The Glass - Biggest Security Risk

JUBOpadel has been building padel courts since 1998 and belongs to those with the longest experience in the padel industry in manufacturing padel courts. Quality and having tracks that last a long time has been and is our success factor. We never see ourselves as complete scholars and are therefore constantly developing our paths.

Our construction is extremely stable and there is rarely anything wrong with it. The substrate is the component that has to endure the most wear and tear, and this is also the part that requires the most maintenance. The glass is tempered glass, which means that it breaks into 1000 pieces when it breaks. The glass is what can cause great damage, if it wants really badly, so glass is therefore considered the biggest safety risk.

In Sweden, broken glass occurs every week. You don't hear much about it, because it's bad advertising to spread this. But usually the changeover happens very quickly (see paragraph further down for some useful tips) and you can be up and running without any longer interruptions. Our support group will of course also help you with tips and advice.

Many of our installers have worked for JuBo Padel for a long time. Mainly in Spain, but also in other countries. They have seen most of it. And they confirm these differences:

• The glass is used to stop. Many run "happily" into the glass and stop with the help of shoes/feet, elbows, buttocks.
• The glasses are used to brace against and take a bet. Many are not satisfied with using the glass to stop their progress. The more advanced take the opportunity to take a chance and use the glass as a springboard to move faster in depth and laterally.

The idea with the glass, and as it is used in e.g. Spain, is to let the BALL bounce and thus let the glass walls become your friend and help you get more time to return the ball and slow down the tempo. Spanish players show considerably more respect for the glass, which also means that glass breaking in Spain is something you rarely see.

Many take impressions from World Padel Tour broadcasts when you see elite players both stop and take bets with the help of the glass. If you have been and watched live, you can easily note the glass vibrations that are present after their progress. And of course, what you see on TV can easily become the norm. The fact that there is not much glass breaking at the WPT is explained by the fact that the course sponsor always has service teams on site and that they go through the course(s) after each day of play. And that a padel court on the WPT doesn't last longer than a few days, and it doesn't have time to build tensions that could trigger glass breakage.

A tip we give to all our customers is to regularly take a look at how the players in your hall handle the glass. Walk around and look at how the glass is used and try to introduce "healthy glass culture" in the hall. Below you can see two clips where surveillance cameras have been "lucky" to be able to record how the glass was broken:

The absolutely most important safety aspect when it comes to padel courts is to take service and maintenance seriously. Unfortunately, there are too many people who believe that it is just a matter of buying courses and then they will last year after year, without anything happening. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. It is as with all things/items that are subjected to extensive use; that it must be taken care of. To compare with a taxi that runs many hours a day. Even if the brand were German quality cars, service and maintenance are required so that the car does not one day retire.

We at JuBo Padel always hand over maintenance instructions, send over a service schedule and have published videos here on the website to do what we can do, as manufacturers/installers of courts. We also have contact with companies that undertake service assignments.

So we always urge our customers to take this with service and maintenance very seriously. To be able to offer the best courses, but also the safest courses. Because not even JuBo quality can stand up to the "laws of nature" of extensive use and wear and tear. Our tracks also need to be maintained.

Even now, and not least in the future, the maintenance of the tracks will be a major competitive advantage. Realize this in time and you will have many repeat customers who appreciate you taking care of their gaming experience and safety.

Here are some frequently asked questions about glass:

How could the glass break (the player barely touched the glass)?
Every time someone runs into the glass, the glass is subjected to impact, which causes stresses in the glass. The more "external influences", the more tensions. These tensions are then the ones that trigger broken glass, even if the player doesn't think the glass was barely touched. But it is then enough to be touching the glass at exactly the right point where the tension is greatest.

What can I expect for the durability of the glass?
All of our tracks are CE certified, which means that each component has a high quality classification. The glass we deliver is according to EU standard EN-12150-1 and thus maintains the highest quality. Independent tests from Germany confirm our glass quality.

What type of glass do you use?
We use tempered glass. Tempered glass is glass made with rapid cooling. Sometimes you also see the term tempered glass after the English name tempered glass. Tempered glass contains mechanical stresses and is therefore more impact resistant than plain glass, but if the glass is subjected to a pressure that overcomes the stresses, the entire body of glass shatters into small pieces, reducing the risk of personal injury, compared to the long, sharp shards that occur when untempered glass breaks .

Is the glass the safest you can get?
The glass is often called safety glass because it meets the safety requirements placed on glass in exposed environments. In home environments, for example, it may be about glass railings or window panes that are placed with a risk of personal injury. In public environments, tempered glass is widely used due to its safety properties. Tempered glass cannot be cut or drilled, also edge processing and grinding should be avoided. Tempered glass is used for, among other things, drinking glasses, bus shelters, side windows on cars, apart from the windshield, which is usually made of laminated glass.

Why not use laminated glass (such as car windows have)?
Laminated glass is weaker than tempered glass, so using this would increase the number of broken glass significantly.

Check screws make the glass last better
Due to vibrations in the construction, screws can come loose, which is one of the reasons that you should check all screws/fasteners monthly and tighten if necessary. loose screws.

Important to think about glass and construction
Glass is softer than metal. In general, if glass meets metal, the metal always wins, the glass being the one that breaks. Therefore, you do NOT want this to happen. That's why we use protection between glass and metal. Due to vibrations that occur when players run into the glass, screws can loosen and the protection can move. Therefore, it is important to check monthly that the guards have not moved, so that glass meets metal.

• The fastest solution is to call a local glazier who will come and put the spare glass there.
• If we have a JuBo Padel team nearby, we will be happy to help (at cost).
• If you change the glass with the help of a glazier, we can usually send a team when we are in the area, who will check that the glass is installed correctly and properly tensioned.
• We have videos on how to change a glass, but it's easy. You need 3-4 people, suction cups and some tools.
• It is important that you sweep up ALL pieces of glass and thus protect both the mat and the players.