Academies Show 2017

With over £8.6m worth of projects funded to date, Notts Sport were privileged to present at the recent Academies Show in Birmingham.

Over the course of 30 minutes we provided a whistle stop summary of our unique Fast Track Funding model which provides funding solutions to the Education Sector for synthetic turf sport, play & cricket facilities.

If you are looking to develop, upgrade or replace any external sports facilities then Fast Track Funding provides another proven option and for over 25 schools & Academies has created a robust and sustainable business and financial case to make the project vision a reality.

Our presentation can be viewed on the following link so why not take a look and learn how Notts Sport can provide a turnkey solution including funding for your sport, play or cricket project.

Fast Track Funding 2017 – Academies Show Presentation

FREE SEMINARS WILL SHOW HOW A NEW SPORTS FACILITY COULD PAY FOR ITSELF!

A series of seminars will highlight an exciting funding scheme which enables the installation of state-of-the-art community sports facilities – in the face of continuing economic challenges and government cutbacks.

Fast Track Funding – an initiative from leading synthetic surfacing supplier Notts Sport – has funded 25 new sports facilities worth in excess of £9 million over the past five years.

Fast Track Funding is the only non-traditional funding route for artificial turf facilities – such as 3G football and rugby, or multi-use hockey pitches – proven to be compliant with Education Funding Agency requirements and local authority or academy auditors.

It’s an ideal solution for schools and local authorities, providing high-quality, synthetic turf sports pitches, with little or no upfront capital contribution required.

That’s because most sports facilities are able to generate significant revenue through community use, and this income can be used to pay for a considerable proportion, if not all, of the cost of projects delivered under the unique scheme.

To showcase this fantastic initiative, Notts Sport is hosting free Fast Track Funding seminars at venues across England, Scotland and Wales throughout November.

These Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events will give all attendees the opportunity to find out how the scheme could benefit them and learn about the experiences of customers who have already had facilities completed thanks to Fast Track Funding.

With Fast Track Funding, Notts Sport works closely with the individual customer to design a bespoke sports facility that’s specific to their vision and strategy.

Instead of the customer spending months or years applying for grants and waiting for funding, Notts Sport will provide a flexible funding solution with repayments spread over an agreed period to suit specific budgets. So depending on the customer’s requirements, Notts Sport and its specialist funding partners, Unilink Finance Ltd, could provide full funding for the facility up front or supply part of the cost to top up existing funds or budgets.

Shaun Patrick, Chairman of Notts Sport, says: “Our free Fast Track Funding seminar is a fantastic opportunity for staff from schools, local authorities and other sectors to discover all they need to know about how we can help them achieve top-notch sports facilities for their communities.

“Whether it’s a brand new project or the refurbishment of an existing pitch, the new facility can be installed straight away – and we can provide valuable advice for customers to help them maximise the use of the new space after completion so it can immediately start to pay for itself.”

St Edwards College Pitch following Fast Track Funding

Designing each and every facility to the specific requirements of each customer, Notts Sport has an unrivalled project portfolio illustrating the widest range of solutions. The company’s impressive recent installations include elite sports facilities at internationally renowned independent schools such as Oundle School; world class sports grounds such as Lord’s Cricket Ground; and iconic brands such as Central Park playgrounds in New York.

The company, which has over 33 years of experience in the sports and play surfacing sector, also assures full quality control throughout the installation through its turnkey project management service.

Fast Track Funding Seminars are being held in the following locations:

