A common fact in today’s society is “where there is blame, there is a claim”. This saying now applies to sports surfacing that we have in the UK on all weather pitches, MUGAs, astro turf football fields and even playgrounds or play areas.
Now, pitch operators / owners have the responsibility to maintain their sports surface to acceptable levels, to ensure that the facility meets UK legislation. This legislation or law ensures that the sports surfaces / facilities are fit for purpose, not a hazard for all types of users and are completely safe which should include the surface not being slippy, uneven or not maintained.
Whatever sports facility that you have or run, has a duty to ensure that the surface is regularly tested in a proactive manor and in turn, any repairs or alterations that have to be made can be done properly. Often, we see these surfaces being fixed in reactive ways, meaning more expense and difficulties to the client.
Common practise states that All weather Pitches need to be performance tested every 12 months, and this will mean that the pitch is serviced within the required legislation. We have been seeing more and more of angry parents, children and adults taking action against pitch owners, when they have unnecessary accidents on the sporting surface. These accidents can be prevented or more importantly, the pitch owner is covered with the protection of complying with the UK legislation. A sports surface personal injury claim company are currently in the process of dealing with injured players through these unsafe not maintained surfaces and they can assist further with help and advice on injuries, slips, accidents and compensation. Make sure you are not the next victim of this.
At the moment, Soft Surfaces Ltd is appointing different independent testing companies to assess many different UK sports surfaces to make sure that these surfaces meet UK standards. We can also offer a discount on the price of this testing, as we have part funding options to make sure the facilities are safe playing areas. Please send an email to [email protected] quoting the code TEST50 to receive 50% funding towards your facilities whether it be an all weather surface, astroturf pitch, synthetic grass, athletics track or play area you need a survey on.
