The sportsequip.co.uk library

Our datasheet library includes additional information/installation instructions for:

• Athletics Runways
• Cricket Cages, Wickets and Turf
• Tennis Posts, Nets and Ball Machines
• Fitness Trail Layouts, Diagrams and Signs
• Artificial Grass (Patio Grass)
• Compliant Grass Tiles
• Compliant Play Tiles
• Compliant Wet Pour

New Non-Turf Cricket Wicket Datasheet

 
Today, we’ve also published a new cricket datasheet that focuses on ‘non-turf’ types of cricket wicket. As such, our new “Non-Turf Cricket Wickets” datasheet includes information on the different base types, shockpads/backings and the range of options available for suitable playing surfaces. You can read our new datasheet here and as always, you’ll find a downloaded PDF available that is suitable for printing.

If you’re looking to install a new non-turf cricket wicket, you’ll undoubtedly find this datasheet a useful read. If you’d like more information on installation of cricket wickets, please contact us on 01858 545789 for expert advice.
 
 

With this in mind, in today’s blog post, we’d like to highlight a useful and topical resource provided by The FA.
 

Aimed at those running a football club, “The FA Guide to Pitch and Goalpost Dimensions” contains a wide range of information that answers many common questions regarding pitch layouts/dimensions and goal sizes for the many different formats of the game.

This useful guide also contains important sections on goal post safety and line marking.

You can download The FA Guide to Pitch and Goalpost Dimensions here (Save as a .PDF file).
 
 

If you’ve already invested in a tennis ball machine, you’ll know that it wasn’t an insignificant purchase, with the cost of top of the range ball machine running into thousands of pounds. The most important thing to remember is that like a car or boiler, regular routine maintenance / servicing along with careful handling / storage is key to ensuring that your electronic tennis partner will provide you with years of reliable service.

Ball Machine Servicing / Repairs

As spring (finally) begins, now is a great time to think about servicing your tennis machine, ready for another seasons use. We can arrange a service for most UK models of tennis ball machines, including Lobster Elite, Playmaker and Tennis Tutors. We can also service or repair the now discontinued range of Lobster 201, 301 and 401 tennis machines. In some circumstances, we can even provide spare parts and full instructions detailing how to replace any worn or broken parts yourself.

If you’d like more information on how to go about getting your tennis ball machine repaired or serviced, contact us on 01858 545789 or email us (sales@sportsequip.co.uk) with any ‘symptoms’ and we’ll get back to you.

We’ve been focusing on bringing you some great new products over the last six months.

Today we’ll continue this trend and highlight some excellent products that’ll enhance any athletics track and field.

Soft Sand Pit Kerbing

To help prevent injury to athletes, Soft Sand Pit Kerbing creates a soft edging that surrounds a sand pit. Kerbs are manufactured from concrete and fitted with a soft rubber padding (in either white or black). The Soft Sand Pit Kerbing package is supplied to fit a standard single sand pit 9m x 3m, but kerbs to suit any other size pit can be supplied. Please contact our sales office for prices and more information.

Sand Traps

Sand can sometimes cause damage to synthetic track surfaces, so these Sand Traps are an excellent way to prevent sand escaping from landing pits. Sand Traps create an additional surround to the sand pit that catches any sand before it reaches the track. Our standard Sand Trap package is suitable for pits measuring 9m x 3m, but we can supply these to suit sand pits of any size – simply contact us for more information.

Water Jump Base Kit

A kit that enables you to easily create a water jump (to international requirements) on your athletics track. The kit includes 3 pre-fabricated concrete sections, topped with EPDM rubber, to ensure that the new water jump will be both quick to build and safe to use.

IAAF Competition Standard Hammer / Discus Cage

Our new IAAF specification hammer and discus cage meets all the requirements for holding a competition under IAAF rules. The cages feature a net lowering system to quickly and easily detach netting, and can be supplied in either single or double circle specifications. Installation service also available.

UKA Competition Standard Hammer / Discus Cage

Discus and hammer throws cage, suitable for use for competitions held under UK Athletics (UKA) rules. 7m high posts with 9m high gates.

Optional net lowering system. Installation service available.

For more information on any of our athletics products, contact our sales office on 01858 545789.

