What Makes a Good Multi-Use Sports Floor?

Can your gym floor multitask? Here we will discuss the ways a school gym can become a hub for all activity on campus, not just the basketball games.

All sports teams have specialists. These are players who have one job and one job only—place kickers, goal keepers, and closers. Specialists get a lot of attention for their particular set of skills, but versatile players are just as essential. Think of the advantages of a quarterback who has a strong arm and who is also a threat to run. Consider the value of a second baseman who can play any position on the field if someone gets injured. These multi-talented “utility” players make the team more dynamic and resilient.

You can think of gym floors in the same way. There are “specialist” surfaces like rubber tiles for weight rooms or a hardwood court for basketball. However, the demands of modern athletic facilities, especially in schools, make versatility a valuable property. Let’s face it. A school gym is likely to be the single largest indoor space on campus with higher heating and cooling costs and more maintenance requirements. With a significant investment of resources like that, schools understandably want to maximize the usage of a gym.

Making the most of a gym requires more than dedication to one sport. In fact, it requires embracing more than just sports activities. To make the school gym the busiest place on campus and justify its budget, it must host multiple sports, multiple games, and multiple nonsporting activities every week. Easier said than done, right? But if you select the right floor from the start, a versatile multipurpose gym is not an impossible goal. In fact, it might be easier than you think.

To select a good gym floor for multi-use spaces, we first need to highlight the properties that lead to versatility. In no particular order, these properties are: transition time, equipment, and sports performance.

Transition Time: The key to hosting a lot of activities in a gym is transitioning quickly between events. Long periods of downtime for cleaning and maintenance might mean the gym is unavailable when needed. Of course, we are not suggesting that regular cleaning between events is unnecessary. On the contrary, cleaning is essential to the safety of athletes. However, there are some floors that are easier to clean quickly. For example, gym floors like Padenpor and Pulastic have no embossed texture at all, which means it can be swept and cleaned more easily. Other gym floors have a linear pitted texture. This texture is meant to mimic the appearance of wood grain, but the result is no more than a trap for dirt. If you still want the wood grain appearance, Pulastic has a wood grain surface pattern that is currently available in Pennsylvania (Contact Abacus Sports for details). Tarkett Sports’ Omnisports also has a nonlinear surface texture designed to allow dust and debris to be removed with less effort. Padenpor, Pulastic, and Omnisports can be swept clean faster and look better in the process.

Equipment : Transitions from a sport to a nonsporting event should also be considered. Let’s imagine that volleyball practice just ended and the regional science fair is starting in half an hour. If you have a hardwood gym floor, you are likely panicking. Hardwoods require large coverings to protect the floor from scratches and other damage caused by tables, chairs, and other equipment. The volleyball players won’t be the only ones sweating in this scenario. But here again, Omnisports and Padenpor, surfaces designed for multi-use, can make life easier. Neither floor requires a cover to protect it from tables and chairs. It should go without saying that the table and chair legs should not be damaged or sharp. As long as furniture is in good condition, you can skip the floor cover with confidence.

Sports Performance: It might be stating the obvious, but it is worth mentioning. Good multi-use sports floors must actually be sports floors. It may be true that VCT or carpet in a gym will work great for club meetings or school dances, but athletes will suffer. A multipurpose gym floor must pass the standards that define sports floors, such as ASTM F2772. This testing standard sets a minimum of 10% force reduction for the comfort and safety of athletes. Without this bare minimum, players have more stress injuries like shin splints, fatigue, and joint pain. Don’t forget to keep your gym centered around sports, even if it serves other purposes as well.

For more information about choosing a multipurpose sports floor, contact a representative at Abacus Sports Installations. We are happy to provide guidance on choosing the right surface for the right application.