May
05

Playground Markings work – Scoil Naomh Brid & Scoil Mhuire.

3 CommentsNews, PMMay 5th, 2011fitness

Playground Markings -  Scoil Naomh Brid (Knockananna,Wicklow) & Scoil Mhuire (Moylagh, Meath).

We promised to keep you updated on our very latest Playground Markings installations. The weather has been extremely kind to us in April; one of the driest on record. Earlier in the week we arrived in Scoil Naomh Brid, Knockananna, Co. Wicklow. We applied thermoplastic playground markings, items such as a ‘compass’, ‘a numbered snake’ and ‘snakes and ladders’ and we also provided them with their outdoor basketball set as per Dept. of Education standards. (see the photos below)

Playground Markings – yesterday.

Yesterday we installed thermoplastic playground markings in the form of ‘3 way hopscotch’ and a ‘numbered snake’ and also basketball line marking for Scoil Mhuire, Moylagh, Co Meath. (again see the photo below).

Playground Markings & Children Cover

 

To request a Playground Markings Brochure,

just click on the image >>

 

While the weather keeps fine we’re off to more schools but we will post more playground marking work in a little while.

 

More Playground Markings information.

For more information on our Playground Markings just email Niall Clancy, Digital Marketing Manager,niall@fitnessfunctions.ie or lo-call 1890-252-856.




Apr
28

Fitness Functions – ‘What Do We Do’?

No commentsNews, School Sports Equipment, Sports Equipment InstallationApril 28th, 2011fitness

Overview of 'Fitness Functions'

Sports Equipment Supply and Installation – It’s what we do.

 

We have dealt with various Irish schools, sports centres, teachers, sports managers, architects and builders over a number of years supplying and/or installing differing types of sports equipment. Our customers have enquired on a number of occasions what exactly do we do in the sports game? Recently we created a “What We Do” 6 page brochure, just email niall@fitnessfunctions.ie post or email you one. This brochure is image based and gives an introduction to the services and sport ranges we provide.

Fitness Functions is best described under 3 headings:

1. Sports Equipment Supply

Our Sports Equipment Catalogue covers most school & sports clubs commercial sports ‘reoccurring’ requirements. All sports products have images and descriptions so you can be sure what you’re purchasing.

2. Sports Equipment Installation.

Our team of installers apply and install items such as Playground Markings, Sports Hall equipment (Basketball Units, Scoreboards etc) and Outdoor Sports Equipment.

3. Manufacture / Supply & Install Specialist sports equipment.

We manufacture certain sports products, as required, to Department of Education standards and specifications, items such as Outdoor Basketball and Volleyball posts. We also provide top international sports equipment for volleyball, gymnastic and athletics.

All of these areas are covered in the “What We Do” brochure, it’s a great starting point if you’re wondering if Fitness Functions could be of service to you. Should you require any more marketing information please contact our Marketing Manager, Niall Clancy; niall@fitnessfunctions.ie



Apr
15

Playground Markings Brochure

No commentsNews, PMApril 15th, 2011fitness

Playground Markings Brochure.

Playground Markings & Children Cover

We have recently posted out our newly designed “Playground Markings Brochure” to the schools, thanks for the positive comments and feedback. Hopefully the good weather continues and allows those schools that require Playgrounds Markings to get them.

To request your Playground Markings Brochure, just click the image >>

Our markings can transform your school yard, adding fun and stimulating games for all school children. The vibrant colours, exciting patterns and games are certain to get children active during playtime. Teachers can also integrate the markings and games with educational activities such as spelling, geography and maths. To see examples of our work now, click playground markings page to vist the main Fitness Functions website.

In february, we posted some playground markings advice for schools; the top 3 questions asked by schools.

 

We apply 2 main options; preformed thermoplastic markings or a variety of non slip paints to playgrounds & schoolyards.

Key features of both options are:

Preformed Thermoplastic Markings.

  1. High quality, bright & vibrant colours.
  2. Long lasting durability.
  3. Non slip.
  4. Customised designs available.

Non slip paint.

  1. Lower cost.
  2. Easier & quicker application.
  3. Wide range of colours.
  4. Customised stencils available

Other Markings

Fitness Functions also provide the more practical lining required for school facilities or even full court painting, if required.

  • Car Park lining and spaces
  • Zebra crossings
  • ‘Bus Only’ ‘No Parking’ zones and grids
  • Wheelchair or restricted parking area markings
  • Full court painting

More Playground Markings information.

For more information on our Playground Markings just email Niall Clancy, Digital Marketing Manager, niall@fitnessfunctions.ie or lo-call 1890-252-856.