• Exeter: 31^st October, Sandy Park Conference Centre, 8am-10am
• Southampton 1st November, Holiday Inn Southampton Eastleigh, 8am-10am
• Washington: 2^nd November, Holiday Inn Washington, 8am-10am
• Wasrrington: 7th November, Holiday Inn Warrington 8am-10am
• Sheffield: 8^th November, Holiday Inn Sheffield/Rotherham, 8am-10am
• Gloucester: 9^th November, Holiday Inn Gloucester South, 8am-10am
• Brighton: 14^th November, AMEX Stadium, 8am-10am
• Kent: 15^th November, Holiday Inn Maidstone, 8am-10am
• Ipswich: 16^th November, Holiday Inn Ipswich, 8am-10am
• Birmingham: 21^st November, Holiday Inn Birmingham, 8am-10am
• Glasgow: 22^nd November, House For An Art Lover, 8am-10am
• Edinburgh: 23^rd November, Holiday Inn Edinburgh, 8am-10am
• London: 28^th November, RICS Parliament Square, 2pm-4pm
• Maidenhead: 29^th November, Holiday Inn Maidenhead, 8am-10am
• Cardiff: 30^th November, Holiday Inn Cardiff M4 J32, 8am-10am

Those attending a seminar will also have a chance to win 20 tickets to the Hockey League Finals Weekend 2018.

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

To find out all they need to know about Notts Sport Fast Track Funding, staff from schools and local authorities can book their place at a free Fast Track Funding seminar online at https://fs6.formsite.com/NottsSport1/form9/index.html. Further information is available by emailing markw@nottssport.com or calling 01455 883730.

 

 

 

WITH LOVING MEMORIES OF SIMON GLOVER

It is with great sadness that we bring the news that one of the Notts Sport family, Simon Glover, has passed away suddenly this weekend after fighting an aggressive form of cancer.

Simon has been a key member of the Notts Sport team, leading the installation, training and development of Notts Sport systems, contractors and distributors all across the world in his 12 years at the company.  In his role as Technical Installation Manager, his impact on Notts Sport will be felt for many years and generations to come with any number of our 100+ family of distributors & contractors around the world having teams and individuals trained up to Simon’s exacting standards on cricket, sport & play pushing the standards for installations and projects as a result.

Simon will be sorely missed as a friend, colleague and most of all as one of the most thoroughly nice human beings you could ever wish to meet and even better, work with day in day out.  We ask that you are patient with our staff over the coming days and weeks as we come to terms with Simon’s sudden passing.

Our thoughts at this time go out to Wendy & his children and the wider family.

Roundhay School

Roundhay School is an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ school located in Roundhay, Leeds.
Notts Sport were approached to project manage the installation of a new full size sand
dressed hockey facility, overseeing planning, design, building and maintenance.
The project was developed from 2014 through to 2016 in partnership with Leeds Council,
and it has allowed the school to introduce hockey into the curriculum for the first time.
In the first four months since completion of the new pitch, the school has seen over 50 girls playing hockey, a tremendous start illustrating how a synthetic turf facility has the ability to improve participation and engage a wide range of pupils.

Rachelle Le-Bourdin, PE teacher at the school was able to tailor the pitch to the school’s
needs:
“Working with Notts Sport was brilliant right from the beginning: they came up straight
away, met with us and asked about our vision and what we needed from the pitch, so it
was always about what we wanted and needed, and not ever about what they were trying to sell.”
“From the brilliant initial meeting the relationship grew, and they’ve actually helped with the wider planning of an expansion at the school. They’ve been absolutely brilliant from start to finish: coming and checking that everything’s been installed properly, and helping with our opening ceremony.”

The sand dressed hockey pitch is the first of its kind in the area, meaning that it will benefit the wider community:
“We’ve gone from having about 15 at hockey practice to having over 50 at every session –
and that’s only the girls. We are hoping to get junior clubs in the community involved which means our pupils can have a bit of a school/club link going on, and sports such as hockey, football, handball can grow within the community for juniors and adults alike.”

We welcomed England and GB Hockey player, Suzy Petty, to open the pitch in May:

“Coming from Leeds originally, having a pitch at Roundhay is unbelievable – I’ve been playing against them since I was 11. They have never had a hockey pitch before, and I think for a school like this that is so big and has such a big impact on the community. To have a hockey pitch is just unbelievable and hopefully the kids will just love it!”

