YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Sport and exercise has a major significance for health and wellbeing of every individual, for social cooperation and the life approach in our communities. To satisfy the requirements of this situation, a sufficient number of attractive and modern sports facilities, tailored to suit users' requirements is necessary – a fact about which all participants at the Osnabruck Sports Facility Days were in agreement. Under the comprehensive title, "Innovation for sports facilities" the Osnabruck University of Applied Sciences, the German research association for landscape development (Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicklung Landschaftsbau e.V.) and the Playground + Landscape publishers, organised an informative training event on July 11 and 12, 2017 at the University of Applied Sciences in Osnabruck. Around 90 participants made use of this opportunity to attend and discuss interesting and fascinating presentations by renowned speakers from the sciences and practical work. The event was accompanied by a small trade exhibition with 12 exhibitors.
Kicking off the first day of the event, Uwe Lübking from the German association of cities and communities, underlined again in his presentation that areas for sport and exercise are an indispensable part of urban development and that a great deal of commitment is necessary in order to serve all requirements equally well. Tobias Thierjung, from Playground + Landscape Verlag, then highlighted different requirement aspects for modern sports facilities. Problems such as funding, and inner-urban re-densification were given just as much focus as key words like "multi-functionality" and "sustainability". Following this, Harald Fux from the offices of RAUMKUNST in Vienna, presented an audio-visual display of modern and individually designed sports facilities. Above all the impressive sports hall designs shown, made a lasting impression on the audience.
After lunch, "Innovative sports surfaces and new concepts for exercise areas" made up the programme. Heinz Schomakers, chairman of the DIN committee for 18035-7, first made a summary of the changes planned for this standard, before Dr. Paul Baader from the company Baader Konzept, presented a test series and its results of a comparison of different hybrid turf systems for sports facilities under construction. Finally, Dr. Patrick Lawson from the Osnabruck UAS reported on findings from a research project involving the sustainability of hybrid turf systems in sports facilities. As closing speaker, Hermann Schulz, responsible for infrastructure of the Hamburg Sports Association, spoke about his practical experience with hybrid turf systems on the sports field.
Following the presentation programme, many participants took the opportunity to round off the first day in the relaxed atmosphere of an evening of trade discussion and networking in the Gasthaus Rampendahl in Osnabruck.
The second day of the event dealt first with the topic of "Noise protection at sports facilities". After a short introduction, Jürgen Gesing from the company Wenker & Gesing GmbH, provided an accurate overview of the requirements and regulations governing noise protection in construction of sports facilities. Focus was put above all on current adaptation and the need for further changes in legislation as well as possible solutions in individual cases. The landscape architect Ulf Elsner, from the planning offices Planungsbüro Pätzold + Snowadsky, then illustrated practical implementation of noise protection systems for sports facilities, showing detailed advantages and disadvantages of the options in each case.
Following the lunch break, the last topic section of this year's Osnabruck Sports Facility Days, "Innovative solutions for the environment" was presented. Ms Jutta Katthage from the institute for landscape gardening, outdoor sports facilities and green areas of the University of Applied Sciences, Osnabruck, presented a system developed for certification of the sustainability of sports facilities. This includes different aspects of sustainability which are entered into a criteria catalogue and using a points system, can be used to make an overall evaluation of the sustainability of a sports facility. In the following speech, Torsten Onasch from the lighting company Siteco Beleuchtungstechnik, explained the advantages of environmentally compatible floodlight systems for training. This was followed by a presentation from Andreas Klapproth from the IBK Sportlandschaften, landscape engineer, planner and consultant for sport facility construction, who is an expert on water-saving concepts for turf sports fields and who provided tips and advice on resource-saving solutions. The final presentation by Oliver Schneider from the Lehmacher Schneider Laboratories dealt with substances harmful for people and the environment in artificial turf. Focus here was above all on SBR rubber granules which have recently been subject to a great deal of criticism.
The participants were then bidden farewell by the hosts of this year's Osnabruck Sports Facility Days and left for their homeward journey with new knowledge and fresh impressions. The organisers wish to thank all speakers, participants and exhibitors for their cooperation in the event and draw a positive conclusion. This event series will be continued next year, the date will be published soon. Documentation of many presentations from this year's event will soon be available as download from the homepage of the University of Applied Sciences Osnabruck (HS Osnabrück).
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Picture: Hochschule Osnabrück
