The appropriate lighting in sports halls is of utmost importance. This is because, on the one hand - especially in school sports - it is important to ensure the safety of the athletes/students by optimising visibility and, on the other hand, to provide the necessary conditions for the specific type of sports practised in the sports hall. For the latter, there is even a separate standard, namely DIN EN 12193, which specifies and even requires testing the necessary lighting conditions for many types of sports. The competition rules of many indoor sports also specify precise requirements for lighting.

At present, we are in a transition phase with regard to the artificial lighting of sports halls. Conventional halogen and other light sources with high energy requirements are gradually being replaced by LED lighting. Although these are often more expensive to purchase, their low energy consumption, longer lifespan and greater eco-friendliness are good reasons to upgrade the lighting accordingly. As a result, many new lighting products for sports halls are coming onto the market and many halls are currently being upgraded.

According to the requirements of standard DIN 18032-3, luminaires in sports halls are usually considered to be installation elements in the ceiling area, but depending on where they are installed, they can also be considered installation elements in the wall area. The test for safety against ball throwing is then carried out either for ceiling elements in categories D1 or D2 (D=German abbreviation) or for wall elements in categories W1-W3, depending on the specification. Standard DIN 57710-13 provides a few more specific requirements, which are also referred to in DIN 18032-3.

However, the test to determine safety against ball throwing is the same in both cases. A special ball-shooting apparatus is used to shoot a handball, and for wall elements, depending on the category, a volleyball as well, twelve times each from three different angles at the corresponding lighting product. The launch speed is precisely calculated in advance based on the distance between the ball launcher and the light source (at least 1.50 m for ceiling elements, 4.0 m for wall elements with a tolerance of 0.5 m), so that the speed when the ball hits the light source is always the same. The impact speed is defined according to the category against which the lighting is to be tested (W1-W3 or D1-D2). Since products for sports hall lighting are always tested for safety against ball throwing before they are launched on the market, such testing is carried out in the laboratory, where the luminaires/lamps are attached to a test ceiling in the same way as later in the sports hall.

A product has successfully passed the safety-against-ball-throwing test if it does not show any serious damage (even minor paint chipping or cracks count as serious damage) after being ‘shot at’. A further series of test shots is sometimes carried out at modified points. However, the test procedure can also be carried out directly on luminaires that have already been installed in the sports hall.