Everything You Need to Know About Playground Equipment

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Everything You Need to Know About Playground
Equipment
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• Back in the days when we were little kids,
  playgrounds consisted mostly of swings, seesaws,
  a few monkey bars, and maybe a metal slide or
  two, along with the necessary basketball hoops
  and tetherball setup.

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• Since then, the playground team has come a long
  way the colorless pieces of welded metal laid
  out on the cutthroat black asphalt disappeared.
  Today's kids can play with all kinds of fun,
  interactive equipment, and if they spill, their
  fall will likely be interrupted by several inches
  of industrial-grade foam padding rather than
  concrete or gravel.

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Changing shift

• The playground equipment began its metamorphosis
  from simple metal and asphalt to the most
  colorful and user-friendly options you see on the
  market today in the 1980s.
• Playground equipment began to move away from
  galvanized metal and wood structures without
  powder coating in the early 1980s, says Meghan
  O'Brien Taylor, CPSI, company president O'Brien
  Sons Inc. based in Medfield, Massachusetts, a
  provider of outdoor recreation equipment in New
  England. While many wooden structures remained,
  there was a definite trend towards powder coated
  (factory applied paint) posts and components
  (climbers, grab bars) and rot molded slides. The
  biggest change came during the continuous play
  movement in 1981, where there were platforms on
  different levels with climbers, bridges and
  slides, all interconnected instead of a separate
  slide, a geodesic dome, a monkey bar, all in
  different areas of the world playground. These
  components were deliberately part of a structure,
  prompting a huge move toward the modern
  playground. "

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• Industry experts say that advances in materials
  and technology in the 1980s and 1990s led to a
  vast expansion in opportunities for commercial
  gaming equipment.
• "I've been in this business for over 20 years and
  saw the change in playground equipment begin in
  the 1980s," says Doug Knotts, president of
  Premier Park ??Play in Newton, Massachusetts.
  "I think it was a consumer interest and the
  ability of manufacturers to create new products."

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• A major change in playground equipment occurred
  in 1981 when numerous playground injuries that
  occurred when children fell off seesaws, slides,
  basketball indoor court and bars led to the
  Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to
  publish the first Manual for Public Playground
  Safety, which was designed to provide guidelines
  for making playgrounds safer.
• In 2008, the CPSC made several major revisions to
  the 1981 manual. Age ranges were expanded to
  include children up to six months, guidelines for
  trail riding and log rolls were added, the
  critical height table was revised, and added
  suggestions for surfaces on asphalt.
• Another modification to the construction of the
  playground occurred as a result of changes in the
  American Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ability
  of children with special needs to be able to play
  alongside other children.

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• "The original ADA standards went into effect in
  1992 and were recently revised after 20 years,"
  says Kenneth Otten, a nationally recognized ADA
  and accessibility expert. There were no specific
  requirements for playground equipment in the
  original version of the ADA Accessibility
  Guidelines for buildings and facilities. The only
  requirement was that an accessible route must be
  provided to the edge of the playing area. "
• Otten says that after much study, the US Access
  Board incorporated new requirements for
  playground surfaces and equipment that became
  mandatory on March 15, 2012.
• Homeowners associations should be able to rely
  on the manufacturer's claim that their equipment
  meets the new ADA standards, says Otten.
  "However, it is good practice to consult with a
  local design professional and ADA compliance
  specialist before designing a new playground,
  upgrading an older one, and purchasing
  equipment."

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• Otten says there are other factors, in addition
  to the actual equipment, that need to be
  considered, including the number and types of
  elevated and ground-level features, the surface
  material underneath, and on the path to the
  equipment (because the material from surface must
  meet safety requirements and accessibility
  requirements) and travel routes to the
  playground.
• "Surfaces under playground equipment must meet
  safety requirements so that when a child falls,
  they will land on a soft, safe material," says
  Otten. At the same time, the surface must also
  meet ADA requirements to ensure that a wheelchair
  can successfully move to and between equipment.
  There are specialized materials that accomplish
  this however, they tend to be quite expensive. "

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New Products

• Every year, the playground industry releases new
  and updated products that allow children to twist
  with sport court contractor and turn through
  tunnels, run down mountain slides, or even walk a
  tightrope. What hasn't changed is that children
  love to climb, swing, slide, and bounce.
• Old resources are always popular with kids
  swings, tire changes, the more swings the
  better, says Michael L. Parody, CPSI and
  president of UltiPlay Parks Playgrounds, Inc.
  in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.

