Hong Kong Sports Institute
Mondo Sports Running Track (Supplied & Insalled by Casson Building Materials (HK) Co., Ltd.) is selected by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) to train their elite Athletics for the world-wide competitions. The aim of HKSI (established on 1 October 2004) is to provide an environment in which sport talent can be identified, nurtured and developed to pursue excellence in sport. Other than sports facilities, the support given to athletes includes elite coaching and training, sports science, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, athlete affairs and education, applied research and sports information.
Mondo S.P.A.
MONDO was founded in Alba, Italy, in 1948 as a manufacturer of balls for fistball. Today, MONDO is an international group with nine manufacturing plants in Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, and China, and sales subsidiaries in Europe, North America, and Asia. With three divisions – Mondo Sport&Flooring, Artigo, and Mondo Toys – the Group is a leader in its respective fields of sports flooring and equipment, commercial flooring, balls, and toys.
Mondo Sport & Flooring, the sports flooring and equipment division, is best known for its athletic tracks. The fastest athletes in the world have run on these tracks, setting the most significant records in global athletics.
Athletics tracks host several disciplines during both training and competition. MONDO’s track and field surfaces offer uniform dynamic response and complete control over stride, rhythm, and balance for every athlete, professionals, and amateurs alike.The advantages of MONDO’s prefabricated track surfaces include optimal performance for athletes regardless of climate and environmental conditions. Moreover, their ease to repair makes them an uncomparable choice. MONDO operates a careful selection of raw materials for its running track surfaces and a constant production monitoring.MONDO designs and produces running track surfaces for the best possible training and competition results.
The Running Track Refurblshment
Casson Building Materials (HK) Co., Ltd. was awarded the contract of Replacement of Athletic Track for Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited in Sept 2018. The scope of works is to design and build (including to take out exisiting old wet-pour athletic track and asphalt subfloor, re-lay new asphalt subfloor) a brand-new Mondo Sportflex Super X 720 13.5mm Track Rubber Running Track, and to carry out and obtrain satisfactory results for all required tests and reports as per IAAF Class 1 Athletics Facility Certification requirements, as well as to obtain IAAF Class 2 Athletics Facility Certification.
The Programme
The project period started from early October, 2018 and must be compled withiin 31 December 2018 (approx. 2.5 months). To complete the works, Casson needs to apply working VISA for the Italian professional installers upon be awarded the contract. A professional, reliable (but still be available) asphalt specialist must be employed immediately, to carry out the asphalt works (even though all survey works has yet be done!), to re-measure the area of installation to ascertain types and amout of materials (Mondo rubber track, equipment, accessories …) and equipment are required and must be in position in suitable time. Sufficient skillful local workers must also be located and employed to support the Italian workers. To summerize, Casson has to shorten a 6 months works to be within 3 months.!
The Old Track
The Challenges
- High demand of Class 1 and Class 2 Athletics Facility Certification requirements. Extreme accurate works, starting from laying new asphalt subfloor, to rubber tracking installation and equipments, upto lane marking are required. In many cases, Casson needs to repair existing equipment, or even to provide new equipment to meet the certification requirerments.
- Short programme creates challenges in applying VISA for Italian works. Daily attention is also required to provide prompt actions and decision to resolve unexpected problems.
- Continues long daily working hours exhaust each workers and may affect quality fo works.
- The central real grass football field must remain open for athletics uses. Comprehensive measures must be carried to avoid accidents.
Mondo Rubber Running Track Installation
Asphalt works (take out old wet-pour track materials and asphalt, relay 40mm+60mm new asphalt subfloor) is carried out by local asphalt specialist. All works are under professional supervision from Casson.
Track installation is carried out by a group of Italian professional installers, assisted with 10 local workers. Due to extemely tight programme, as well as to make use of day light for better view to carry out the works, all workers are required to work from 8:00am till 7:00pm, seven days a week, for 3 months. Fortunately, all workers were highly cooperative and they did carry the duty in this schedule.
Lane marking and Certification works was carried out by Track Master from UK.
The Result
The track refurblshment works was completed 1 week before target time (i.e. 31 Dec., 2018). Satisfactory tests and reports for IAAF Class 1, and certificate of IAAF Class 2 Athletics Facility Certification were also provided. No complains or defects rectifications requests have even been received till the date to prepare this article (i.e. 22 Feb., 2022).