Founded in 1976, Jackson Christian is a private, college preparatory school located in Jackson, Tennessee. With an enrollment of more than 840 students, the school offers programs for infants through 12th

Resurfacing School Track

By Carolyn Mitchell How’s life in the fast lane? Much more colorful these days for student runners at Knoxville Catholic High since Competition Athletic Surfaces resurfaced the school’s track with alternating lanes of green and gold. The two-color renovation demonstrates the Chattanooga company’s willingness to attempt untried assignments, collaborate with suppliers to accommodate customers’ budgets

The Benefits of New Equipment for High School Gyms

The benefits of new gym equipment extend far beyond specific sports training. A strong physical fitness program that utilizes strength training equipment helps students develop healthy habits that will accompany them through life. For years, physical education classes have often focused more on general activities—think dodge ball and annual fitness tests—and less on strength training

Freedom to Play Instills Lifelong Skills

Play has an invaluable role in encouraging whole-child development. Playgrounds are a microcosm of adult-life where roles are defined and rules are adhered to or broken. But above and beyond learning life lessons—such as trial and error, sharing and competing—it’s on the playground that children learn persistence, leadership, competition, bravery, support and empathy. It’s these

Playground Surfacing with Poured in Place Rubber

When it comes to recreation surfaces, durability is second only to safety. Poured in place rubber playground surface is a durable, permanent surface option—making it safe, long-lasting and virtually maintenance-free! The rubber playground surface material is highly customizable for depth, color, shape and design. The pour in place method allows for a recreational flooring surface

More Than Just a Game: The Future of High School Athletic Fields

According to a recent survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), over 7.8 million U.S. students currently participate in high school sports, breaking previous records for the 27th consecutive year. As participation and support for every sport from soccer to football, lacrosse, and track and field continues to grow, so do

Why You Should Consider Anchored Resilient Sports Flooring for Your School

By Ron Fenhaus From sporting events to after-school activities, your school’s gymnasium is designed to serve a multitude of purposes built to withstand the test of time. And for schools that have hardwood floors, there’s more to that flooring system than the boards beneath your feet. Hardwood floor systems are comprised of multiple layers, and

5 Ways to Ensure Playground Safety

Once the summer winds down and school starts up again, you can be sure that your school’s playground will be in full use. Ensuring that your school’s playground is in sync with safety standards should be a top priority before the start of the school year for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, over 20,000 children each year

5 Must-Haves for Elementary PE

By Jason Gemberling Parachutes, cones, hula-hoops, more cones, poly spots, mats, the list goes on and on for what an elementary physical education teacher has in his or her equipment closets, but what would an elementary PE teacher call their essentials? I started my teaching career at the elementary level at Wakefield Forest Elementary School

Building Your Dream Playground One Phase at a Time

By Eric Torrey If you have ever envisioned your dream playground, presented your ideas to a commercial playground design consultant, and then been shocked by the cost – you are not alone. Playgrounds can be expensive. When faced with this reality, many people amend their dreams and “settle” for what they can afford. This does