What Tools Do I Need for Maintaining a Basketball Court?
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| Do you know that champion teams cut the nets and keep it as trophy? |
First, let's start with the basics. No matter what surfacing you use you will need a push brush. This simple item will help take care of the majority of the maintenance your surface needs and help reduce injury. Before and after every game go over the court with the broom to remove any debris that may have gotten onto the court. After a rainfall or for the first use of the year you may find that you quite a bit of debris to push off the court. Don't just shove it to the side, pile it up and pick it up and get rid of it altogether before it finds its way back onto your court! Every month or so, depending on how much you use the court, you'll want to take a level and a plump and check your goals. Ground is always settling, and if you live in a climate with severe winters the freezing and thawing of the ground can enlarge the hole over time.
Take measurements and correct any movement of the poles as
soon as possible. A lose pole will just get worse over time and you may risk
injury if an aggressive player grabs the hoop only to find out the pole moves
freely. Do you have painted lines on the court? If so, you may want to touch
them up every 2- 3 years.
Paint
will fade and wear with time and exposure to the
elements. Keeping up-to-date on the maintenance of the paint will help keep your
court looking new, year in and year out. Keep some
spare nets handy! Now,
technically, we could play without nets in place C but they do help control the
ball and make the court look more professional and maintained.
Nets are
available at most sporting goods retailers for a very low cost.
About once a year clean the surface with a mild detergent to get rid of any grime and dirt buildup. Depending on the surface material you may want to clean it more often, but a good cleansing once a year keeps a lot of the dirt and grime from becoming a permanent stain on the surface. Check with the surface specifications, but if you have a power washer it can help make this task a lot easier. Maintaining a court doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg; with a few minutes every so often and the right tools you can keep your court looking new for years, and generations, to come.
