Roundwood Park School‘s sports upgrade with a state of the art pitch, has been a roaring success. Enabling the development of young athletes in the Hertfordshire region and beyond is an important part of the County Football Association’s strategy for the area.
The pitch was fully funded by the Premier League and FA Facilities Fund, receiving a grant of £500,000. This money was used to create an extremely well-equipped space that conforms to FIFA quality criteria. For these criteria to be met, the pitch had to be fitted with the best available hardware. Additionally, the 3G typology of the pitch meant that any hardware that was installed had to be specifically designed for the types of sports played on it, specifically, football.
The nature of football, especially at the semi-professional level, means that any perimeter sports fence needs to able to withstand the impact of a ball striking it. Zaun has created solutions with exactly this in mind, taking into account the physics of common issues with sport fences such as noise and kinetic force distribution.
The products installed at Roundwood Park were the Super Rebound, Duo Sports and Spectator Rails solutions, three of 12 sports fencing products offered by Zaun. All three of these solutions come with their own benefits which match the criteria for a sports ground that meets FIFA quality requirements.
The Duo Sports system is well suited to high impact sports such as football and hockey, reducing noise from the ball striking the material by ~29%. The kinetic energy that could potentially be converted into noise is absorbed by the increased number of wires welded into the fence along with EPDM inserts in between the post and the panels. This makes the fence ideal for areas that are located near urban zones such as Roundwood Park.
Another issue with MUGA areas is the angle of a struck ball returning to play once hitting the perimeter. The Super Rebound System counters this problem with a rigid, dense mesh-like structure that reduces rattling and provides a smooth return of the ball.
Games played at this school will attract spectators, so a safe perimeter to protect them from play is essential. A strong solution is required here that will stand up for years to come after repeated impacts. Zaun’s Spectator Rails solution was chosen for its customisability and design in order to suit the exact specifications required for the school and create a clear area of safety.
All solutions installed at Roundwood have a lifetime of 15-20 years which can be easily extended with proper care. Zaun is confident that current students and athletes will be well served by the fencing solutions installed and are proud to contribute to arenas that will foster the sportsmen and women of the future.
