How to light a BMX track: illuminance levels, columns and glare

BMX race packs into a few hundred metres everything that complicates outdoor lighting: constant relief, high speeds, eight riders abreast, surfaces sloping in every direction. French technical literature remains scarce, but a reference framework exists: the FFC publishes dedicated specifications, and the NF EN 12193 standard provides the methodological framework.

Why a BMX track is not lit like a flat pitch

Relief creates its own shadows

A football pitch is a horizontal plane. A BMX track is a sequence of volumes: take-offs, crests, dips, flats, landings, banked turns, start hill. Each face can fall into the shadow of the previous feature if the floodlights only hit the track from one direction. The FFC is explicit: no shadow area must remain between the obstacles, the turns and the front of the hill. Hence a simple principle: cross the beams, at least two directions of projection, three on the technical features.

Speed compresses reading time

A rider approaches the first turn at a speed that leaves little margin to correct the line. A sudden change in illuminance then acts as a visual obstacle: the eye has no time to adapt, precisely when the rider is choosing the point of support. Uniformity is therefore not a comfort criterion but a safety one.

A rare requirement: vertical illuminance

The FFC specifications require average horizontal and vertical illuminance. This is logical as soon as relief is being lit: what the rider reads are the sloping faces of the features, the wall of the banked turn, the silhouettes of the other riders.

What the FFC and the EN 12193 standard require

The FFC does not publish rules as detailed as those of the FFF with its levels E1 to E7. It does, however, provide specifications for the lighting of a BMX track, to be attached to the classification file. They set two levels of requirement.

| Level of use | At commissioning | To be maintained |

| --- | --- | --- |

| National championship and French Cup | 400 lux | 300 lux |

| Other events and training | 250 lux | 100 lux |

These values refer to average horizontal and vertical illuminance, and rise to at least 400 lux in the case of television broadcasting. One clarification is needed on how to read the two columns, because the federation document does not define the link between them. The ratio 300 / 400 is 0.75, which would correspond to a usual maintenance factor; the ratio 100 / 250 is 0.40, a value that corresponds to no acceptable maintenance factor. The second column should therefore be read as a floor never to be crossed in service, and not as the result of a maintenance factor applied to the first. The maintenance factor of the project is determined according to the EN 12193 standard from the type of luminaire, the environment and the cleaning plan chosen. In practice, an installation set just on target on the day of acceptance finds itself out of compliance two seasons later.

Two limits: this document sets no figures for uniformity, glare or colour rendering, and it refers to the EN 13201 series, which deals with road lighting. For a sports facility, the reference remains the NF EN 12193 standard and its three classes: I for high level, II for intermediate level, III for recreation and simple competitions. It provides the calculation of uniformity, the maintenance factor and the GR index, whose value of 50 commonly serves as a ceiling outdoors.

Light pollution

A BMX track belongs to outdoor sports facilities, category c of article 1 of the French order of 27 December 2018. Under the general regime of the text, the thresholds for light emitted above the horizontal and for colour temperature do not apply to this category: they apply to outdoor security lighting and car parks. This does not place the project outside the scope of the order, and three points call for the attention of the project owner.

• The car park and the surroundings of the site do fall within the regulated categories. An uncovered car park is switched off no later than two hours after the end of the activity, with a proportion of light emitted above the horizontal strictly below 1 % and a colour temperature capped at 3,000 K.
• Protected areas impose stricter colour temperature caps, in regional nature parks, in the core of national parks, in nature reserves and near astronomical observation sites.
• The prefect can impose more restrictive adaptations, and the facility's rules of use or a municipal order very often set a switch-off time specific to the track.

On this last point, the question comes up systematically at public meetings. The order of 27 December 2018 does not impose, for the sports area itself, a national switch-off time after the end of the activity. This is an argument to be handled with care before a town council: residents' requests are legitimate, and good practice is to switch off as soon as the activity ends. Providing for the controls, zoning and the clock at the design stage costs far less than adding them afterwards, and avoids having to accept a constraint imposed later.

Column layout: two schools

The FFC specifications describe two classic configurations:

• two, or even three, columns in a central arrangement, inside the track and following its shape;
• three or four columns placed around the edge of the track.

The central configuration limits the number of columns and the projection distances, and therefore the installed power, but requires floodlights aimed in two or three directions and vigilance about the shadows cast by the column. The peripheral configuration makes it easier to cross the beams, but lengthens the distances and makes light spill harder to contain.

On the safety side, the columns must be placed at least 2 metres from the outer edge of the track, measured from the outer marking. Below that, protection of the rugby post padding type is mandatory.

What column height to choose

The specifications set no value: it must be sufficient to avoid dazzling the riders. The FFC construction guide cites projects, such as the Descartes track, delivered in 2016 with three 18-metre columns each carrying four floodlights. The higher the column, the closer the angle of incidence comes to the vertical: the luminance seen by the rider falls and uniformity improves on the sloping faces, but cost and maintenance increase. The compromise is calculated.

