Our friends at Tasmanian Athletics got in touch with us to create the finishing arch they needed for highly anticipated local athletics events, as well as for school carnivals.
With arches being a specialty of ours we couldn’t wait to get started on their design. Time was of the essence as the client had a range of events coming up, we wanted to get the athletics inflatable arch completed and delivered to Tasmania, Australia as soon as possible.
The Design Process
Tasmania Athletics wanted the design to be sleek, simple and sophisticated. The design didn’t need to be over elaborate, but it did need to be large enough to act as a beacon for athletes at the end of a long stretch of road.
They wanted the athletics inflatable arch to represent their organisation by using their traditional, bright and vibrant colours of green and gold.
Tasmanian Athletics wanted the colours to blend in well with the loud, vibrant aesthetics of a busy school carnival. They also wanted to ensure that the inflatable arch could be used for a range of events.
Like a lot of athletics events, sponsors need to be represented and a great way to do this is by including banners on the arch. The only problem was that sponsors often changed from event to event so the banners couldn’t be printed directly onto the canvas.
This is why a consultation with our client is so important; it is a great way to get a feel for their brand and event so our design team can really get to the heart of what they need.
The specifics
Once our client had outlined what they required it was time to get down to the specifics of their custom inflatable. It had to be big enough to cater for large crowds and work as a finish line for a group to run through.
When it comes to creation, we really needed to consider the simple things. The inflatable arch needed to be tall enough for a taller person to stand under comfortably and large enough so a crowd could walk through easily and safely.
A small arch would not be ideal for runners reaching the finish line, particularly if they are tall. No one should have to crouch under the arch or slow up to make it through.
A small arch would mean a crowd filtering through the arch at the carnival could become cramped together, resulting in the arch being unsafe.
Logistically a small arch at a large event, especially one with children in attendance, just wouldn’t work.
Our team also had the perfect solution for the sponsorship banners, by making the banners removable and attaching them with Velcro they could be interchanged for each event.
The Manufacturing Process
Our design team done an amazing job on the 2D mock-up image of the athletics inflatable arch, which is super helpful for our manufacturing team. It details the custom colours, of green and gold which would stand out in any crowd.
The mock-up also included the design of the removable banners, and the arches dimensions. The team also decided that an angled corner arch would look great for this project as it has worked well for previous finish line arches.
In order to make the athletics inflatable arch big enough for a crowd to walk through or a group of athletes to run through our manufacturing crew made the internal space 5 metres in width and 3 metres in height.
Plenty of space for someone tall to run through! This is the standard size that we use for finish line arches for marathons. They look great at the end and give runners the perfect photo opportunity.
The Finished Product
The athletics inflatable arch is easy to use. It is pumped up by attaching the blower pipe to the blower and then you simply turn it on. You then need to stand it up, and peg it in.
To ensure the arch met our high safety standards we added metal D rings to the angled corner so the arch could be anchored down with rope. This helps to secure and stabilise the arch.
Tasmanian Athletics also wanted to ensure that people could find their website easily. They used the bridge of the arch to advertise their website address and fixed the personalised Tasmanian Athletics banners to the sides.
Tasmanian Athletics were delighted with the finished product! They used it at many different events such as carnivals, jumping events and specific races.
Sponsors purchased space on the arch for their customised banners which turned the athletics inflatable arch into an effective marketing tool.