As you can see from the link above, the answer is of course – yes!

The good news is that tennis post sockets can often be re-used, saving you the time, hassle and expense of having to re-install a new set into your tennis court.

However, the bad news is… not all tennis posts are manufactured to the same specifications.

Fortunately, help is only a few mouse clicks and tape measurements away.

If you’d like us to supply you with a set of tennis posts to fit your existing sockets, simply provide us with a few measurements of your current tennis posts and sockets (depth, width, colour, shape etc) and we’ll be able to find a set of posts that will fit your current sockets perfectly.

Simply fill in this form:
http://www.sportsequip.co.uk/forms/tennis-posts-requirement-form.html

…and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

If you’d like further advice on any of our tennis posts (including items such as winders, handles, headline wires etc), please contact us on 01858 545789.

It’s been a long, cold winter!

As the mild weather starts to slowly move in, now is a good time to start checking the condition of outdoor grounds furniture, such as cricket sight screens and wicket covers.

If your sight screen or cover hasn’t fared so well over the winter or has simply just reached the end of its natural life, now is a good time to order a replacement so you can maximise it’s usage over the summer months.

sportsequip.co.uk supply a range of cricket sight screens, manufactured from timber or plastic as well as wicket covers – available as either layflat or as mobile units.

Plus, if you’re within 125 miles of our office in Leicester, we can also deliver and erect sight screens and mobile wicket covers for you! For more information on our installation services, please contact us on 01858 545789.

As grounds maintenance activities start to ramp of for the season, now is a good time to take a closer look at our range of line marking products and summarise some of the key points to help you choose a marking fluid suitable for your needs.

Dilution Rates (Water:Paint Ratios)

Which line marking fluid should I use?

 
If you have any questions regarding our range of line marking paints and marker machines, please contact us on 01858 545789 – we’d be happy to help.
 
 

Flicx cricket pitches are now available to order at sportsequip.co.uk!

Cricket surfaces have long been a sportsequip.co.uk speciality. Therefore we’re delighted to now offer a range of Flicx cricket pitches, an affordable and easy way to turn almost any level surface into a cricket pitch. Flicx pitches provide consistent bounce and allow batsmen to play forward with confidence.

The Flicx range of cricket wickets provide an essential tool for coaching both batsmen and bowlers, a general practice cricket surface or even a match wicket. Pitches can be left in-situ during a season to allow grass to grow through or rolled up and moved after use (a handy carry cradle is available to make movement across pitches easier).

Improving cricket coaching

Flicx coaching pitches are designed to help develop cricket bowling and batting skills and are even backed by endorsements from top cricket coaches. Flicx coaching pitches incorporate colour-coded panels that allow batsmen to improve their judgement on bowled lengths, whilst also assisting bowlers with their lines and length of delivery. Coaching pitches come in a variety of styles, full coaching pitches, batting ends or bowling ends. Full length coaching pitches can also be ‘split’ into two halves, enabling you to double coaching facilties.

‘Throwdown’ pitches are suitable for cricket coaching at homes, clubs or schools. Throwdown pitches help players judge length and improve their shot selection, both vital for making big scores! Coloured tiles assist the batsmen when making decisions whether to play off their front or back foot.

Match / practice wicket alternatives

 
Flicx’s ‘Match’ wickets provide a cost effective alternative to other types of cricket installation. These wickets can be laid at the start of a season with the grass allowed to grow through the pitch or rolled up after use. Match wickets are even ECB endorsed for hardball cricket (when laid on prepared grass surfaces) with creases marked to ICC standards.

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For more information on any of the Flicx cricket pitches that we now offer, please contact us on 01858 545789.
 
 

Their functionality may be simple, but for such an ‘unsophisticated’ piece of tennis equipment, there’s an incredible, bewildering array of tennis nets available!

Today’s buying guide aims to untangle the knotty world of tennis nets!

Tennis Net Thicknesses

 
Most modern tennis nets will be made from either a twisted or braided twine, around 2mm to 3.5mm thick.

The thicker the net, the more durable it will be. Select a net thickness that reflects with the amount of usage it will get.

