SPORT + SCHOOLS

An Apollo NZ Global Initiative

Plan school sport around the school day, not just the opening day.

SPORT + SCHOOLS brings facility-planning guides, sport pathways and practical tools together for schools assessing new courts, active-recreation areas, upgrades and staged campus development.

Start planning Project Navigator Back to SPORT + KNOWLEDGE

School sports and recreation facility with courts and active outdoor spaces

LEARN · PLAN · PLAYSPORT + SCHOOLS

01Start with students and weekly use

02Plan supervision and circulation early

03Choose maintainable systems

04Protect future stages

Planning resource · Reviewed September 2026 · Final technical design and local compliance remain project-specific

Start with the organisation

A useful school brief begins with programme, users and site reality.

List PE, lunchtime recreation, team training, inter-school sport and any after-hours use. Then audit the actual site: base, drainage, dimensions, access, visibility, storage and service constraints. Product selection should follow that operating picture.

PROJECT AUDIT

Check the project before selecting systems.

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Students & programme

List the sports and activities used during PE classes.Record lunchtime and informal recreation use.Identify team training, inter-school sport and after-hours community use.Record age groups, accessibility needs and expected peak occupancy.

Existing site

Measure the usable site or room, including run-off and circulation zones.Record the existing base type, condition, cracking and level changes.Check drainage, ponding and where surface water currently goes.Record access for deliveries, maintenance and emergency movement.

Daily operation

Check supervision sightlines and staff visibility.Identify equipment and maintenance storage needs.Record cleaning, repair and routine maintenance capability.Check lighting, noise, neighbours, security and operating-hour constraints.

Future stages

Separate immediate needs from later campus improvements.Protect space for future courts, shade, seating or recreation additions.Identify services or foundations that should allow later expansion.Record which works require local design, engineering or approvals.

Planning notes / unresolved items

Saved into My Apollo Project and available when you build the Sports Project Brief.

PLANNING SEQUENCE

Work in this order.

A staged sequence reduces rework. Resolve the organisation and site first, then technical systems, then procurement and future stages.

Define the school programme

Start with students, timetable, activities, supervision and the weekly operating pattern.

Audit the real site

Measure the space and document the base, drainage, access, services, storage and constraints.

Set the facility hierarchy

Decide which activities are primary, which are shared and which future uses must remain possible.

Coordinate technical systems

Resolve surface, equipment, lighting, containment, shade or cover, access and maintenance together.

Stage and brief the project

Separate current works from future stages, confirm local responsibilities and build the review package.

DECISION WORKSHEET

Questions the project team should be able to answer.

01What problem is the school trying to solve first: capacity, surface condition, sport mix, weather exposure, supervision or something else?

02Which activities must the facility support every week, and which are occasional?

03What are the measured usable dimensions once run-off, access and circulation are allowed for?

04What is known about the existing base, drainage and services?

05What supervision, storage, maintenance and accessibility requirements must be designed around?

06Which improvements belong in stage one, and which should remain possible later?

07Which decisions require local civil, structural, electrical, accessibility or approval input?

08What information is still missing before the school can request a meaningful project review?

Open printable worksheet Your Facility Plan

01Start here

School Sports Facility Planning Guide

Build the first brief around timetable, user groups, site conditions, supervision, maintenance and staged procurement.

Open pathway 02Start a sport

How to Start Pickleball at Your School

Use existing space intelligently, plan shared-court lines, nets, storage, supervision and a staged pathway before committing to a larger build.

Open pathway 03Build the programme

Build a Multi-Sport School

Select the sports first, group compatible activities into shared outdoor courts and indoor halls, then coordinate infrastructure once for the whole campus.

Open pathway 04Shared-use courts

Multi-Sport Court Planning

Plan line hierarchy, surfaces, equipment, lighting and changing school programmes on one hard-working court.

Open pathway 05Court sports

Pickleball & Court Pathways

Understand dimensions, run-off, base, surfaces, nets, lighting and how a court can serve several school uses.

Open pathway 06Global court sports

3x3 · Netball · Futsal

Use the new global Academies to coordinate compact basketball, full-court netball and futsal around shared hard-court infrastructure.

Open pathway 07Indoor hall sports

Volleyball · Badminton

Plan hall geometry around free zones, clear height, lighting, airflow, flooring, removable equipment and court changeover.

Open pathway 08Practice facilities

Cricket Practice

Plan indoor or outdoor lanes around run-up, containment, surfaces, coaching flow, lighting and future expansion.