Cricket at La Manga Club

Cricket Ireland has joined forces with Cricket Scotland and La Manga Club in a ten-year deal to create a European Cricket Performance Centre in La Manga: the first of its kind in Europe.
Notts Sport were welcomed on board to facilitate the state of the art Performance Centre in Spain, designing six new first-class grass pitches, and two artificial wickets on two existing grounds; plus 18 grass and five artificial net lanes with 25 yard run ups. In addition, specialist grass fielding, catching and wicket-keeping areas are also being created.

Scott Hawkins, Head Groundsman at La Manga Club, worked with Notts Sport throughout, and has also been able to play on the new ‘D’ System surface, as a club player:

“It plays very similarly to natural turf. It’s a good resemblance of what you would play on a natural turf pitch environment: you do get pace and bounce and a lot more consistency. It’s easy to go from the natural turf to the artificial.”

“The practice facility is a good training aid because you do get confidence from knowing
it’s going to be consistent, and also the knowledge that it’s going to resemble what you go
and play on in a match environment. Everyone that’s been here to train on this – whether it’s been club or international cricketers have benefited from playing on this surface, and have been enjoying how good the quality is. They’re making individual improvements as well as team benefits at the same time.”

Since completion in early 2017, David Moore, La Manga Cricket Club President has seen
much activity within the new facility: “Club players and our juniors had first use of the nets in March 2017, all of whom were very impressed. The batsmen were happy with the bounce and being able to attack the ball.”
“We have had a very full programme of cricket in April, with our Classic T20, Last Man
Standing European Open, UK Schools Tournament and Madrid Cricket Club T20. The
artificial pitches played extremely well with all competing teams complimenting the new
facilities. We as the home club are extremely impressed with the new facilities, and can now watch professional and international players training on a regular basis.”

Under the terms of the partnership, Cricket Ireland and Cricket Scotland will have exclusive booking options for using the centre as a warm weather training and playing base for its men’s and women’s national and provincial senior and youth teams.

Notts Sport: FIH Hockey Academy Partners

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is pleased to confirm Notts Sport as an official FIH Hockey Academy Partner, which will see them provide vital investment, educational support and expertise for hockey.

As one of the leading specialists in the design, advice and supply of synthetic surfacing systems for sport, play and leisure, the two-tier partnership will see Notts Sport provide additional funding to support the delivery of various FIH Hockey Academy courses across the world.

With over 33 years’ experience and heritage in providing high quality artificial turf solutions for hockey, cricket, rugby and football as well as children’s play and multi-use games areas, they are committed to providing effective and innovative design solutions. As such, their experience will be used during FIH Hockey Academy Management courses, where they will provide educational resources and expert advice to attendees.

In addition to this, Notts Sport will also support the implementation of the FIH Quality Programme for Hockey Turf in all activity they undertake in their market, whilst both parties will regularly consult on facilities developments and innovations.

In return, as a Hockey Academy Partner, FIH will actively support Notts Sport through the hockey community, providing them with marketing and networking opportunities that are designed to actively create new business.

The partnership represents a further step for the FIH Hockey Academy who last year signed up their first official partner – Coach Logic, which has already provided a number of benefits to their courses and hockey organisations across the world.

The establishment of the relationship with Notts Sport was built around the Hockey Revolution, FIH’s 10-year strategy. Major initiatives aimed at increasing professionalism across all levels of the sport and securing commercial partners who share the strategy’s vision were key factors in agreeing this relationship.

 

Speaking about this latest commercial agreement, FIH Director of Sport David Luckes said: “This partnership marks another important step for hockey’s development as we make strides towards professionalising the sport across all levels, from grassroots to the top level.” He continued: “Notts Sport investment in the Academy will allow us to deliver exceptional programmes across the world. Their experience will be of huge benefit to course attendees and our facilities department as we look to further develop the quality and standards of our playing environments as the sport continues to grow.”

