Sport & leisure aggregates

Choosing the right sports surface involves a careful assessment of several factors, from the activity itself to the budget, timescale, and installation location. 

• The primary driver is the intended sport. The surface will be engineered to meet specific requirements, whether that’s ball bounce for a tennis court or the impact absorption and slip resistance of an athletics track.
• Budget is a secondary driver. Some high-performance materials cost more upfront, but may only need minimal maintenance for a long lifespan.
• The installation location is another important consideration, as this dictates requirements from drainage and UV resistance to temperature tolerance.

For expert support with choosing the right materials for your sports surface or application, please contact our team.

Specialist aggregates play a fundamental role in sports surfacing solutions, forming the essential structural foundation beneath surfaces like running tracks and football pitches. They ensure surfaces are level, stable, durable, properly drained, and meet the specific performance criteria of the sport being played. 

• Crushed stone and larger aggregates create the sub-base

  This provides necessary stability, load-bearing strength, and the primary layer for water drainage. 

• Finer aggregates, like silica sand, are used as infill in artificial turf

  These aggregates are ideal for adding ballast and enhancing shock absorption.

Silica sand is a naturally occurring material. It’s composed of silicon dioxide and is usually light in colour and fine-grained. Silica sand is used in sports applications because of its desirable characteristics, including:

• Consistent particle size and shape
• High purity
• Resistance to weathering

When used in artificial grass, silica sand acts as the infill material, where it’s layered between the synthetic grass blades. Its weight helps to hold the turf carpet down, preventing wrinkles and shifting. The granular structure of silica sand supports the synthetic fibres of the grass blades, too, helping them to stand upright and mimic the look and feel of natural grass.

A high-quality and very fine grade of silica sand is most appropriate for traditional acrylic-coated hard tennis courts. The sand is often mixed with an acrylic paint system to create the non-slip, textured surface. It regulates ball bounce and friction, controlling the speed of the game.

Silica sand can also be applied to synthetic clay or artificial grass tennis courts, where it’s used as an infill for stability and performance.

Regardless of the court type, it’s vital to choose a silica sand that is:

• Specifically graded
• Clean
• Free of impurities

For help selecting the best sand for your court’s surface, please contact our team.

When selecting the surface for an athletics track, you need to balance high-performance and long-term durability with athlete safety. 

The level of competition is one of the primary considerations you must make. International standards require certified systems that offer highly uniform shock absorption and energy return. Permeability is also vital, as tracks need excellent drainage to remain usable in wet conditions (although some high-performance tracks are non-porous).

The track surface must provide consistent spike resistance without being too abrasive - for instance, minimising the chance of wear and tear on athletes' equipment.

You also need to account for track longevity and maintenance costs. Synthetic surfaces are a significant investment, and they require regular cleaning and repairs to maintain optimal performance properties.

The type of sand used in golf course bunkers is highly specialised, even when compared with the sand used in other sport applications (for instance, infill in artificial turf or in acrylic court surfaces).

Bunker sand is selected primarily for its playability characteristics, which include particle size, shape, colour, and ability to resist compaction. It must be:

• Clean
• Light-coloured (white or near-white for contrast with the greens)
• A uniform grain shape (to allow the golfer's club to slide through easily)

Silica sand used for artificial turf is usually finer - it’s chosen because of its ability to stabilise the turf and act as ballast.