Holcim UK has launched a Pro Range of sports sand and rootzones developed to offer exceptional drainage capabilities to keep facilities open throughout the year.
With many sports facilities struggling to open or host competitive fixtures or practice sessions during the wetter winter months, the Pro Range of sands has been developed with best-in-class permeability characteristics along with enhanced durability to aid sporting performance.
The Pro Range, which includes world-renowned specialist sands from Levenseat and Garside quarries in Fauldhouse, Scotland, and Leighton Buzzard in England, is laboratory-tested and can be matched to different sporting applications and ground conditions.
Specialist sands have been developed for a range of sports, including football, golf, equestrian, and tennis, from golf bunker sand to football pitch amelioration, top dressing, and specialist sand to encourage healthy root growth, such as Levenseat ProPitch Rootzone.
Official Met Office figures for 2024 suggest that the start of the year was one of the wettest on record, leading to the closure of golf courses and equestrian centres, as well as a significant impact on grassroots football due to cancelled fixtures.
Sports facility drainage is a key issue that the Pro Range aims to address, as many of its sand products boast market-leading saturated hydraulic conductivity rates, making them ideal for grassed areas with drainage issues. For example, both the ProPitch and ProGolf ranges feature a high-performing percolation rate, which improves any area with drainage issues, thereby enhancing durability, playability, and player safety.
The range includes soil and sand blends, top dressing sands such as ProPitch Top Dress that can also aid permeability, sands for artificial pitches and courts, such as the Garside ProCourt Terracotta, and sands that compact well under foot, such as ProArena that, with the correct choice of surface additive,9provides a safe equestrian experience for both horse and rider.
The Pro Range sands are extensively sampled and tested through both internal and external laboratories to ensure high levels of consistency and performance are achieved. Many of the sands adhere to sports’ governing body standards, offering a five-year colour integrity warranty.
Holcim UK, recently rebranded from Aggregate Industries, can supply the Pro Range using its nationwide logistics network, which promises contractors and grounds staff rapid delivery of the sand products needed for their facilities or events.
Mark Hickingbottom, General Manager for Garside Sands at Holcim UK says the Pro Range is not just for elite sports: “The Pro Range is aimed at those professional grounds staff who want to give their members, players and users the ultimate performance-ready surface, either natural or synthetic, that combines both playability and durability.
“In recent years, often due to changing rainfall patterns resulting from climate change, sports facilities of all kinds have been forced to close temporarily, postpone fixtures and deny their use to members, which has had an enormous impact on club finances and the health and well-being of players and participants.”
Duncan McCool, Sales Manager for Levenseat Sands at Holcim UK, adds: “The Pro Range with its market-leading percolation rate, improved aeration and stable surface, aims to help keep facilities open by providing outstanding surfaces that can withstand the changing seasons and be performance-ready throughout the year.”
To learn more about Holcim’s Pro Range of specialist sports sands, visit www.holcim.co.uk/products/aggregates/sands/sports-sands