Apr
04

Sports Court Painting for your school or club?

No commentsOutdoor Line Marking, Solid Court PaintingApril 4th, 2011fitness

Sports Court Painting for your school or club?

 

In addition to our traditional playground markings & line marking service, our sports court painting work transforms tarmac and hard court sports areas in schools and sports clubs around the country.

Our sports paint.

We use non slip, high quality, vibrant coloured paint with long lasting qualities. To ensure our customers get true value for money the paint simply must have excellent durability characteristics.

Current sports painting work.




Below, you can see some on-site images of sports courts we are currently working on in Co. Galway. We provide sports court painting for various sports but in particular:

  • Tennis Courts.
  • Basketball Courts.

For more information, advice or pricing on sports court painting please contact us.

Tennis Court Painting

Tennis Cout Painting, Galway.

Tennis Court Painting, Galway.

Tennis Court Painting, Galway.

Tennis Court Painting
Tennis Court Painting, Galway.
Court painting in progress

Court Painting in progress

Mar
17

Require Balance Benches for your school?

8 CommentsNewsMarch 17th, 2011fitness

Require Balance Benches for your school?

 

Balance benches are one of the most popular items we supply to Irish schools. High quality benches help children develop balance, co-ordination and control. Balance benches have multi-functionary uses as platforms, balance beams and can also serve as seats.

Department of Education Balance Benches.

When it comes to advising Irish schools which balance benches to choose for their Sports hall we point them in the direction of the Department of Education’s school standards & specification packages. The 406 & 594 sports hall packages both recommend;

Wooden Balance Benches.

(10. Number) Wooden 3.4 m, to comply with requirements of EN 913. Hooks one end.

These are the balance benches we have consistently supplied to schools nationwide over the years.

School Balance Benches

School Balance Benches

Alternative Bench Options:

We can also supply other balance benches which are made from a variety of materials such as cross-cut piranha pine, MDF and steel. These materials have varying degrees of strength and flexibility.

Options include:

  1. Colours,
  2. Plastic or rubber feet,
  3. Hooks at one or both ends for linking with other equipment, such as wall bars or trestle sets.
  4. Balance bench lengths in the school environment range from 1.83m to 3.35m.

Should you have any specific queries in relation Balance Benches or general school sports equipment, just contact us and we will be glad to help.




Mar
08

Irish Primary Physical Education Association (IPPEA) 8th Annual Conference

No commentsNewsMarch 8th, 2011fitness

IPPEA Annual Conference.

 

The 8th Annual Irish Primary Physical Education Association (IPPEA) conference was staged in Marino Institute of Education on the 5th March. Numerous physical education workshops were held throughout the day. In the morning the workshops covered areas such as gymnastics, basketball and skipping.  In the afternoon the attention turned to Rugby, GAA, Football and Fitness.

There was a great ‘buzz’ around the sports halls as IPPEA members made their way between workshops. No doubt valuable skills, ideas and sports knowledge were developed to take back to the various primary schools around the country.

sports conference hall

Thank you!

Fitness Functions would like to thank the IPPEA executive committee & members for the opportunity to attend its annual conference. Along with the other exhibitors we were made feel very welcome and looked after all day.  We would like to thank those teachers that came to our stand with queries on sports equipment and services, hopefully our marketing manager Niall Clancy was able to assit you.

We now look forward to the 9th annual conference and hope to see you all again.




Mar
02

Sports Equipment Discount Cards

No commentsNews, Sports Competitions & OffersMarch 2nd, 2011fitness

Sports Equipment Discount Card Competition.

 

Schools that requested our sports equipment catalogue since the start of 2011 were emailed yesterday. As a thank you, we were offering 15% sports equipment discount cards to the first five school entrants.

To enter this sports competition interested schools just had to email info@fitnessfunctions and request a discount card.  These sports equipment cards are valid for all 2011 on all our sports catalogue range.

Thanks to all those that entered and requested a discount card, we got a great response. Congratulations to all the winning PE teachers and Principals who have earned their school a 2011 Fitness Functions sports equipment discount card.

Winning Teachers/Principals & Schools:

  1. Judy O’Brien, Upper Glanmire National School, Cork.
  2. Mary Neville, An Modhscoil, Luimneach.
  3. Sinead O’Kane, Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School, Dublin 8.
  4. Mark Kelly, Olyegate National School, Wexford.
  5. Colm O’Donovan, Our Lady of the Wayside National School. Dublin 12.

The sports equipment discount cards should arrive in the schools early next week. Again thanks to all that entered.

For the schools that weren’t so lucky this time around I will try my best to run another school competition within the month, probably through this “Blog” so keep an eye on it. Normally we use our ‘Blog’ to advise and make recommendations to Irish schools on PE & sports equipment, just see some of our previous posts below.




