Safety against ball throwing - installation elements
A sports hall not only consists of flooring, walls and a ceiling, but also of a lot of permanently installed elements. And regardless of the element, they must all meet the requirements for safety against ball throwing in accordance with standard DIN 18032-3. This means that they must remain unchanged even under the heavy load of a ball that has been shot, thrown or hit, and no parts may break off. Otherwise, this could not only result in a broken product but also pose a risk of serious injury to sports hall users. This is therefore to be avoided by complying with the relevant standard and the required testing of such products.
Every element installed in a sports hall must be safe against ball throwing
Often, many people are not even aware of how many different installations can be considered as installation elements in gyms or sports halls. The number and types of possible installation elements vary depending on whether the sports hall is used for school, club or competitive sports. It can be a wide range of installations, some of which are also simply dependent on the design of the sports hall. Here are some examples of installation elements in sports halls:
-
Window and door installations – both in walls and in ceilings; these also include gates to storage rooms
-
Permanently installed sports devices:: such as climbing walls or climbing frames, climbing ropes, gymnastic rings, basketball hoops
-
Fastenings for sports equipment – such as hooks, eyelets or built-in plug-in elements
-
Lighting –incl. light switches
-
Electronic installations – such as display panels, smoke detectors, clocks, loudspeakers, switches for operating partition walls or gates to storage rooms
-
Partitions and grandstand elements – incl. seats, handrails and grids
These are just a few examples, but regardless of the product, the principle applies that every element installed in a gym or sports hall must meet the standard for safety against ball throwing. The test is carried out in an accredited test laboratory, such as the one owned by ISP GmbH – the Institut für Sportstättenprüfung.
There, the safety against ball throwing of all installation elements can be tested by our experts at ISP GmbH before market launch or installation. For this purpose, the installation elements are installed on a test wall or test ceiling in the same way as they would be later in a sports hall. However, it is also possible to test installation elements already installed on site in the sports hall.
Test with ball-shooting apparatus and different types of balls
How is such a test carried out? First of all, it is important to know whether the element is attached to the ceiling or wall. It is also crucial to know which category the test should be carried out for (wall elements W1-W3 or ceiling elements D1 / D2 (D = German abbreviation).
Afterwards, a handball and, depending on the category (wall elements W2 and W3), a hockey ball will be shot at the installation element multiple times from three different angles with the help of a ball shooting machine. Before the test, the strength of the shot is precisely calculated based on the distance between the ball shooting machine and the element (4.0 m for wall elements, with a tolerance of 0.5 m, and at least 1.50 m for ceiling elements), so that the impact speed is always the same.
The respective impact speed is also specified in the standard for each category. After the test, or after each test run, the test body is inspected visually and functionally for damage or changes.
An installation element has been certified as safe against ball throwing if it does not show any serious damage after the ‘attack’ (and this includes even paint chipping or cracks), if neither the product nor parts of it have become loose or fallen off and if the function, safety and stability of the installation are unchanged. In case of doubt, a further series of test shots is carried out on the slightly modified areas. This would be the case with smaller dents, which would still be acceptable depending on their extent. However, it would be optimal if the test carried out was not visible on the product and if its functionality remained unchanged.
ServicesHave your products tested.
ISP GmbH will be happy to test your products, which are to be used as installation elements in a sports hall. In ISP’s certified testing laboratory, our experts will carry out the test specified in the relevant standards and provide you with a professional test report afterwards. Once this has been done and provided that the safety against ball throwing test has been successfully passed, nothing stands in the way of launching your product on the market. Of course, it is also possible to test an already installed element on site in your sports hall or gymnasium.
Contact us
We will be happy to advise you on the procedure and background to ball impact safety testing.
Ball impact safety
| Testing Standards and guidelines |
Installation elements Testing on site and in the laboratory |
|---|---|
| DIN 18032 Part 3 | Lamps |
| FIBA | Ceiling and wall cladding |
| DIN EN 13964 | Control room windows |
| Sports hall doors and sports hall gates | |
| Scoreboards |