YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
America's best teenage track and field athletes experienced an Olympic dream when they competed in the U.S. Area Youth Olympic Selection Trials on the new Polytan-USA track surface at the University of Texas at Arlington. Based on their performance at these trials, young US athletes aged 16 – 17 can be nominated for the Youth Olympic Team. A maximum of 24. athletes may be selected. These winners will then join more than 3600 athletes from 205 nations in Singapore for the first Youth Olympic Games,
Polytan installed the new track surface in August 2009. UT Arlington selected Polytan for this project based on the excellent quality of the Polytan PU surfaces, which are featured in such world-class stadiums as Crystal Palace National Stadium UK, Gateshead International Stadium UK, the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart and the Olympic Stadium in Munich.
"We are delighted with the new running track at Maverick Stadium," said Stadium Manager Tom Kloza regarding the Polytan surfaces in Arlington. "The quick installation and quality of the surface exceeded our expectations. It was an honour to host the best teenage track and field athletes in the United States as they competed for a spot on the first-ever U.S. Youth Olympic team."
In addition to the project at the UT Arlington, Polytan USA have just completed a similar project at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where in November 2009, the Tom Black running track in the La Port stadium was resurfaced with a Polytan PUR surface. The three-layered poured-in sandwich track was cast from PUR containing only high-quality newly manufactured EPDM rubber granules. This waterproof PUR surface is extremely hard wearing with good wear resistance and energy-increasing elasticity. This surface has been awarded the IAAF Class 1 approval and is especially well suited for international competitions.
Many important light athletic events have been successfully hosted on the new Polytan 8-track oval. In April 2010 the Sea Ray Relays were held and in May the South Eastern Conference championships.
With the renovation of the Earl C. Billy Haye light athletic facilities at the University of Indiana, Polytan was able to gain a further prestige project in the USA. Named after the legendary university coach, this new track creates a performance centre for athletic sports in the mid-west of the USA. Among other major meetings the top-class traditional events, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Big Ten Conference are held here. The member universities – now eleven in number – also carry out other sport competitions such as baseball, football and hockey.
“It was our intention to create a central support centre in the USA, where universities and colleges could meet for sport competitions,” said Chuck Crabb, Deputy Director for Athletic Facilities.
The new Polytan M track replaces the previously existing Mondo running surface. The in-situ Polytan installation is basically very different from the prefabricated system used by competitors. The poured-in-place three-layered sandwich track is cast from PUR containing only high-quality newly manufactured EPDM rubber granules. This waterproof Polytan M track offers a variety of advantages. It is extremely hard wearing and elastic as well as being designed biomechanically and from a sport medicine point of view. The surface has high UV resistance, is extremely suited for spikes and has optimal damping properties – important prerequisites for speed and sprinting. With its IAAF Class 1 approval this track surface is especially well suited for high-performance and high-quality athletic competitions.
The success of Polytan and Polytan USA, headquartered near Atlanta, Georgia, is based on their uncompromising customer-orientation, the excellent quality of Polytan sports surfaces, their in-house research and development capabilities, their own production and installation concept as well as competent after-sales support.
