The EN 14904 standard is a European standard and specifies the conditions for the surfaces of indoor facilities where various sports such as basketball, handball, volleyball and football are performed, as well as physical training and other sports activities. This standard does not apply to indoor tennis halls only.
The surfaces of sports fields react in some way when subjected to any dynamic load. In spite of the forced sport, the upper surface of the sport field is expected to be strong in the following respects:
- Deformation under load
- Impact absorption power
- Converting the energy of the pulse to its previous state
Impact absorption of the surface is an important safety feature in sports fields. The surfaces react in different ways if the temperature is too high or too low or under the stress ratio. For example, at low temperatures the surface becomes harder and at high temperatures it becomes more soft.
In order to have a safe sports activity, there must be sufficient grip between the shoes the athlete is wearing and the surface of the sports area. If the clutch is low, the athlete may slip and fall. If the grip is too much, this time creates an unwanted tension on the joint and muscle ligaments of the athlete.
Similarly, tests and examinations of the surface of sports fields should be carried out in many aspects such as vertical ball behavior, resistance to rolling load, abrasion resistance, fire reaction, formaldehyde emission, mirror reflection, reflective brightness, indentation strength, impact resistance and degree of smoothness. Different standards have been set for each of these characteristics.
It is best to practice outdoor sports but unfortunately it is not easy to find this opportunity in today's conditions and working tempo. For this reason, indoor sports areas are preferred. However, in order to avoid any injury or disability during the sport, necessary tests and examinations of the sports fields should also be performed.
Within the scope of environmental inspections, sports field inspections are also carried out by authorized test and inspection organizations, and also provides testing and certification services. A few standards considered during these studies are:
- TS EN 14904 Surfaces for sports fields - Indoor surfaces for use in multiple sports - Technical features
- TS EN 12228 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of the joints of synthetic surfaces
- TS EN 14877 Surfaces for outdoor sports - Technical specifications
- TS EN 13672 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of abrasion resistance of non-filled synthetic peat
- TS EN 13745 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of brightness reflection
- TS EN 13746 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of dimensional changes due to the effect of variable water, frost and heat conditions
- TS EN 13864 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of tensile strength of synthetic yarns
- TS EN 14808 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of impact damping
- TS EN 14809 Surfaces for sports fields - Determination of vertical deformation
- TS EN 14837 Surfaces for outdoor sports - Determination of slip resistance
- DIN 18035-7: 2014 Sports Fields Section 7; Determination of Environmental Adaptability in Synthetic Turf Areas
- DIN 18035-6: 2014 Sports floor - Part 6: Synthetic surfaces (Foreign Standard)