The club athletics largest of the Netherlands has reached the Olympic level thanks to Mondotrack.
2012 is a special year for AV Sprint, which celebrates its 70-year history. To celebrate this important anniversary, the athletics club based in Breda, in the Netherlands, hosted the Junior National Championships, a three-day event attended by over 700 athletes. They also participated in the organization of the International Masboscross and Bredase single loop (event with over 12,000 participants). The anniversary was also an opportunity to refresh the club’s look and for the past two years, the facility was improved and with the installation of a Mondotrack, it has reached the Olympic level.
The study of the possible extension and renewal of the AV Sprint track started in 2009. Initially, the project involved the installation of a track that could be used by the whole community, and focusing on a kind of surface unsuitable for racing, and the tender to award the renovation work started in that direction. Before long, however, there was heated discussion on the track quality, which led to the temporary suspension of the tender. "AV Sprint, concentrating on the sporting ambitions of the club and the city of Breda, wanted a Mondo track," recalls Silvain Van de Wiel, the architect who supervised the renovations. In the end, thanks to the contribution of the province and the city of Breda, the Mondotrack surface was chosen. The three Dutch companies experienced in athletic tracks were invited to submit tenders that take into account the new specifications established. The tender was won by Heijmans Sport en Groen, and in collaboration with Mondo, they installed the new track. It was the first time that Mondo and Heijmans had worked together and the result was excellent, thanks to the staff professionalism of both companies. The track was completed on October 5, 2011. The total cost was approximately € 4 million: two were paid by AV Sprint and two by the city of Breda. The athletic track and sanitation are the city’s property, the cafeteria, gym, medical devices and technical equipment are owned by AV Sprint.
The larger and more visible renovations involved the athletic track. The new eight-lane Mondotrack, with its red and green alternating lane colors, has replaced the old six-lane track. "We wanted a Mondo track because it is the best track in the industry. We wanted arena facility that could be used for Olympic purposes. In the track’s early months, many athletes’ personal times have been improved and no one has complained about the new surface, "says Bart van Egeraat, member of AV Sprint since 1974 and national technical officer (NTO) in events such as the FBK Games in Hengelo. Other changes involving Mondo surfaces were: the long jump and the triple jump platforms which are now combined and have a sand hole on both sides, the pole vault landing area, which was moved a little outside of the facility’s inner zone, where the old long jump platform was; discus and hammer cages, which have been replaced with new models, the 3,000m pit hedges, which have been moved from the outside to the inside of the track; the area dedicated to high jump was placed on one side of the lawn which extends to the center of the facility