‘Smashing’ success for Gerflor’s Taraflex® Combisport 85

Striving to achieve the very best you can in any sports discipline is never easy. It takes determination, commitment and huge levels of dedication. Throw in some talent… and suddenly you’ve got a national team able to take on the world.

The Scotstoun Sports Campus which includes Glasgow Club Scotstoun, Scotstoun Squash Centre and Scotstoun Stadium is located in the West of the city and is one of the largest venues of its kind. It also hosts The National Badminton Academy which is home to the Scottish Badminton Team, providing a centre of excellence and training for all levels of badminton right down to club level and juniors.

A refurbishment of the badminton playing surfaces was high on the centre’s agenda and the supply of a new state-of-the-art sports surface would need to be specified if the players were to have continuity in their training facilities. This highly prestigious project for two halls would once again fall to international interiors and flooring specialist Gerflor. 1500m2 of their Taraflex^® Combisport 85 would be the ideal product to rejuvenate the playing area. The new playing surface would be ‘like for like’, as the Scotstoun Badminton Academy had been hugely pleased with the previous Taraflex^® Combisport 85 product. It’s a testament to the quality of Taraflex^® Combisport 85 that this re-order was made. In fact, they were so pleased with the flooring they asked to have the Gerflor Taraflex^® logo inlaid throughout the design. Quite an accolade!

The installation of the playing surface would be undertaken by Scotland’s leading flooring specialists, McKay Flooring - a family run business founded by Archie McKay in 1972 who have grown to become one of the largest flooring companies in the UK. Stephen Fraser, Contract Director, McKay Flooring commented, "The installation of the product was quite technical as the Taraflex^® Combisport 85 was installed to match the badminton court lay-outs. The court was installed in ‘Blue’, with run-off areas surrounding the courts in ‘Lagoon’ to suit badminton regulations”. Stephen Fraser went on to further say, ‘the reason why the Gerflor Taraflex^® Combisport 85 product had been specified was due to the fact that the previous floor was Gerflor also, and it had lasted many years performing very well indeed”.

Taraflex^® Combisport 85 combines the benefits of Taraflex^® Sport M Plus with a full height adjustable undercarriage system and meets the requirements of the EN 14904. It comprises CXP foam backed point elastic surface and an area elastic wooden batten and plank substructure. The combination of a fully height adjustable cradle and batten substructure overlaid by plywood and Taraflex^® Sport M Plus produces one of the highest specification floor available, ensuring maximum player safety and ball bounce due to the patented rubber shock absorbers and its high level of shock absorption.

Andrew Bowman, Performance Coach, Badminton Scotland commented, "due to Gerflor’s reputation for providing the highest quality and with Taraflex^® Combisport 85 being the floor used prior to Glasgow 2014, this contributed to our most successful Commonwealth Games for the team ever”. Andy Bowman continues to comment, "the surface plays a vital role in athlete performance. The Taraflex^® Combisport 85 allows our athletes to move efficiently and effectively during training and match play, optimising performance and minimising the risk of injury. The flooring is performing to the highest level as it's always done”. Andy Bowman concludes by saying, "our athletes travel the globe and experience hundreds of different training environments and floors. The Taraflex^® Combisport 85 competes with every floor out there and produces sustained quality over numerous years”.

Taraflex^® Combisport 85 is deal for installations with uneven floors-adjustable up to 9mm, together with providing a great training/playing surface for teenagers, adults, novices and up to competitive level. Taraflex^® has been used in a host of major sporting events since 1976 and is available in 17 colours and three 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 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. Taraflex^® also meets the EN Standard of 22196 for anti- bacterial activity (E. coli - S. aureus - MRSA) (3) returning >99% levels of growth inhibition.

Stephen Fraser finally comments, "We have been dealing with Gerflor for a number of years. Without doubt they are one of the top flooring manufacturers in the UK. In fact, as far as I’m concerned Gerflor are number one at what they do.”

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.