What Should You Look for in a Safe Backyard Game Court?

11 years ago

For nearly 40 years, Sport Court has been the leader in sports flooring surfaces. Our dealer network has installed more than 100,000 indoor and backyard game courts.

When you're looking for a backyard game court for your family, we understand that your children's safety is your number one concern. First of all, you want your kids and their friends safe in your backyard, where you can provide a level of supervision, and you know exactly where they are and who they're with. You have the home where all the kids gather. When the weather's bad, they're playing video games around the big screen TV in your vast family room. But when the weather's nice, you want them all outside. A great way to encourage physical activity is with a sport court right in your backyard.

So, your kids are safe in your yard, and you're happy. You can keep an eye on them, and load them up on healthy snacks and plenty of water. But how do you know the surface they're playing on is safe, too? That's where a Sport Court game surface comes in.

Sport Court Game Courts: Safer than Concrete

Did you know that a fall from as low as two inches (imagine tumbling to the ground and then knocking your head against the pavement) can result in a serious injury on concrete? Maybe that's a long shot, but our sports court playing surfaces are designed with shock absorption for falls as high as two feet, making them great for basketball, lacrosse and other contact sports. (Or even games that aren't contact sports... we know boys like to play rough-and-tumble in any game they play!)

Absorption, Abrasion, Traction

Game courts from Sport Court East also stand up in third-party safety testing better than our competitors. There are three different factors typically used to measure the safety standards of game courts:

• Absorption
• Abrasion
• Traction

Let's take a look at the significance of each when it comes to preventing injury and keeping your family and their friends safe.

Absorption: No Repetitive Stress Injuries

Young joints can take a beating -- but they shouldn't have to. With time, repetitive stress on joints can lead to injury, which can end young athlete's careers before they even begin and cause unnecessary pain early in life. Young joints and bones are still growing and developing and every impact takes a toll.

Our sport court modular surfaces are designed with lateral forgiveness to flex and shift both horizontally and vertically to offer better absorption, preventing injuries caused by momentary shock (such as a fall) and repetitive shock (while running during games.)

Traction: Prevents Falls

Our top-of-the-line game courts are proven during independent, third party laboratory testing to meet ASTM F1292 standards for shock absorption that could prevent a head injury from a fall of a height up to two feet. But players are also less likely to fall on a sports court game court, because we also have the highest industry ratings for traction. With a friction index of .65, our PowerGame Sport Courts prevent falls better than any other sports surface on the market.

Abrasion:

If a player does happen to fall on a Sport Court game court (and it happens... they're kids, after all), our Sport Court PowerGame and SportGame surfaces also have the lowest abrasion ratings in the industry, at 3.3 and 7.2, respectively. This means less scraped knees, less time-outs and fewer tears. So you can spend your extra cash on water and chips, not band-aids.

Results You Can Trust

Sport Court statistics for abrasion, traction and shock absorption were all acquired based on performance analysis conducted by an independent, third party laboratory in according with ASTM standards. Our competitors often measure their performance results in-house, leading to questionable conclusions. We know you're installing a backyard sports court for your children's safety and your peace of mind, and you want the safest, most play-able surface available. Watch out for imitation game courts, when Sports Court East is here to provide the peace of mind you want. 

Watch our safety feature video