After Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and also in London 2012 the basketball games will take place on surfaces and equipment provided by Mondo. Arenas in London are set up with the removable Fast Break System 2 Wood floor. This is also where some of the most important Paralympic events will take place.
Among the team tournaments to be played at the London 2012 Olympic Games, is undoubtedly the highly anticipated men's basketball, if only for the show provided by the presence of the American team. The games of the tournament will take place in the new Basketball Arena, built for the Olympics which was completed in June 2011, and the O2 Arena, complex, located in the Greenwich peninsula which was completed in 2007. In both cases, the players will play on the innovative removable Fast Break System 2 Wood floor, the same floor where the games of women's tournament and the Paralympic wheelchair basketball will be played.
Fast Break System 2 comes from the idea to optimize athletic performance, while minimizing the time required for assembly and disassembly. If you consider how many kilometers a player runs during a game or workout, the jumps and movement they make it is easy to understand how an unsuitable surface can cause trauma and injuries. To help prevent such accidents, a surface should provide excellent shock absorption and the appropriate coefficient of friction characteristics. This is the basis of Mondo’s technical research that led to the development of Fast Break System 2 Wood, removable wooden floor ( FIBA approved Level 1) made with a modular plate, specifically designed for high-level sports competitions.
At the highest level of sporting events, the time factor is of fundamental importance, especially in the early stages of construction equipment to host the games. For this reason, the speed of assembly and disassembly of the Fast Break System 2 surface is one that is greatly appreciated, especially by the organizers.
"When installing a floor for an event like the Olympic Games - said Joe Hoekstra, head of the Mondo UK - you must be very careful and take full advantage of window of time made available. In addition you must within the structure at different times predicated by other people. Often times are restricted and dictated by those responsible for facility safety. "
"Fast Break System 2 is installed quickly and can be removed even quicker," says Paul Ferella, installer and supervisor of the installation within the Basketball Arena. "The installation inside the Basketball Arena - continued - took 5 hours of work, while the disassembly will be between 3 and 4 hours, using approximately ten people. The aspect that should be emphasized is the need for great dexterity required for work of this kind. Keep in mind, that this is all installed by hand without the use of mechanical means. "The end results are one of the best sports flooring in the industry, according not only to those who installed it, but also by those who have played on it. "The comments of the athletes who have played on Fast Break System 2 have been very positive - adds Joe Hoekstra. One of the features most appreciated is the homogeneity of the field, the fact that the surface responds in an optimal manner in all its areas. "An important aspect that follows the installation is then the customization of the playing field. "For the Basketball Arena - recalls Hoekstra - we had to paint the floor with the look of the Games and the lines delineating the field. It is an operation that is done for the field competition, while the training lines are made with adhesive tape. For every Olympic Test Event that occurred prior the games we painted the lines and created the look of the Games, which is along the sideline and is nearly two meters wide in black and blue".
In addition to the surfaces, within the sports facilities that will also host the games of the Olympic basketball tournament, Basketball Arena and O2 Arena, Mondo has installed baskets designed to meet the needs of the organizers of competitions at the highest level. What makes the Mondoathens basket unique is its particular design, without affecting the structural properties essential for the proper conduct of the game (strength, stiffness, stability), the basket allows you to quickly and easily fold into itself, and store it when it is not used. For dimensions and characteristics, the Mondoathens model meets the official FIBA and the European standard UNE-EN 1270 regulations.
The Mondoathens basket were used in the last two Olympics (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) and the Men’s and Women’s World Basketball Championships (Turkey and Czech Republic 2010). For London 2012, the baskets have been customized with the color black, while the color blue has been used for baskets for training camps.
In recent years the Mondo has installed flooring for basketball arenas in many indoor arenas, many of which have hosted tournaments at the highest level: Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, 2010 Men and Women World Championships, the last three Euroleague Basketball Final Four. The experience gained from these events and the excellent results obtained were the essential elements that convinced the London 2012 Organizing Committee to focus on the company of Gallo d'Alba for the construction and installation of flooring and equipment the Basketball Arena and O2 Arena.