[UPDATED in 2025]
When it comes to sports flooring, you have a vast range of options to choose from. Whether it’s multipurpose flooring or sport-specific surfaces, you need to think about your sports flooring carefully. That way, you can invest in a high-quality sports flooring solution that enhances performance, supports users, and looks fantastic in your facility.
In this guide:
- An Introduction to Sports Flooring
- How to Choose the Best Sports Flooring
- 4 Benefits of Sports Flooring
- Different Surface Types for Sports Flooring
- 7 Best Sports Flooring
- Picking the Right Sports Flooring
An Introduction to Sports Flooring
How to Choose the Best Sports Flooring
To pick the right flooring solution, you should start with the type of sport you intend on playing.
Badminton
Tennis
In tennis, you need a decent return of energy for the ball to bounce and allow the players to feel lighter on their feet. Indoor tennis court flooring should support player movement while minimising the risk of slips and falls. Shock-absorbing qualities are essential for more comfortable and safe play.
Basketball
During a game of basketball, players jump to great heights. A suitable basketball flooring offers high impact protection and shock absorption for large movements. It should also have a good return on energy and high bounce for gameplay. Basketball courts are typically quite bright, so you can use the flooring to add vibrancy to a facility.
Volleyball
Like basketball, you can expect large movement and high jumps during a volleyball game. Players tend to dive, dodge and jump to score points. Volleyball flooring should offer enough traction to support players without controlling the movement. It needs to absorb shock considering the great heights players will often jump to hit the ball.
Multipurpose Sports Hall
You will need to factor in the different types of sport and activities you intend to play for a multipurpose sports hall. A standard sports hall may be used for yoga, fitness classes, basketball, badminton, and table tennis. You need to factor in that some of these sports need shock-absorption and high impact protection. Therefore, you would start with flooring that has these qualities for optimum safety across all activities.
4 Benefits of Sports Flooring
There’s a reason you need to invest in high-quality sports flooring. When you add exercise and movement into the mix, it’s far too easy to slip and fall. By choosing a suitable sports flooring for your sport and purpose, you can maximise the benefits.
Improve Performance
Reduce the Risk of Injury
A major benefit of the right flooring solution is reducing the risk of slips, falls, and injuries. Whenever you involve movement and exercise into the mix, the likelihood of an injury does increase. By doing everything possible to reduce that risk, you can support a player’s safety so they can focus on the game. Non-slip properties and plenty of traction are a must when it comes to sports flooring.
Shock Absorbing
During a badminton or volleyball game, players are jumping great heights and landing repeatedly on the floor. Without proper shock-absorbing flooring, all the impact goes straight into the joints, muscles, and tendons. Over time, this could increase the likelihood of injury and decrease the comfort of gameplay. This is true for both young and older players.
Resistant and Durability
Finally, sports flooring is resistant and durable. It can handle high traffic areas and repeated use. By investing in high-quality sports flooring the first time around, you can choose a solution that is resistant to scratches and marks. Good quality sprung wood sports flooring is durable and supports players even with repeated use.
In summary:
Different Surface Types for Sports Flooring
As you start researching sports flooring, you will find a few different surface types to choose from. The best flooring material needs to match your needs. So, it’s a good idea to decide how you want to use your facility so that you can select the right material. In general, you will find that each material comes in a variety of options. Therefore, this is a crucial step in narrowing down your most suitable sports flooring choices.
Wood Sports Flooring
Sprung wood flooring has a hardwood finish combined with a HDF layer and shock-absorbing underlay. It is a Area Elastic sprung solution which means it deflects an impact over a wide surface area, providing the highest levels of shock absorption and comfort. Wood not only looks great, but it is perfect for high-performance sports, fitness, and dance. You can get wood finish flooring in different tones, finishes, and styles to suit your gym layout.
Vinyl Sports Flooring
Vinyl offers excellent shock absorbing properties and superior protection against sports and exercise. It is a Point Elastic sports solution which is defined as soft surfaces that absorb shock at the point of impact Used widely in sports halls and leisure centres, vinyl sports flooring comes in a range of thicknesses and colours to suit different activities.
Foam Flooring
Another sports flooring material is foam. This usually comes in either an interlocking or jigsaw puzzle foam tile. Foam tiles are excellent for specialist sports such as MMA and various Martial Arts disciplines because of their superior cushioning and high density properties.
Customer Feedback:
"our junior Taekwondo trainers love the softness of the Eva Tatami matting in our Dojo extension. The mats are strong and supple, giving plenty of support but soft to the underfoot. Would absolutely recommend."
Rubber Gym Flooring
7 Best Sports Flooring Options
Here are seven flooring options for you to consider to find the best choice for your facility.
Sprung Wood Sports Flooring - Boen Actiflex
Pros:
For complete comfort and flexibility, BOEN Actiflex Stadium is a fantastic choice for smaller sports halls, community facilities and Dance Studios. However, if you are working with a larger space, an uneven subfloor and different building heights, you may want to opt for Boen Boflex or Arenaflex which offers a levelling system.
