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Conipur® Pro Clay installed by Fosse Contracts is a superior clay tennis surface designed for top class players and those who prefer the performance characteristics of genuine clay courts.
All components of Pro Clay are provided by Conica Technik and guaranteed to be consistent and of the highest quality.
The court pace for Pro Clay has been classified by the International Tennis Federation as Category 1 - Slow which many believe to be ideal for tournament play.
Pro Clay installations already completed in the UK include two courts at The Lawn Tennis Association's National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, four courts at Easton College Tennis Centre - a pay and play facility - in Norwich and a further two at Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge recently named as Sunday Times State Sixth Form College of the Year 2013.
Pro Clay has excellent water permeability which means it is possible to play on the surface soon after rain has stopped. The lines and surface system are designed to cope with temperatures encountered during frosty conditions thus allowing play to continue throughout the year. Maintenance requirements are low compared with traditional clay surfaces.
The Pro Clay construction is very durable and eminently suited to wheelchair tennis.
The secret to Pro Clay's success is the two layer construction. The base comprises clay granules bound with a specially formulated polyurethane resin laid by specialist paving machine and, following curing, this is covered with fine clay dressing applied at a predefined rate. The permanent preformed rigid pvc playing lines complete the installation.
There is also a version of Pro Clay for indoor tennis in which eco-friendly components eliminate dust formation and the need for regular watering.
Pro-Clay Indoor is currently used as the surface for the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event in Stuttgart and was also selected for the Federation Cup tie played in Bern last year between Switzerland and Belgium.
Tom Ralph of Fosse Contracts stated that:- "Pro Clay is a great way to upgrade any type of porous court and although not all clubs will be able to afford such an ideal solution to their need for a true clay surface, those that do will not, I'm sure, regret the extra initial investment required." Hide story
Fosse Contracts install 12 courts with associated works in summer holiday break.
The specialist Technology College, de Ferrers, achieved Academy status in January 2012. It has two campuses about ½ a mile apart. Attendance is split by age range with Years 7 to 9 taught on the Dove Campus and Years 10-13 on the Trent Campus.
Around eight years ago, six tennis courts were built on each site.
By 2011, these courts were showing signs of age. The surface was breaking up and the perimeter fence components were in a bad state of disrepair. Standing water also collected after rain in many areas. It was time to restore the courts to first class condition.
Following a tender process, Fosse Contracts won the initial contract for work on Dove Campus to restore good drainage to the base layer, resurface the courts, install new perimeter fencing and line-mark for tennis and netball.
Recognising that the courts on Trent Campus were in need of the same treatment, the six courts there were added to the contract.
The total value of remedial work at each site was around £100k which was wholly met by funding from The de Ferrers Academy.
One of the reasons Fosse Contracts were selected to carry out this extra work was their ability to plan and schedule work to fit within the fixed time constraints of school term times.
Maureen Evans, Finance Director at the Academy was impressed with the way that the work was completed, "On time in spite of adverse weather conditions last year and ready for the September Term."
The surface chosen for the courts was Fosse Contracts' Placourt. This economical and hard-wearing porous macadam surface - often finished with a textured acrylic colour coating - is ideal for tennis and netball use. The surface can be installed over new or restored base formations. The use of different colours for line marking allows different sporting activities on the same surface. Maintenance for this type of surface is fairly minimal and usually within the capability of existing resources at educational establishments.
Derek Gilbert of Building Design Group, consultant on the project says, "Fosse Contracts have a good reputation for working on projects where time is limited to installation during holidays at educational establishments. The project completed at The de Ferrers Academy shows that the reputation is well deserved." Hide story
The Sport in Desford charity was set up in 1988 to provide cost effective sports facilities for local community benefit. The club supports nine main sports and also provides spaces for other activities.
The Desford Lawn Tennis Club is very active and now boasts 16 teams that include a large number of young players. The tennis club has around 110 members but the wider community are also welcome at the club. Sport in Desford has more than 900 members and participants in total using the various facilities.
The tennis club started in 2009 based on two courts originally built in the 1940's. These courts had been renovated in 1996 by Fosse Contracts and, following a sterling effort by the young players, a total of nearly £20,000 was raised by way of Leicestershire Youth Grant funding to enable the resurfacing of this original pair of courts in 2010.
At this time, resident coach, Alec Matty was making his mark with the rapidly expanding Desford Lawn Tennis Club and it became clear that it needed more courts as the number of teams playing in local leagues grew.
Early in 2012, funding was secured for the installation of a third floodlit tennis court. The club tapped into a number of funding sources in order to raise the necessary capital.
The funding bodies involved were: Biffa Awards, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Leicestershire and Rutland Playing Fields Association, with Sport England providing an "Inspired Facilities" grant.
Fosse Contracts' track record with the club counted for a great deal when it came to selecting a contractor to build the third court. As well as the usual base preparation and surface installation, the three phase electricity supply had to be relocated and floodlights installed. Once again, Sport England's grant helped with the funding of this work.
