Rubber Flooring: Versatile but sport-specific
Rubber flooring is widely regarded as an ideal surface for various sports and exercise activities. Exceptionally tough and hard-wearing, it offers excellent tear and abrasion resistance. With a high coefficient of friction, rubber ensures anti-slip safety and exceeds minimum standards for allowable slippage by 80%. Also, its superior sound and shock absorption make it a versatile choice for high-impact environments.
Rubber is particularly well-suited to settings such as weightlifting gyms and jogging tracks. Its dense and sturdy nature resists bending, denting or breaking, even under heavy loads. In weightlifting areas, rubber absorbs the impact of dropped weights while supporting exercise machines without deformation. Jogging tracks made of durable rubber withstand extreme wear from running spikes, preventing tearing or puncturing.
Interestingly, rubber flooring is the top choice for aerobic centres. Aerobics exercises involve fast, powerful and explosive movements, requiring floors that can compensate for hard impacts. With greater shock absorption, cushioning and dimensional stability than rigid floors, rubber also provides the necessary grip for quick directional changes.
Limitations of rubber for certain sports
While rubber excels in many applications, it is not suitable for sports such as basketball, netball or badminton, where unpredictable, high-speed movements demand a surface with controlled slippage. Rubber’s high grip can arrest the body too abruptly, increasing the risk of injury during sudden stops or directional changes. For these sports, a surface with a lower coefficient of friction is essential to allow the necessary slide and fluidity of movement.
VariUse: A multi-sport solution
For multi-use sports facilities where versatility is key, VariUse offers an ideal solution. Designed specifically for sports flooring, VariUse combines many of rubber’s advantages—such as durability and impact resistance—with a surface optimised for player safety. Its lower coefficient of friction allows controlled sliding, reducing injury risk during rapid movements in sports like basketball and netball.
Tailoring sports floors to specific needs
The choice of sports flooring should align with the specific demands of the activities it will support. Rubber remains an excellent choice for weightlifting, running and aerobics, where its resilience, grip and shock absorption excel. However, for facilities hosting a variety of sports—including those requiring controlled slippage—solutions like VariUse provide superior all-round performance, ensuring safety and functionality for a wide range of activities.
