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Line service helps sports clubs colour inside the lines
On a good base, it is easy to work. Precisely for this reason, more and more sports and football clubs are entrusting the first lines of the season to Footline. Throughout the year, too, the Antwerp-based company's lining service is now well-requested. “Many clubs depend on volunteers for the daily lineation of their pitches,” explains Footline's Marc Tratsaert. “We offer them a clear handhold with our lining service and thus help to avoid mistakes and possible cancellations.”
Footline is mainly known in the sports world as a distributor of Pitchmark line marking paints and a wide range of support material, from goals, nets and dugouts to a growing range of line marking equipment. The most recent addition to that range are SWOZI's line marking robots. “For sports clubs with several pitches and locations, such a lineation robot is an interesting investment,” Tratsaert says. “If required, we can even work with a leasing formula. However, we realise all too well that this is not for everyone. That is why we are putting at least as much effort into service.”
In the first place, Footline pays due attention to the first lineation of the season. After all, it is not easy to lay out the correct lines on a completely empty pitch, and certainly cities, municipalities and amateur clubs do not usually have the right expertise for this precise task. “Depending on the situation, we use a lineation robot or the classic method with cord. The advantage of the robot is that once the pitch is set up in our system, we can act very quickly. In just over half an hour, for example, a football pitch can be lined. The disadvantage is that trees or stands can disturb accessibility and the signal. In such situations, therefore, the traditional method remains the best.”
As a distributor of Pitchmark's high-quality lineation paints, Footline also pays due attention to the choice of paint when performing the initial lineation. “Here, we mainly look at the surface. If it is a field with relatively little grass, for example, we will choose a firmer paint. In our range of concentrate paints and ready-to-use variants, there is a durable solution for every field.”
As soon as the first line has been set, most clubs can in principle take care of the follow-up themselves. After all, it is enough to regularly go over the first lineation. “Unfortunately, that does not rule out mistakes happening,” Tratsaert notes. “The wrong equipment, unevenness in the field or a moment of haste or inattention can already cause deviations. This often seems minimal at first, but the more often the lines are crossed like this, the bigger the margin of error can become. At the end of the season, we sometimes see differences of 10 or 20 cm this way.”
To avoid such deviations, maintenance lines are also part of Footline's service. There are standard packages with monthly or weekly maintenance, but a customised frequency can also be arranged. “When tournaments or events take place and sports clubs temporarily need smaller fields for this purpose, we also provide adapted lines there,” Tratsaert adds.
Footline's lining team now comprises three people and travels throughout the country to line and realign sports fields - be it football, rugby, American football or athletics. Besides their expertise in field lining, they always bring with them an in-depth knowledge of Footline's product range. “For sports clubs, it is nice that they can link the lineation service with a discussion about or supply of all materials for on and around the pitch,” Tratsaert believes. “That way they kill two birds with one stone.”
