Welsh wonder for Brynteg School with Gerflor’s Taraflex® sports surfaces

Brynteg School in Bridgend, Wales had an urgent need to refurbish their incredibly tired and dated linoleum floor in the main sports hall. The project would be a perfect ‘fit’ for international flooring specialist Gerflor who supplied their Olympic pedigree Taraflex® Performance sports flooring in ‘Maple’ with ‘Lagoon’ borders, together with their Taraflex® Bateco protection system. With Taraflex® Performance and Bateco being included in the original tender, the project was clearly aiming for high-quality and trusted sports surfaces to be installed throughout the 600m2 element of the re-fit.

Brynteg School is one of the largest secondary schools in Wales, located in Bridgend the school is one of seven comprehensive schools in the County Borough of Bridgend.The school is for 11-18yrs pupils and is situated on a large site to the south of the town. The school was formed by the merger on September 1st, 1971, of Bridgend Boys Grammar School and HeolGam Secondary School. Brynteg School and is underpinned by its core values of community, independence, kindness, and respect.

Although Brynteg School’s main sports focus is on rugby union with some notable former pupils who achieved international stardom with JPR Williams and Gavin Henson filling up the ranks, the overall needs of other general sports activities in the school are never overlooked.

To meet this ethos, the upgrade to the main sports hall would require a sports surface that could meet the stringent demands of the facility and future proof the interior forgenerations to come. A raft of sporting activities is undertaken in the sports hall, including basketball, netball, cricket, badminton, table tennis and five-a-side football. The main sports hall at Brynteg School also provides sporting facilities for a host of wheelchair sports which makes Gerflor’s Taraflex® the ideal choice when it comes to comfort, safety, and performance. Taraflex® sports floorings are recognised all over the world for all types of sports. cushioned floors, with high IPI values, are key features for sitting volleyball and other sitting sports. Taraflex® multipurpose products are also suitable for rolling sports. Playing on a Taraflex® sports floor adds to the enjoyment of sport for all pupils.

Commenting on the Brynteg School project Tony Thorne, Gerflor Specification Manager, South Wales said, “Adam Rosser who is Head of PE at Brynteg, was extremely concerned that their existing linoleum sports floor had become unsafe for its users. It was approximately twenty-six years old and despite many attempts to repair numerous times the damaged flooring in many areas could not be replaced. Gerflor were contacted by Adam towards the end of 2020 and were asked to visit the site and provide a feasibility survey assessing the needs of the facility and estimate a suitable replacement floor. This would ensure that Adam had all the required information to acquire the funding for the new sports indoor surface.”

Thorne continued, “Adam approached Gerflor as he was already familiar with our flooringportfolio, as they already had large areas of Gerflor Tarasafe Ultra safety flooring installed throughout the school and our Mipolam flooring fitted in the science labs.” Tony Thorne added, “When the funding was secured in the Spring of 2021 with Bridgend Council, a competitive tender process was followed and won by Puma Floors who did a first-class professional installation, along with Biddle Sports who managed the line marking.”

Cardiff-based Puma Floors Ltd was established in 2001 and have already made a mark on the market, and with a hard-working and talented team of floor-layers, who are also highly qualified and experienced, Puma Floors can confidently manage the installation part of all contract projects in order to exceed the demands and expectations of their expanding client base. The installer can provide specialist flooring installation services for clients in Wales and the rest of the UK.

Matthew Graves, Commercial Director, Puma Floors Ltd, commented, “We initially proposed a budget for the renovation works, then we submitted our formal tender online for this invaluable project. Gerflor had already been in discussions with the school and local authority to supply their high-performance Taraflex sports floor and their Taraflex Bateco movable protection solution. Working in collaboration with Gerflor, we were able to supply a complete solution fit for purpose for the project.”

On specification Tony Thorne went on to further comment, “Our Olympic pedigree Taraflex sports floor was specified thanks to a number of reasons. There are over one hundred Taraflex installations in South Wales alone, this means that we have a huge database of credible local site references. Our prospect clients and stakeholders can truly verify our statements on Taraflex product longevity and low life cycle costs when compared to other sports floors, effectively these project successes are endorsements to the high quality that new customers can expect from a world leading brand.”

