Rebound Ace India (RAI) was born in the year 2009 to counter future demand in synthetic courts in India which increased substantially after the 2010 Commonwealth Games held at New Delhi.
From the inception it was very clear for RAI to only provide durable and long lasting sports surfaces. We strongly believed to only introduce products which adhere to local temperature and environment and are not very fancy with long list of do’s and don’ts. Unlike common belief synthetic courts also require certain amount of maintenance and discipline to extract maximum advantage from its surface. Rebound Ace surface was used in the Commonwealth Games (14 match courts plus 8 practice courts). They are still in use and are a testimony to the quality of Rebound Ace surfaces. Today all major tennis venues in India like South Club, Kolkata; KSLTA Bangalore and ITC, Indore have Rebound Ace surface.
Every location and situation demands innovation in product. Soon demand came to convert existing concrete sub-bases to synthetic courts without civil correction. RAI introduced PU-cushioned courts to cater to this demand. These courts can be installed both indoors and outdoors and enhance the playing condition of the courts.
There were some situations where even PU cushions could not be installed on concrete surfaces. To counter this, RAI introduced interlocking modular tiles with special modified PP (Polypropylene) material. These are the only tiles in the market which do not wrap in changing temperatures as they have inbuilt thermal expansion ability.
Artificial grass has started being accepted in the Indian market. Many installations have happened and many have failed. It is all because wrong products were introduced without considering the local environment, usage, knowledge and maintenance procedures. RAI is the only company which has introduced grass with 10 years warranty and which matches the requirement for local usage.
Investment in sports infrastructure should be viewed as long-term. One should be aware of lookalikes and be aware of right characters in the sports flooring. For instance, ITF (International Tennis Federation) has no approved system, but only gives the speed classifications of courts. But many systems are sold in the country as ITF-approved and they don’t last more than two seasons.
RAI is the first company to introduce 100 per cent virgin EPDM tiles in India named UG- Ultimate Grind. The popular option available in the market is SBR tiles made of scrap tyres. These tiles are toxic in nature and nasty smelling. Due to high black carbon content in them, some tests indicate that they are cancerous. UG tiles are odourless and long lasting. They come in various thicknesses and colours.
RAI is the only company in India to introduce synthetic acrylic practice cricket wicket. This wicket can be made spin friendly or pace and replicates the natural turf. Whatever is available in the market gives false security to players and does not enhance their skill in actual way. The wickets can be installed indoors and outdoors and have very long life.
About The Author
Sammir Kapoor – Director Sales & Marketing, Rebound Ace India Pvt Ltd.
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