Tag Archives: Surface Repairs

How to get your track competition ready

Winter can take its toll on your athletic track and before you know it, spring is on the horizon and the event calendar will start filling up with bookings ahead of the athletic season.

Following this checklist will ensure your track is safe and ready for a busy season of sports.

Track maintenance:

The safety of your track is paramount. Small repairs and loose granules may seem like small issues at the beginning, but if left, these small problems can result in much larger scale repairs and worse, cause injury to users of the track.

Track cleaning:

Yes, this comes under the umbrella of maintenance but every 1-2 years, we recommend you get your track surface professionally cleaned. The advantages of this ensures the track surface is clean from any moss and contaminants to avoid any slips or trips on your track.

Planning events:

Check what events you’ll be running at your event. Do you have all of the equipment prepared and correct track markings? White Line Services will set out and paint tracks to the latest UKA and IAAF standards to ensure your track is event ready. There are new regulations in place from 2018 for hurdle markings, so it’s always worth checking your current markings are up-to-date before hosting any events.

See guides online for up-to-date track markings on the IAAF website or drop us a message and a member of White Line Services team would be happy to help.

Hurdle markings at Hoe Valley Athletic track

2016 Overview from White Line Services

2016 has been a fast-paced and exciting year for us, we have been super busy all year round and have only just come up for air now! From Scotland and Ireland to Exeter and Liverpool, we’ve travelled a lot and carried out work we’re very pleased with.

Some of the exciting projects from 2016 include school track washes and remarks such as Radley College and line marking at the Chelsea Academy Football ground.

The athletic tracks we have worked on this year include Gateshead Stadium, Scotstoun, Ellesmere Port and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, London.

We’ve also done several indoor sports halls and a number of mini sprint tracks in gyms across the UK.

The work this year on athletic tracks has ranged from repairs and resurfacing work on tracks including Ellesmere Port, washes and remarks and sometimes just simple repairs. We have surveyed and painted new tracks both indoors and outdoors. Nottingham University was an example of one of the indoor tracks surveyed and painted by us this year.

We’ve worked abroad a few times in Holland and Norway with hopes to travel further afield too in 2017.

We are now taking books for the summer of 2017 and the calendar is slowly filling up. We’re looking forward to making lots more happy customers this year and wish you all a Happy New Year.

Ellesmere Port, Liverpool – England

The athletic track at Ellesmere Port underwent 4 weeks for track resurfacing which included repairing 200 linear metres of cracks and a removing a large area of subsidence and repairing the tarmac below. The whole track was then resprayed using 2 x coats of red textured spray. New lines and events were then surveyed and painted giving the track a total transformation.

Resurfacing at Ellesmere Port Athletic Track

In September/October, White Line Services were busy at the Ellesmere Port athletic track carrying out track resurfacing to the whole track. The team began by washing the track to remove any unwanted dirt and grime and prepare the surface ready for the repairs and respraying.

This image was taken after the track was cleaned, as you can see the track has started to wear down to the base mat below.

There were a number of repairs required to the surface including 200 linear metres of cracks and a large area of subsidence where the track surface was removed and the tarmac below repaired.

Two coats of re-textured spray were then applied to the whole track by the team ready for the line marking to begin. Below shows an image during the respraying of the track.

Following the application of re-textured spray, the new lines and events were surveyed and painted onto the track.

With allowances for some rainy weather and curing time, the work took 4 weeks. Please note, all of the materials used by White Line Services are IAAF certified.

If you would like any more information about getting your track repaired and resurfaced, please call up the office on 01342 851172 for a bespoke quotation.

Track of the Week: Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

Keepmoat Stadium is home to the prestigious sporting teams – Doncaster Rugby League FC, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Doncaster Rovers. The stadium has undergone a £32 million transformation to become one of Yorkshire’s premier event locations. Alongside the stadium, is the athletic track, used by the Doncaster Athletic Club.

We love the track and have worked there for many years on the maintenance of their track. Last year, White Line Services carried out repairs then remarked the track.

This year, White Line Services carried out different repairs then resprayed and remarked. The end result shown in the image below.

We are always happy to walk away leaving a happy customer with a newly maintained athletic track.

If you would like more information about this post or information on how we can maintain your athletic track, please email us on: office@white-line-services.com

Getting Your Track Repaired

Keeping up-to-date with repair work that’s required on your track is so important. At White Line Services, we offer a maintenance package offering discounted rates to the wash, repairs and remarks of your athletic track. The wash and remark alone should help increase the longevity of your athletic track.

Repairs are always inevitable and part of the wear and tear from athletes but they CAN be prevented in some cases. Tackling them early can help reduce significant costs in the long run.