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• But in terms of the products we see regularly,
  one of the most popular is called RockBlocks. It
  is for outdoor playground equipment UAE climbing
  climbing walls and side climbing. They are a
  great success due to the gross motor aspects.
  Children love to climb and a lot of physical
  energy is exerted when they climb. Some other
  things that are popular with kids right now are
  ropes, space nets, and play nets. Parents see
  them as if they are not the typical design of a
  playground. There are parents and teachers
  suspicious of the height and the climbing that is
  being done. They are always a bit off guard with
  your potential safety. But if you fall you're
  going to land on ropes. It is like a big spider
  web. You couldn't hurt yourself if you tried. "

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• "Parents and children can sometimes be divided
  on what is challenging and fun," says O'Brien
  Taylor. Most parents realize that there are
  healthy risks that need to be promoted for
  children to learn and grow. I see a lot of
  clients, who are also parents of two to twelve
  year olds, who are really in tune with what's
  popular and fun. They want their children to be
  stimulated by play and they see the value of play
  equipment that promotes sensory stimulating
  activities. "
• For kids, some of the most exciting pieces have
  to do with wall climbing, boulders and nets,
  adds Knotts. Those are the newest items kids
  enjoy on the playgrounds. Traditional swings and
  slides are also in high demand. In terms of what
  parents like, they just want something that is
  safe, but interesting and challenging for
  children. They don't want the kids to get bored
  after five minutes of being on the playground. So
  there is a balance. They understand that the game
  is important, but there is a balance.

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Playing it safe

• Industry experts agree that safety standards for
  playground equipment have changed radically in
  the last two decades.
• "Twenty-five years ago, the guidelines from the
  ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
  and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
  didn't even exist," says O'Brien Taylor. One of
  the most relevant changes is the safety coating.
  Our playgrounds were placed on compacted earth,
  asphalt, or grass. ASTM has found that
  approximately 75 percent of all playground
  accidents occur from falls overhead to inadequate
  safety surfaces. Some of the results of fall
  injuries have been due to surfaces that do not
  attenuate impact. There's a lot of emphasis on
  that. "

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• "From a guidelines and safety standpoint for
  tennis court flooring UAE, we have taken a
  direction such that as manufacturers and
  designers we are pigeonholed into design in
  certain ways due to the guidelines that there are
  no risks and no challenges," adds Parody. If
  kids can essentially dominate a playground in the
  first or second round, those are generally the
  playgrounds that you pass by and you don't see
  kids. You want a playground that offers
  challenges and risks that expand your mental and
  physical capabilities. People will find that you
  can't bubble wrap your kids and that it's good to
  skin your knee once in a while. "

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Community Building

• Playgrounds provide a sense of community to a
  homeowners association or association and is a
  service that will increase property value and
  attract families.
• I just had a meeting with a homeowners
  association, who are building a playground and
  see it not only as a disposal responsibility, but
  also to use it to maximize their exposure by
  being a family townhome association, he says.
  Parody. "They also want to market it as a central
  courtyard-type gathering place."
• There are several ways that an association or
  building can choose which basketball court and
  equipment is best for their community.

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• "The first step in installing new equipment from
  scratch is to do your homework to find the best
  supplier and the best gaming equipment," says
  O'Brien Taylor. The supplier is a true partner
  in the process and the quality of the playground
  should be highly valued. Take a tour of the
  playground and find out what these playgrounds
  look like after five or ten years. Playgrounds
  are expensive and the good ones may cost a bit
  more like basketball court build, but if they
  last twice as long and don't have maintenance
  headaches, it can be worth it. "

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About Us

• CCPLAY is a certified specialists in the
  provision of high-quality outdoor and indoor
  playground equipment, inflatables, school's
  furniture, and sports flooring in UAE.
• CCPLAY has years of experience, effective
  services, and a trove of capabilities so you
  dont have to worry about all things relating to
  outdoor and indoor playground equipment,
  inflatables, schools and nurseries furniture,
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• Website - https//www.ccplay.ae/