Tony Thorne also added, “In addition to this, the school has a contingent of thriving cricket teams that use the sports hall to train and Taraflex Performance is professionally accredited by the England and Wales Cricket Board for indoor cricket.”

On day-to-day usage Tony Thorne also said, “The school also chose to specify our Taraflex Bateco, this solution was deemed appropriate to protect their new floor when the hall is used for non-sporting activities such as to hold exams in the main sports hall. It should be noted that whilst the Taraflex Performance sports surface is hard wearing and able to cope with most non-sporting applications, the end user wanted the Bateco solution to keep the floor looking pristine.”

On pedigree and performance Tony Thorne also added, “Brynteg School has such a prestigious sporting heritage with many Welsh sporting heroes coming through their ranks. Past pupils include JPR Williams, Dr Jack Matthews, Rob Howley, Mike Hall, Gavin Henson and Dafydd James, together with Nicole Cooke, the former cyclist who won Olympic gold in 2008, it seemed fitting that they should benefit from the same playing surface that Gerflor provide to the Olympic and Paralympic movement.”

As the main hall at Brynteg School would also have to facilitate other non-sports activities the school also opted for Taraflex®Bateco which is a moveable solution for protecting multi-sports floors falling on non-sporting activities. It can be unrolled over the floors and rolled up again before resuming sports activities. Taraflex®Bateco is made from 100% post manufacturing recycled waste.

Matthew Graves concluded, “We have previously installed both Taraflex and Bateco before, they are extremely easy products to work with. The final result and the sports halllook amazing, and the client is delighted with the final finish. We would certainly choose to specify and install Gerflor again.”

Tony Thorne ended by saying, “From a personal perspective, I have close friends whose children are educated at Brynteg, so for them to benefit from playing on one of the safest and most robust sports floors on the market, and with our world class leading impact protection, for meit’s incredibly important. This has been a formidable project to be involved in and hugely fulfilling to see our first-class sports surface really delivering on both performance, comfort, and safety.”

Taraflex® indoor sports surfaces overview Taraflex® sports flooring has been fitted at every Olympic Games since 1976. Approved by many National and International governing bodies as a world class sports surface, it is also widely installed within the education, community, leisure, health, and fitness sectors. Taraflex® is ideal for new build projects and refurbishments and is extremely durable and cost effective to maintain. Over 6 million pupils everyday enjoy the benefits of Taraflex® sports flooring, as it delivers a versatile range that can be used for various multi-specialist applications.

Taraflex® Performance is available in 17 colours and 3 wood-effect designs as standard with an addition of 110 solid colour options available. It offers a P2 category shock absorbency of 35% to 45%. and is also treated with the Triple Action Protecsol® surface treatment so that no polish is ever required for the lifetime of the floor.

Taraflex® Performance easily meets the rigorous demands of vast array of sports activities, whilst providing excellent co-efficient of friction, this means twists, turns, stops/starts can be carried out without fear of slipping or gripping and subsequent injuries. The shock absorption qualities of Taraflex® Performance also helps players to play, exercise and enjoy sport in a safe and comfortable way.

With a complete range of shock absorption P1/P2/P3, Taraflex® sports floorings from Gerflor provide the right solution every time and optimal safety for users. The combination of D-Max™/D-Max™+, CXP™HD foam ensures that Taraflex® sports floorings are durable and high-performing.

Taraflex® also meets the EN 14904 Standard which is the minimum performance requirements to be met byindoor sports floors. Its objective is to draw attention to the necessity of installing safe, comfortable floors that reduce the risk of injuries. Taraflex® technology delivers long-lasting high-performance of the products for the lifetime of the floors...a massive boon when long-term planning and budgeting are perceived as being two key considerations for specifiers.

Learn more about Gerflor solutions, ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 03332 412901, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.