You can prevent this by keeping the track clean from dirt and grime as much as possible by having your track high-pressure cleaned every year. At the first signs of wear on the track, allow us to come and assess your track to advise the best course of action. This could be either a small respray or a patch repair depending on the extent of the repair.

There are many positives to keeping up to date with the maintenance of your athletic track. For example, a small crack can gradually become a large crevice and will likely become dangerous to your athletes during training.

When a crack appears, the best and most cost effective thing to do is have it repaired as soon as the crack appears.

White Line Services are always happy to chat about any problems on your track and find out the best course of action to increase the longevity of your running track.

Track of the Week: David Weir Leisure Centre

The David Weir Leisure Centre (which used to be known as Sutton Arena) is named after the British Paralympic wheelchair athlete David Russell Weir. David Russell Weir has won a total of six gold medals dating from 2008 to 2012. Not to mention winning the London Marathon on six different occasions. Born in the London borough of Sutton, it seems apt for a leisure centre and athletic track in Sutton to be named after this sporting superstar.

David Weir Leisure Centre, run by Everyone Active, has both an indoor 6 Lane sprint track and an outdoor 8 Lane 400m track plus Pole Vault, High Jump, Throwing Cage, Javelin, Shot Putt and 2 Jump Pits.

The indoor 60m sprint track provides athletes with the ideal winter training facilities. The track itself is a 60m track with a 22m run off. There is also a pole vault, high jump, throwing cage and 2 jump pitts.

Below you can see our recent repair work to lane 3 of the indoor track which is barely visible now that the repair has been matched to the surrounding green synthetic track surface.

Track of the Week: Linford Christie Stadium

The Linford Christie athletic stadium is an all-weather 8-lane 400-metre track. There are two 8 lane 100-metre straights plus athletic field areas including high jump, long jump etc. Named after the former British 100m Olympic gold medalist, the Linford Christie stadium is located in West London.

Home to one of the UK’s top athletics clubs, the Thames Valley Harriers, this London based athletic track provides London with a great home for training and hosting sporting events.

linford christie indoor

In 2015, White Line Services relaid, resprayed and repainted the indoor sprint track. There was also work carried out to replace the base layer of the track and install new kerb stones around the edge.

To view some of the other projects White Line Services have carried out in the UK and across the world, visit our website.

Our Last Job Of 2015: Leytonstone

Between Christmas and New Year, the team at White Line Services have been out and about helping to solve the issue of a very slippery timber sports court at Leytonstone Community Sports Centre. The flooring was too slippery that the school were unable to use their facilities to host basketball competitions.

We spent the week chemically cleaning the surface then touching up and repainting any damaged lines. Following this, two coats of sports floor sealer were applied to the surface, creating a fully-functional, non-slip surface ready for the New Year.

The new non-slip surface should now be problem and maintenance free for the next few years and Leytonstone school are looking forward to a busy year hosting plenty of sporting competitions.

Here at White Line Services, we are always happy to give advice about your sports surfaces. If like Leytonstone School, you have a slippery and potentially dangerous sports surface that requires some maintenance, simply give us a call or email us at office@white-line-services.com for a free quotation.

The Importance of Sports Surface Maintenance

Here at White Line Services, we can’t stress enough the importance of keeping up-to-date with the maintenance of your athletic track and sports courts. In order to ensure your facility is ready for action at all times and to prevent the occurrence of injuries on damaged surfaces, this is what we suggest.

For your athletic track, be sure to keep your track clean. When dirt begins to form, if not deal with, this can cause severe damage if continually used. If during the winter months your track has dirt and moss, this can cause an icy and slippery surface for anyone training on it. The conditions of your track could then worsen and potentially cost you more in the New Year.

We recommend that you get your track and sports courts high pressure cleaned every 2 years to prolong the life of the surface and provide the best conditions for your athletes.

To keep your tracks or sports courts looking their best, you might need to get the lines repainted. White Line Services use extremely durable, top quality paint that is weather resistant and will give you many years of service.

We also offer a surface repair service which involves the eco-friendly removal of moss, dirt using our high pressure aqua- vacuuming machine and the repair of small holes across your surface. By re-texturing and restoring damaged areas will help prevent major maintenance issues.

The benefits of keeping up-to-date with track maintenance means that in the long run you will reduce the overall cost by potentially preventing costly damage to your tracks and sports courts.

To find out more about how our maintenance services could help you, please contact us for a quotation today at office@white-line-services.com.

To follow some of the maintenance work we provide, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @whitelineserv.

Our recent projects