The four critical zones

The start hill

Three regulatory heights coexist: 3 metres from departmental to regional level, 5 metres at national level, 8 metres at international level such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games. On an 8-metre hill, the rider's eye is already some ten metres above the ground, very close to the optical axis of the opposite floodlights. Hence a side layout, aimed at the face of the hill rather than at the riders.

The straights

Four straights with obstacles in the classic configuration, for 270 to 400 metres in total. The first is the most exposed: riders arrive there in a group and at full speed. Each take-off and each landing must be lit from at least two directions, otherwise the crest casts its shadow over the landing.

The banked turns

Three turns, the first being the most complex: riders arrive there in a pack, several abreast and at high speed. The camber creates a steeply sloping surface, often in asphalt or paving whose reflectance differs from the rest of the track. This is where vertical illuminance comes into play.

The finish sector

Stable illuminance without gradient, for the riders as well as for the officials and timing. It is also the most filmed sector: if filming is planned, provide drivers with a low ripple rate.

Controlling glare for the rider

This is the most frequent weak point of outdoor sports installations renovated with LED: high luminance concentrates the energy on an emitting surface much smaller than a discharge source, so that for the same flux the perceived discomfort increases. Three levers act together.

• The optic: favour asymmetric distributions, so that the floodlight can be set back and project forwards.
• The tilt: the more the floodlight tips towards the horizontal, the more light it sends into the eyes and above the horizon.
• The accessories: visors and anti-spill shields remain effective, provided they are included in the calculation from the outset.

The indices that quantify this discomfort are detailed in our article on UGR and glare on sports grounds, and the layout logic overlaps with that of lighting a football pitch to FFF standards.

The special case of the pump track

The pump track follows a different logic. To our knowledge, there is no federation lighting specification specific to it, and the facility is most often freely accessible, integrated into a public space. The target level is therefore close to class III of EN 12193: the aim is to make the relief readable, not timed performance. The lighting is designed together with the access paths, and operating hours become central: presence detection, standby dimming and programmed switch-off work better there than all or nothing.

Check beforehand, measure afterwards

Beforehand, the photometric study. The model cannot be limited to a flat rectangle: the relief must be included so that the calculation accounts for cast shadows and the illuminance on the sloping faces. This is what distinguishes a study from sizing by ratio, as explained in our article on the photometric study before purchase.

Afterwards, the light meter readings, according to the FFC grid:

• Turns: along the length and across the width from bottom to top every 3 metres, staggered every 2.5 metres.
• Obstacles: at the take-off, in the dip and at the landing, every 2.5 metres.
• Start hill: length and width, every 4 metres.
• Flat sections: every 2.5 metres across the width, every 5 metres along the length.

The results are recorded on an inspection sheet signed by the person carrying out the readings and validated by the club president.

What equipment to choose

The suitable equipment belongs to stadium floodlights: IP66, IK10, surge protection, aiming precision. The FLUXO SPORT 20A covers for example 450 to 1250 W for 59,900 to 175,300 lumens according to the manufacturer's data sheet, with angle adjustment to the half-degree. A reservation applies to how this is read: the stated power and flux limits do not correspond to the same efficacy, 133 lm/W at the bottom of the range against 140 lm/W at the top, so luminous efficacy must be requested variant by variant rather than taken as a range. Its surge protection, stated at 20 kV, is also a manufacturer figure: it is outside the usual orders of magnitude, which are rather around 10 kV, and deserves a test report before being written into a technical specification. The FluxoSport M22, with interchangeable lenses, makes it possible to adjust the distribution column by column. The range is in the outdoor sports lighting category.

That leaves control. A track does not need the same level on a Tuesday evening training session and during a round of the French Cup: an addressable control system makes it possible to preset these scenes.

Frequently asked questions

How many lux are needed to light a BMX track?

The FFC sets 400 lux at commissioning and 300 lux to be maintained for a national championship or a French Cup, 250 and 100 lux for other events and training. These values refer to average horizontal and vertical illuminance, with at least 400 lux if the event is broadcast.

Should the columns be placed in the centre or around the edge of the track?

Both are accepted: two to three central columns following the track, or three to four around the edge. The choice depends on the land available, the neighbourhood and the budget. In both cases, the columns are placed at least 2 metres from the outer edge of the track, otherwise protection of the rugby post padding type is mandatory.

Is pump track lighting subject to the same rules?

No. No federation specification is specific to it to date. As the facility is freely accessible and integrated into a public space, the project is treated as local recreational lighting, close to class III.

Can a BMX track be lit with solar power?

On a competition track, the levels and hours of use make full autonomy difficult to guarantee in winter without oversizing the storage. Solar does, however, have its place around the track: access, car park, clubhouse, according to the principles of solar public lighting.

Having your project sized

Lighting for a BMX track is not chosen from a catalogue: the relief, the layout, the height of the hill and the classification level targeted change the answer for each project. Get in touch with our technical partner, the Luminance-Consulting agency, a lighting solutions consultancy since 2013. It carries out the audits, photometric studies and compliance checks that secure your FFC classification file.

Contact Luminance Consulting · Request a Rexylum offer