From a roller sports facility to a skatepark - The evolution of DIN EN 14974
Ingo Naschold, owner planning office DSGN CONCEPTS , surveyor and chair of the national standards for skate parks
The establishment of safety standards in the field of roller sports has been a long and fraught process: when the DIN standard for roller sports facilities - at this time still under DIN 33943 – was published in 1995, roller sports had just experienced their first boom. Unlike other sports such as football and tennis, for which there had been clear requirements and safety regulations due to their history, popularity and status as mass-participation activities, roller sports were truly in their infancy at this time with regard to sports facility safety requirements.
When developing the standard there was a focus on "known" skate elements such as the spine, funbox and pyramid and define only the single obstacles. As a result of the specification of the elements, the standard was unfortunately used as a "construction plan" for skateparks, irrespective of the fact that different roller sports practitioners have different requirements. So now there were two problems: on one hand, there were elements that inline skaters and BMXers, for example, could easily use, but skateboarders only to a certain extent. On the other hand the facilities were too similar and variety was more an exception.
A turning point with regard to the planning of user-specified facilities had his arrival in the early 2000s: with the declining popularity of ,,Aggressive”-Inline, skateboarding established more and more as the dominating roller sport on the facilities. At the same time Skateboarders became a part of the manufacture level and therefore an increasing influence on the standards committee. So could, with the switch from DIN to EN in 2006, most of the conspicuous discrepancies be eliminated. During the next revision in 2010, further specific adaptations could be considered.
Certainly, a superficial rework of the norm was not enough. In 2014, owing to representatives from Germany and France, the EU standards committee convened again to reactivate the work on the standards for a revised version in sense of every athlete of roller sports.
However, since there were only a few representatives of other EU countries active on the committee, lots of available European contacts were activated and convinced to work on the nationwide standard. As a result, significantly more countries, including the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, England, Greece, Sweden and Finland, were represented at the first meeting of the reactivated standards committee in 2015 to undertake a comprehensive reworking.
Ever since the committee consists 15 active representatives from eight countries who have met two to three times per year for consultation on EU- and National level since 2015.
The effort have been worth it: in January 2019 a completely revised standard for skateparks will be published, which will be applicable to indoor and outdoor parks across all disciplines. It is also simplified to rate the test object. From now on there is a clear structure with common terms, which also retain their specialist language in translation. The many specific individual skate elements have been simplified. The focus is now on the general elements as well as the rolling surfaces or rather of the entire facility.
This is the reason why the title of the standard has changed to: "Skateparks - Safety requirements and test methods". Now all surfaces and areas must be examined. Accordingly, the revision encompassed for example the material "asphalt", on requirements of grain size and surface properties.
Materials will also be excluded in the revision and removed from the standard. Accordingly, from next year stainless steel gliding surfaces (e.g. coping, edge protection, etc.) will no longer be permitted. This is a milestone in standard work since this material has been unsuitable since ever. The reason: stainless steel is a soft metal while skateboard trucks are made from aluminium - also a soft metal. The effect of rubbing is similar to that of rubber on rubber, which in the past has often caused in heavy falls. Fibreglass sheets were also removed from the definition of the materials to be used but not completely excluded, as after lengthy discussions the committee could not reach a consensus. It is pointed out, that this kind of surface is not recommended.
In the revised standard the general safety requirements for skate elements have largely been retained. In addition, every externally accessible edge must be rounded by at least 3 mm and a fall protection barrier has to be at least 1.2 metres high. These and other requirements are now generally applicable, so it is no longer necessary to differentiate between a bank, quarter-pipe, hip or londongap. Pools and bowls were added as this kind of skatepark represents an unique discipline and was not previously covered in EN 14974.
In regard of inspection and maintenance, the requirements and formulations of EN 1176 were used for guidance and partially retained. This includes the inspection interval with corresponding implementation and the testing and test report requirements. In addition the user (planners, manufacturers, designers, public authorities, experts and testers of skate elements and/or skateparks) is expected to be qualified to apply the standard. The appropriately qualified person should have sufficient training, experience and knowledge of this standard and have an understanding of roller sports or have a special qualification for the proper execution of their task and knowledge of the standard.
Further information must be added on the information sign from next year on. Every operator should also consider in advance what types of roller sports will be permitted in the respective facility. This has a significant impact on the planning.
Nowadays, for example, the use with scooters is hotly debated. On one hand, a skatepark can be used with scooters, but on the other the users are often children who simply want to roll to and from, although pumptracks would be the better choice for this type of playing. These circumstances create often conflicts, which are frequently caused by intransigent parents. This is among the reasons why the minimum age for skatepark use was set at eight years. A skatepark is not a playground.
The reworked EN 14974 is due to be published in January 2019 and will be available in German from Beuth Verlag as DIN EN 14974.
Children and youngsters rushing here and there, screams of pleasure, high spirits and laughter ‒ as soon as a trampoline park opens its gates, it takes no time at all until the visitors arrive.
Fall protection surfaces vary in terms of cost, minimum installation thickness and cleaning and care requirements. It should be noted that the most important property of these surfaces is the safety-related shock absorption. This is the surface's ability to reduce the impact energy that occurs when a child falls from a piece of play equipment. It prevents a critical, even life-threatening, injury.