Feb
22

Gym Mats for Schools – recommendations.

881 CommentsGymnastic MatsFebruary 22nd, 2011fitness

Gym Mats for Schools – recommendations.

With the announcement of the school PE Grants we have been asked by schools what gym mats we recommend? At Fitness Functions we refer schools to the Department of Education’s recommendations in their sports hall tender packages; 406 (small sports halls) & 594 (larger sports halls).

The two gym mats currently recommended by the Department of Education for PE general exercises are the PE10A Horizontal Gym Mat and the PE10B Lightweight Vertical Gym Mat from the Department’s furniture lists as below.

1.) Horizontal Storage type Flame Retardant Gymnastic Mat. gymnastics mat

1830 mm x 1220 mm x 25 mm to comply with EN 12503 with particular reference to regulations concerning:

 

 

  1. a) classification & intended use, and b) flame retardancy.
  2. 4.5 kg (10 lbs) density reconstituted chipfoam. Bonded cover.
  3. Anti-slip base. Horizontal storage recommended.

 

2.) Lightweight Flame Retardant Gymnastic Mats.

1830 mm x 1220 mm x 32 mm to comply with standard, specification & flame retardancy as above. Anti-slip base. Designed for vertical storage. This gym mat is slightly more costly than the standard school gym mat.

 

Contact us / Pricing.

If you have any queries or questions regarding which gym mats or which mat trolleys are best for your school don’t hesitate to email niall@fitnessfunctions.ie, Lo-call 1890-252-856 or visit our website www.fitnessfunctions.ie

Feb
09

Sports Equipment Discounts & School PE Grants.

9 CommentsSports GrantsFebruary 9th, 2011fitness

Sports Equipment Discounts & School PE Grants.

A number of schools have contacted us enquiring about sports equipment ‘PE Grant’ discounts. Do we give sports equipment discounts on the PE Grants issued to schools before Christmas? The answers is Yes!!! We are offering discounts on all our products ranges, outdoor basketball, playground & line markings, gymnastics mats, balance benches, volleyball equipment, football goals, there are no exceptions !!

Request an instant emailed brochure?

If you require some inspiration or ideas please request our free ‘What we do’ brochure by clicking on the image >>Overview of 'Fitness Functions'

Alternatively you start shopping now at our online sports catalogue.

How to avail of these discounts for your school?

The best way principals & PE teachers can avail of these discounts is to email or fax us your school sports equipment “wish list”; (items the school requires). Ideally, provide us with product codes from our sports equipment catalogue to speed up the process.

Once this happens, we will have your personalised quotation back to the school with as much discount as we can, as quick as we can.




Feb
02

Playground Markings for Schools

No commentsPMFebruary 2nd, 2011fitness

Playground Markings for Schools.

Recently, we have been handling a number of calls regarding playground markings for schools. The main queries school teachers have seem to revolve around three main issues, please see the points below.Playground Markings & Children Cover

To request your Playground Markings Brochure just click image >>

 

1. What type of playground markings do we provide for schools?

Typically we use ‘preformed thermoplastic markings’ or a ‘non slip paint’ option. The main differences are:

Preformed Thermoplastic Markings.

  1. High quality, bright & vibrant colours.
  2. Long lasting durability.
  3. Non slip.
  4. Customised designs available.

 

Non slip paint.

  1. Lower cost.
  2. Easier & quicker application.
  3. Wide range of colours.

2. How soon can you apply the playground markings in my school?

As the Irish weather is so unpredictable we strive to turn around orders in 2-3 weeks from order date, weather permitting. We operate a ‘first ordered, first completed’ system regarding playground markings.

To achieve the best results, playground markings must be done under the correct weather conditions. Playgrounds should be dry, between the correct temperature range (5-25 Celsius) and the surface area should be in reasonably good condition.

3. How much do playground markings cost?

We don’t have a minimum order value unlike the industry practice, which can amount to €3,000. There are a few factors which determine the cost of playground markings in your school yard but the main factors are:

a) Playground Marking type.

Are thermoplastic markings or non slip paint the preferred option?  Maybe a combination of both is best.

b) Fixed & variable costs.

Generally speaking the installation cost is set; it doesn’t increase proportionally with regards to the number of markings ordered or the school’s location.

The more markings a school orders the cheaper per installed marking the order becomes, this is how a school gets real value for their investment.

More Playground Markings information.

For more information on our Playground Markings just email Niall Clancy, Digital Marketing Manager, niall@fitnessfunctions.ie or lo-call 1890-252-856.