Important considerations for basketball flooring are ball rebound, optimal surface friction, and a degree of shock absorption. But aside from performance characteristics, decisions about basketball floors often depend on the answers to several key questions:
Will the court be used for other activities or basketball exclusively?
Some basketball floors need to accommodate other sports and non-sporting activities. If that is the case, a resilient sports surface may be the best gym floor option. Since protective coverings are not a necessity, these surfaces typically require less effort in transitioning to other activities. On the other hand, if the floor is dedicated almost exclusively to basketball, a maple hardwood court such as ClutchCourt might be the right choice.
What resources are available for floor maintenance and protection?
In choosing any basketball floor, it is important to budget lifetime maintenance costs along with the cost of the flooring. Maple hardwood courts require a slightly greater degree of maintenance if the form of refinishing. It is also highly recommended that some form of protective covering is also purchased. Resilient surfaces such as vinyl, linoleum, or rubber do not typically require refinishing, however the ease of cleaning varies based on surface texture.
How important is competitive consistency? Is it necessary that the home court be similar to away courts?
The simple fact is that most competitive level basketball courts are maple hardwood systems. To some, having a team play on the same type of court at home as well as away is beneficial. To others, this factor is less important than the performance characteristics. However, it is important to note that area-elastic hardwood floors are highly individual regardless of the manufacturer or system type. This means that even though two courts are made of the same material from the same manufacturer, they will still be unique in regard to performance characteristics.
How important is a “traditional” basketball floor?
Going back to the beginning of the game, hardwood courts are the traditional flooring for basketball. If this is an important consideration, maple flooring like Tarkett Sports’ ClutchCourt is the right choice. If you are open to any surface, resilient flooring such 6mm PVC offer a high quality basketball floor with some exceptional benefits.