A home court with low usage will find a 2mm thick net more than adequate. 2mm thick nets should also be used on courts that are prone to vandalism. Higher use home courts and clubs may want to opt for a 2.5mm or 3mm net, whilst competition standard nets  are typically 3.5mm thick.

Tennis Net Headbands

 
The nets we supply are fitted with three types of headband, made from canvas, polyester or vinyl.

Each type of headband has it’s own characteristics:

• Vinyl: Easy to clean and durable.
• Canvas: A traditional, cream coloured headband.
• Polyester: Easy to clean, excellent durability and visibility.

Headband Stitching

 
When treated correctly, a good tennis net will provide years of service. But sometimes, a net will start to fail as the stitching that holds the net to the headband begins to break away. There is a solution to this problem however, called ‘quad stitching’.

Double stitching (standard) – Two lines of stitching across the length of the headband hold the net in place. Double netting should be adequate for most home tennis courts.

Quad stitching – Four lines of stitching across the length of the headband hold the net in place. Quad stitching maximises the life expectancy of the tennis net. Quad stitched tennis nets should be used in clubs, schools or on tennis courts with heavy usage.

Knotted vs Knotless Tennis Netting

 
The difference between knotted and knotless netting is often down to personal aesthetic preference, but both types of net have their advantages and disadvantages.

Knotless netting for instance is less bulky and retains less moisture should it get wet. It also provides a clearer line of sight through the net. Knotted netting on the other hand is very durable and arguably better suited to handling ‘direct impacts’ from objects such as tennis balls. Knotted netting is also easier to repair. Knotted tennis nets are used in many championships, including Wimbledon.

All of the tennis nets currently available from sportsequip.co.uk are knotted style nets.

Other Options

 
All tennis nets are supplied with an integral plastic coated steel headline wire with loop and pin ends for fixing to an anchor post and into a British winder mechanism.

All nets available online from sportsequip.co.uk are 42′ doubles nets, however 33′ singles nets are also available upon request. Our sales team will be able to assist on 01858 545789.

Custom tennis nets, made to non-standard lengths can also be manufactured or nets can be fitted with double loop headlines if the type of tennis post requires this style of net. Please contact us for details if you have any made-to-order requirements.

Shopping online has become increasingly common in recent years. In fact in some cases, it’s the only way to purchase from a company.

Fortunately, thanks to a lot of work from both online retailers and credit card companies, more procedures and protections than ever before are in place to protect shoppers when buying online.

Today we’ll run over a few tips on how to protect yourself when shopping online, and we’ll also highlight how sportsequip.co.uk help ensure shopping with us is safe, secure and easy.

There are things you can do before you even start shopping online to protect yourself. These include keeping your web browser and any other software on your computer up to date and running a good anti-virus system, for example.

When it comes to buying time though, it’s important to stay alert and take a good look at the website and company that you’ll be buying from.

A few things to look for include:

A https:// or padlock symbol in the address bar

Before entering your credit card details in to any website, ensure that you’re using a secure connection to the website.

At sportsequip.co.uk, we use PayPal and SagePay to process our credit card transactions. Both are extremely widely used and secure services. You can also read more about our credit card security policies here.

Reviews and other people’s experiences about the site you’re purchasing from

You can read reviews from our customers on SafeBuy (currently rated 5 out of 5 stars!).

A telephone number and contact details

We always aim to offer as much product information as possible, allowing all of our customers to make an informed choice.

If there’s a question that isn’t answered on our website, our sales office (01858 545789) is on hand to assist. You can also read more about us here, including our company registration details, full address, VAT number and more.

Trustwave Certification and other Third Party Seals of Approval

If you’re a regular visitor to sportsequip.co.uk, you may have also noticed a new logo has appeared in recent weeks. Trustwave are a leading provider of payment card industry compliance services, used by thousands of businesses around the world.

When you click on the image to the right, it certifies that Trustwave have tested that sportsequip.co.uk meets or exceeds PCI DSS compliance standards set for processing credit card transactions – it’s just another way that we can help keep you safe whilst you shop online and part of our commitment to offering all our customers the highest levels of service possible.

For more information about sportsequip.co.uk, the products we offer or any of our policies or terms and conditions, please contact us on 01858 545789 or email us at info@sportsequip.co.uk.