Versatile, premium grade engineered wood sprung flooring like these Boen options are ideal for multipurpose sports halls, dance spaces and facilities offering exceptional shock absorption and energy return for various high intensity sports.
Cons:
Wood flooring looks stunning but it does require regular sanding and resealing to keep it looking and performing its best.
Verdict:
Sprung wood flooring with a hardwood finish looks fantastic and has several uses. If you’re looking to upgrade the flooring in a leisure centre, sports hall, or community building, this is a great choice. It can be recoated with lacquer every few years to preserve the wear layer and sanded down several times meaning it will last many years. Sprung wood solutions come in categories ranging from A1 to A4 depending on thickness of the floor and level of shock absorbency properties.
Suitable for:
- Sports
- Fitness
- Dance
- Basketball
- Education
- Sports halls
Sprung Vinyl Sports Flooring
Pros:
Sprung vinyl sports flooring comes in a range of thicknesses from 5mm to 10mm. You can use vinyl flooring for specific sports, like table tennis and badminton and is also a great option for dance. It’s ideal for sports like fencing and some martial arts. You can find a range of colours and thicknesses to suit your needs and is simple to maintain.
Cons:
Vinyl tends to be more colourful than other neutral options like wood. If you’re looking for something not as vibrant, a hardwood finish may be a better option. Vinyl isn’t ideal for gym equipment and lifting weights as it does not support the impact enough. Repairing vinyl can be costly as opposed to other floor repair services.
Verdict:
Vinyl has excellent shock absorption and player protection for competition sports. It is perfect for sports halls and multipurpose facilities as well as sport-specific flooring options and has various grades depending on the thickness for eg P1, P2 and P3. The Sprung Sports Vinyl 10mm is our most complex vinyl flooring system and offers outstanding performance as a P3 category. It provides superior protection against cartilage and ligament damage. If you plan on playing very high impact sports, this should be at the top of your list.
Suitable for:
- Table tennis
- Badminton
- Recreation
- Sports hall
- Dance, yoga and fitness
- Volleyball
- Futsal
- Netball
- Tennis
- Fencing
- Martial Arts
Eva Foam Tiles
Pros:
Eva Foam Tatami Matting come in both 20mm and 40mm thicking. The foam tiles are light, portable, and easy to install. They are specifically designed for MMA, Boxing, lightweight fitness and some gymnastic activities providing high cushioning and protection qualities.
Cons:
Foam tiles are not suitable for high impact sports because they do not have the surface durability to withstand ball sports or specific activities. They are more suited to MMA and light to moderate fitness.
Verdict:
These tiles are super resilient and non-slip. If you’re looking for an all-rounder with a big focus on floor work eg martial arts, yoga and gymnastics, foam tiles are an excellent choice. A bonus of these tiles is that they are dual colour to mix up your design.
Suitable for:
- MMA
- Martial Arts
- Boxing
- Gymnastics
- Yoga
- Fitness
Rubber Gym Tiles
Pros:
Rubber is a durable and resilient material built to last. Rubber gym tiles are ideal for multipurpose facilities particularly gyms with equipment and free weights. You have the option to go for lighter weight Puzzle Tiles for lower impact fitness or a more heavy-duty tile for weightlifting. The great news is rubber floor mats come in thickness ranging from 11mm to 63mm to accommodate different workouts and equipment, so there is a tile to suit any fitness activity.
Cons:
These are designed for the gym and fitness rather than specific sports although they can be used for sports training centres and sports clubs.
Verdict:
Rubber tiles are easy to install, do not require adhesive and are available in innovative interlocking options. Always match your needs to the rubber’s thickness to get a tile that can cope with what you need and protect the user.
Suitable for:
- Gym
- Fitness
- Multipurpose
- Wellness & Sports Medicine
Outdoor Modular Tiles
Pros:
If you’re looking for a dedicated court surface for eg Basketball intended for outdoor use, then modular sport court tiles are ideal. They can handle rain and humidity with great integrated drainage capacity. The unique web design creates a solid and safe foundation for sports. The tiles absorb any unevenness or irregularities on the ground.
Cons:
Not suitable for heavy equipment or weights.
Verdict:
Good shock absorption with an air cushioning effect for comfort. This flooring solution works for a ton of different outdoor sports. It’s perfect for leisure centres, gyms, educational bodies, and communities looking to create an outdoor setting for sports.
Suitable for:
- Basketball
- Football
- Volleyball
- Futsal
- Badminton
- Hockey
- Roller Sports
- Athletics
- Handball
- Rugby
- Table Tennis
- Gymnastics
Picking the Right Sports Flooring
Finding the right sports flooring for your facility is key to creating a safe foundation for sports. As players jump, hit, and run, the flooring should support each movement. By narrowing down your choice and finding something suitable for your specific needs, you can find the best option for you. You don’t need to compromise on appearance or quality. The best sports flooring solutions not only look fantastic but offer optimum performance and safety for your players.
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