Open pathway 09Active recreation

Pump Track Planning

Plan RIDEspan around age groups, supervision, rider flow, site footprint and future expansion.

Open pathway 10Training

All-Season Ski & Freestyle

Plan coaching slopes and progression zones around programme, terrain, services, safety and staged growth.

Open pathway 11Indoor sport

Functional Fitness & Training Zones

Coordinate floor zoning, sled lanes, rigs, conditioning, storage and class flow for school or tertiary training spaces.

Open pathway 12Surface planning

Sports Flooring for Schools & Councils

Compare surfaces through durability, drainage, maintenance, repair and mixed user groups.

Open pathway 13Infrastructure

Complete Facility Planning

Coordinate lighting, containment, cover, spectators, accessibility, technology and local works around the sporting space.

Open pathway 14Project brief

Turn the Plan Into a Review Package

Collect site dimensions, user groups, priorities and unresolved project questions before quotation.

Open pathway

Direct answers

Know the scope before choosing the pathway.

These answers define what this audience pathway is for, what it covers and where the programme boundary sits.

What is SPORT + SCHOOLS?

SPORT + SCHOOLS brings facility-planning guides, sport pathways and practical tools together for schools assessing new courts, active-recreation areas, upgrades and staged campus development.

Where should a project start?

What planning topics are covered?

The pathway covers school sports facility planning guide, how to start pickleball at your school, build a multi-sport school, multi-sport court planning, pickleball & court pathways, 3x3 · netball · futsal and structured project briefing.

Does SPORT + KNOWLEDGE provide grants, sponsorships or financial assistance?

No. SPORT + KNOWLEDGE provides education, planning guidance and project tools only. It does not provide grants, sponsorships, scholarships, product donations or financial assistance.

PLANNING BOARD 09

School sports campus planning

Supervision, timetable use, shared courts, active recreation, storage, shade and future stages should be visible in one campus-level plan.Conceptual planning diagram · not a construction drawing

SPORT + ACADEMY

Use the Academy that matches the project.

Move from organisation-level planning into the specific sport or facility decision. The Academies are self-guided education and planning pathways, not formal qualifications.

Facility Planning Academy

The core pathway for site, surfaces, infrastructure, access, maintenance and project responsibilities.

Start Academy

Multi-Sport Court Academy

Shared-use school courts, line hierarchy, equipment, lighting and long-term adaptability.

Start Academy

Pump Track Academy

Wheeled recreation planned around riders, supervision, flow, public-space fit and maintenance.

Start Academy

Pickleball Academy

Court geometry, surfaces, nets, containment, lighting and multi-court planning.

Start Academy

Functional Fitness Academy

Indoor training floors, sled lanes, rigs, storage and class rotation.

Start Academy

SLOPEspan Academy

All-season ski and freestyle training environments for structured progression.

Start Academy

3x3 Basketball Academy

Global FIBA-referenced compact basketball planning for school and community courts.

Start Academy

Volleyball Academy

Global FIVB-referenced court, free-zone, clear-height and hall planning.

Start Academy

Futsal Academy

Global FIFA-referenced pitch, floor, goal, lighting and shared-hall planning.

Start Academy

Badminton Academy

Global BWF-referenced clear-space, height, airflow, lighting and flooring planning.

Start Academy

Netball Academy

Global netball court, post, surface, run-off, lighting and shared-use planning.

Start Academy

Cricket Practice Academy

Global lane, run-up, containment, surface and training-facility planning.

Start Academy

SPORT + TOOLS

Turn the planning into a usable brief.

Use the tools after the early questions are understood. They help organise dimensions, surface choices, layouts and the project information Apollo needs for review.

Sports Flooring Selector

Compare sports-surface pathways against the base, sport mix and environment.

Open tool 02

Pump Track Planner

Test the site and rider brief against RIDEspan planning requirements.

Open tool 03

Build a Multi-Sport School

Select the sport mix and group compatible activities into shared courts, halls and dedicated practice zones.

Open tool 04

Sports Project Brief Builder

Turn the school planning decisions into a structured project review package.

Open tool

Programme scope

SPORT + KNOWLEDGE provides education, planning guidance and project tools. It does not provide grants, sponsorships, scholarships, product donations or financial assistance.

SPORT + KNOWLEDGE

Need the wider school project pathway?

The main Schools & Education page connects SPORT + KNOWLEDGE planning with Apollo's current sports, recreation, shade and outdoor product systems.

Open Schools & Education