Leading English National Premier League side Cannock Hockey Club were fed up with the high maintenance costs of replacing nets and wooden boards damaged by constant ball impacts.

So they wanted lower maintenance perimeter fencing when they upgraded their pitches in 2009 – and ideally to limit the noise of the wooden boards under constant impact from 5.5oz balls travelling at speeds in excess of 80mph which was affecting the experience for players and spectators alike.

The Solution

Founded in 1905, ‘The Nockers’ is one of the most successful National Premier League hockey clubs in the country, having won the title seven times since the league’s inception 25 seasons ago.

But their traditional wooden perimeter boards were effectively sacrificial under hockey’s cannonball-like impacts. As they quickly broke and got worn out, the club was in a constant and expensive cycle of buying and installing new ones.

The grounds committee turned to Zaun as a development partner to create a ground-breaking low-noise and -maintenance metal fence perimeter.

It replaces nets and wooden boards with twin wire mesh fencing. Fixings every 200mm and rubber EPDM inserts at each fixing virtually eliminate rattle during play.

The bottom 210mm – or up to 400mm behind the goals – uses twin horizontal 8mm wires in a close 25x50mm mesh pattern that reduces significantly the noise while withstanding a far greater number of ball impacts without damage.

The system is then topped with Zaun’s Super Rebound, which gives better viewing, no risk of player or spectator injury from splinters or mid-rails and no solid surface for vandals to graffiti.

"epdm"