The tennis court surface chosen by the club was Fosse Contracts' Placourt. Placourt porous macadam tennis courts have a permeable foundation over which the macadam surface is laid. The resulting tennis surface is free draining, hard-wearing, allows play throughout the year and requires little maintenance. Hide story
The goal: to play tennis outdoors in wet weather.
Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club is situated in the south west of Sheffield and over the years, club players and officials have accepted that weather patterns lead to many days where wet and damp conditions prevail. Prior to the tennis court refurbishment programme that was completed in April 2011 players had no choice in wet weather other than to pay extra to play indoors or to cancel their scheduled matches.
Before the refurbishment the club had four cushioned acrylic courts, three macadam courts and one clay court. In wet conditions the courts became unplayable. The hard macadam surface was slippery when wet, the clay court couldn't be played on and the non-porous acrylic courts had standing water.
After considering many surface options and contracting companies, the decision was made to have a block of six Proturf Plus synthetic grass courts installed. Proturf Plus is a sand-filled artificial grass tennis surface with a dense, comfortable 15mm pile – ideal for tennis clubs and is available exclusively from Fosse Contracts. Importantly for the club, Proturf Plus is hard-wearing and free draining allowing play throughout the year.
The remaining pair of cushioned acrylic courts continue to be used as weather conditions permit.
The programme of work included the drilling of thousands of drainage holes in the macadam and acrylic courts followed by back-filling with pea gravel and overlaying with a new macadam surfacing course to achieve the fine tolerances required. The new surface was installed over the prepared base with terra cotta inner court areas with green surrounds. Permanent lines were a key part of the installation.
The whole project cost around £120k including VAT. £20k of this sum was from club funds with the balance provided by NatWest in the form of a commercial loan.
Matt Whittaker, the club's Business Manager, is very conscious of the positive comments coming from club members. The tennis section has about 800 of them and since the refurbishment the number has been steadily increasing. He states, "We couldn't be happier with the work that has been done by Fosse. I have heard no complaints from anyone. Coaches love it because sessions are very rarely cancelled. Members love it because they have six court surfaces of exactly the same type and juniors like the slower pace which helps with practice and adds to the length of rallies."
The official opening of the renewed courts was on 25 April 2011 with Peter Bretherton, President of the LTA presiding. Hide story
Official opening ceremony follows extensive facility upgrade.
The Barnt Green Sports Club tennis section faced a problem common to many tennis facilities – reducing court availability coupled with poor value for money on natural grass courts.
The club considered that some of the money used for maintaining the four grass courts that had served the club over many years could be better invested elsewhere. According to James Flynn, the club's project manager, "Two of the four acrylic courts at the club were in dire need of repair and in addition, floodlighting was only available on two courts."
The result of this was a squeeze on coaching and playing schedules – whenever it rained the courts were unplayable and whenever it was dark, courts could not be used.
The club decided to take a proactive role in reversing the downward trend by taking advantage of the “Places to Play” programme which aims to increase significantly the number of people participating, juniors competing and the provision of accessible coaching.
The club has around 300 members comprising adults and a strong junior section. Visiting players are welcome at the club for coaching and game play. The facilities are also used extensively by local schools and South Warwickshire College.
As a result, funding for the £170K project was secured in three tranches:
The night time problem was solved by extending the floodlighting provision at the facility to cover five courts in total.
The impact of the weather was minimised by the installation of three synthetic clay courts that can be played on even when rain is falling.
Leicester-based Fosse Contracts were selected to carry out the work. Their skill and experience in the installation of tennis surfaces and associated works are acknowledged in the industry as being of the highest possible standard.
The tennis surface selected was a well proven sand-filled simulated clay product Clayrite, manufactured by Yorkshire-based sports surface specialists, Playrite. Clayrite is classified by the ITF as Category 2 – Medium Slow and provides all weather use thus increasing playing time and revenue potential. It is also easier and less expensive to maintain than traditional clay surfaces. Just what the club needed.
The two acrylic courts that were in the poorest condition were converted to Clayrite. One of the grass courts was also converted and floodlighting extended to cover the three new courts.
The floodlighting contractor for the project was LTL Contracts who have the advantage of their own dedicated and experienced team of ground and electrical workers with all work being supervised by Fosse Contracts.
The club which also has squash and badminton sections has around 500 members - a number which is set to grow due to the substantially increased time that the tennis courts are playable throughout the year.
James Flynn has nothing but praise for Fosse Contracts. "The company took a professional approach to all work, keeping us informed at all stages of the project. The site was kept clean and tidy and the final result is brilliant. Of course, we would recommend their services to other clubs."
Although the club started to play on their new courts on 12 November 2011 the official opening ceremony took place on 28 April at 11.00am this year. The assembled members and visitors were treated to a great demonstration of tennis skills by Greg Rusedski. Those present included the Chairman and President of Hereford and Worcester LTA.
The opening coincided with the club open day and coaching sessions. 15 lucky members got to face Greg's service and the Club's A Team participated in exhibition tie breaks.
Greg delighted the junior section by coaching 25 juniors together with the coaching team. Everyone agreed that the opening ceremony was a great success. Hide story
