Founded in 1413, St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. Over six centuries it has established a reputation as one of Europe's leading and most distinctive centres for teaching and research.
Saints Sport is the umbrella body that delivers a range of physical activity and exercise across the University, including sport, fitness classes and health services. The University Sports Centre provides a perfect setting where everyone can take part in classes, train, or play sport at any level. The combination of an environment which has an excellent climate, is relatively pollution free and has outstanding sports facilities is unsurpassable.
It is therefore no surprise that this venerable centre of academia and sport would demand the highest standards when it came to their sports hall flooring. And ensuring that students and visitors could enjoy every aspect of the Saints Sports facilities was going to be key.
Looking for the very best all-round solution that would deliver both durability, ease of installation and a performance solution, the University of St Andrews turned to international flooring and finishing solutions specialists Gerflor to supply a sports flooring product that would not only deliver to the highest standards, but would also look fantastic. The other main challenge was to also supply a multi-use sports flooring solution that could be used to facilitate the sports area being used for exams in order that tables and chairs could be easily accommodated during term time.
Taraflex™ Sport M Comfort from Gerflor was specified and their sports hall would need a total of some 600m2 of this remarkable product.
Ian Gaunt, Assistant Director of Sport at the University of St Andrews commented, “We chose Taraflex ™ Sport M Comfort as it came with a good reputation, both from colleagues in the higher education sector and the London 2012 Olympics. The colour was chosen to brighten up our previously dull sports hall. The London Light Blue floor from Gerflor has helped make the sports hall an attractive place to play sport”.
Taraflex™ is versatile enough to be used in various multi-specialist applications and affordable for all new projects and refurbishments. This sports flooring solution is used within the education, community, leisure, health & fitness sectors.
The first obstacle that had to be dealt with was the existing old 2mm vinyl and lino floor that had been on the sports hall for some twenty years. Gerflor’s Taraflex ™ Sport M Comfort went down over the old floor bringing it up immediately to the new European standards for shock absorption. Another huge benefit to the University would be the no polish for life qualities of Taraflex™ saving them time and maintenance costs.
Taraflex™ has been used in every summer Olympics since 1976 and is available in 17 colours and two wood-effect designs. The Sport M Evolution product offers a P1 category shock absorbency 25% to 35% and meets the EN 14904 Standard for indoor sports surfaces. Taraflex™ is also recognised for providing durability, safety and comfort without impairing performance. The range offers greater than 45% force reduction, making it unrivalled in the marketplace in terms of offering comfort for users.
Ian Gaunt went on to further add, “Students and members of our sports centre are very happy with the product, especially in relation to the “give” the floor has, making it easier on the body and safer for children’s activities. I would certainly specify this product again”.
Taraflex™ also meets the EN Standard of 22196 for anti- bacterial activity (E. coli - S. aureus - MRSA) (3) returning >99% levels of growth inhibition. The product is also treated with Protecsol®, which renders polish redundant and is triple action meaning no polish is ever required, it contributes to easy maintenance and is anti-friction burn and slide/grip.
Taraflex™ has a double density foam backing and as another bonus, it’s environmentally friendly. Gerflor offers a number of installation solutions for Taraflex™ including the Eco-Fit System which allows fast, free floating installation.
Learn more about Gerflor solutions, ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 01926 622 600, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.
