How is a long jump facility built at a school?

A school long jump needs a firm run-up, a take-off board sitting flush with the surface and a sand pit that drains freely. It is one of the smaller sports projects a school can take on, and the set-out on the ground decides whether it works for years or ends up in the wrong spot.

The set-out

The hard part on most school grounds is finding a long, straight strip. The run-up has to stay open from start to finish, with no path crossing it and no other activity sitting off the end of the pit.

Students reach full speed on this strip, so the spacing to fences, buildings and walkways matters. Where it goes is settled with the school early, along with how classes will use it.

The run-up

The run-up needs a firm, even surface that does not hold water. A base is prepared first, then topped with a surface suited to the shoes students wear.

It needs a slight fall to one side so rain runs off, and a clear edge so the strip does not wear away into the grass. Any markings go on last, as covered in line marking and play markings.

The take-off board

The board sits flush with the run-up, set into a frame on a solid base. A board that lifts or sinks becomes a trip point at the very moment a student is running hardest.

It is also fixed square to the pit, so a jump measures the way it should.

The sand pit

The pit is dug out and edged with something that will not hurt a student who lands short or wide. The edge sits at sand level, since a raised kerb is exactly what a jumper should never hit.

Drainage is what separates a good pit from a bad one. A pit that holds water turns hard and sour, so it sits on a free-draining layer with a way for the water to leave. Sports field drainage and subsoil explains the same principle at a larger scale.

Clean, washed sand goes in last, and a cover keeps it clean between uses.

Upkeep

A school's grounds staff can look after this facility with a rake and a shovel. The sand gets turned and levelled, topped up as it moves, and kept free of rubbish and weeds.

The build during term

This work has a small footprint, which makes it easier to fit around a school in session. It still involves an excavator and trucks near students, so the area is fenced and the plant movements are supervised, in line with how construction is carried out while a school stays open.

Monument's school sports work

Monument built a cricket pitch and long jump facility at Carlingford Public School, and it delivered the four-lane training cricket pitch at Eagle Vale High School. How those cricket facilities are built is in how a cricket training facility is built.

See our work