MUGA pitches are a great way to make the most of limited space at schools, universities and leisure centres. Rather than having separate sports areas for football, netball, tennis and hockey it is far more cost effective to have a MUGA surface which offers an all in one solution. This is because it saves on budget, maintenance and time that would be spent on creating multiple different areas.
There are many different types of MUGA surfacing available and each type can be designed to suit specific sports or activities. For example, the earliest type of MUGA surface is called Type 1. This is usually comprised of a porous macadam which can be painted with lines to create different courts and pitches. It is ideally meant for sports such as basketball and tennis that require the ball to rebound off the surface. It also has the option of having coloured anti-slip coatings applied to offer an extra level of security and safety for players.
Another popular type of MUGA surface is known as Type 3 and consists of a high grip polymeric tarmac. It is designed for sports such as tennis, netball and basketball. It can also be painted in the colours of your choice to create a vibrant and attractive finish. The surfacing is also all weather, meaning it can be used whatever the weather may be. This means that unlike grass sports surfaces, it won’t flood and become muddy which can be a major inconvenience for care takers.
Lastly, the most recent type of MUGA is known as Type 5. This involves a sand infilled artificial grass which can replicate the feel of natural turf and has shock absorbing properties to help prevent injuries from falls and tackles. It can be laid in a variety of colours to create the look and style that you want and can be tailored to suit specific sports such as rugby, football or hockey.
To provide extra security to this what is muga pitch, we were asked to provide a fencing upgrade to prevent agile youngsters from using the wide-gauge fencing as a ladder and climbing on to the top of the 5m fence. Our solution was to install a more robust, finer gauge mesh topped with Roller Barrier, which blended well with the existing fencing and stopped people from being able to use the lamp posts as handholds and footholds. This successfully fulfilled our duty of care responsibilities by keeping trespassers off the site and protected the valuable MUGA surface underneath.