Duncan Bennett, Managing Director of Notts Sport, said: “Notts Sport is excited in committing to supporting FIH in the development and promotion of hockey through this fantastic new partnership. We are delighted to become a part of the FIH family and believe that our commitment to innovation and quality in a fast changing and ever evolving sport is be a perfect synergy with the FIH and the Hockey Revolution. As a result we aim to bring the benefits we have demonstrated for a number of years in the UK to hockey at all levels across the world”

The two-year agreement begins immediately, with the FIH Hockey Academy Management course in Ipoh, Malaysia in April, the first opportunity for both parties to work together in an educational environment.

For more information about the FIH Hockey Academy, click here.

About the International Hockey Federation (FIH)
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the world governing body for the sport of hockey, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1924, FIH today has 137 member National Associations. For more information on the Hockey Revolution, visit: fih.ch/inside-fih/our-strategy.

ShockWave Factory Tour

Notts Sport were welcomed to DS Smith, specialist manufactures of EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) products, for our ShockWave open day.

Guests of Notts Sport learned all about the ShockWave tile manufacturing process, and were able to witness the production timeline from the start -as tiny EPP beads- to the end finished product -a fully formed tile ready to be installed into sports pitches and playgrounds up and down the country.

To learn more about ShockWave’s unrivalled performance, safety, sustainability and innovation you can download our brochure.

 

 

ISBA Gold Sponsors

Oundle School‘s World Class 10 Lane Cricket Practice Facility

Notts Sport are honoured to have been selected as headline sponsors of the ISBA (Independent Schools’ Bursars Association) conference 2017, and wish to offer all delegates a free, no-obligation meeting to support your sport, play or cricket project.

As Official Facilities Partner to England Hockey, Hockey Wales and Scottish Hockey we are the leading brand in Hockey pitches; and with four ECB approved Cricket systems, we have been established as the leading non-turf specialists for over 33 years. We also provide a range of unique playground systems hugely popular with schools around the world.

Indeed, since 1984, Notts Sport have been at the forefront of innovation in the synthetic sports turf industry, to improve quality standards, and to ensure the development of sport and play opportunities for all.

As the industry’s leading synthetic surfacing specialists, we have built an impressive portfolio of world-class projects in locations such as Lord’s Cricket Ground and New York’s iconic Central Park, as well as at numerous leading independent schools throughout the UK and Europe.

Our latest development in synthetic turf pitch system technology, ShockWave, is already revolutionising artificial football and rugby pitch construction due to its unrivalled safety for rugby, key sporting performance characteristics and sustainable design features.

To celebrate this exciting headline sponsorship, we would like to offer every delegate the opportunity for a free consultation meeting with one of our team of experts to discuss your Sport, Play or Cricket project. These no obligation site meetings are available at your convenience, to discuss your specific project needs and requirements.

To book your meeting please contact Will Wade on 01455 883 761, or alternatively email willw@nottssport.com.

Notts Sport are delighted to return for a third time as headline sponsors and look forward to meeting the delegates in Manchester this May. To see more of Notts Sport’s recently completed projects you can view our interactive portfolio online.

Ratcliffe College‘s Professional Standard Hockey Pitch

Notts Sport: Pitch Resurface Specialists

Read more about our recent resurface project at St Edwards College. 

#CPMyPlayground Competition

We are delighted to launch our fantastic ChildsPlay competition for schools in the UK!

We are inviting pupils to use their imagination to draw a picture for our designers to interpret into a real life play mat. The subject could be anything, from your school building to an outer space adventure! For inspiration see our latest playground installation which was inspired by one child’s painting.

If you are looking to develop or upgrade your playground this is an excellent opportunity to produce a bespoke play space; or alternatively a unique branded entry area or portable play carpet suitable for indoor and outdoor activities.

The winning school will receive a 2m x 2m artificial turf mat, cut out in to the design of the chosen child’s drawing ready to be installed in the format or location that you choose.

To enter download the entry form and either post your submissions to: Notts Sport Ltd, Innovation House, Magna Park, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, LE17 4XH or email to kirstyb@nottssport.com. The closing date for submissions is March 31st.

We’d also love to see your designs on social media, so tweet a photo of your entries using @NS_ChildsPlay and #CPMyPlayground, and we will share the best designs!