PROTECTION FROM THE SUN'S HARMFUL RAYS
Ideally, you should plan to order your Shade Sail in the months prior to summer, so that it can be supplied and installed ready for those days of hot sunshine.

• Attractive: Striking design to enhance your home, school, office, local park or swimming pool.
• Cool Comfort: Added bonus, cool the interior of the home, office or schoolroom as well as shading & cooling an outdoor area.
• Easy Protection: Protect family & friends from the sun's harmful rays that cause skin cancer. Save your expensive home furnishings from fading.
• Versatile: Custom design to suit any architecture or landscape.
• Safe: Engineered to individual requirements.
• Practical: Shade large or small areas with single or multiple Shade Sails. Simple adjustment for changing sun angles.

MORE AMERICANS ARE GETTING SKIN CANCER THAN EVER BEFORE!
"On average, one American dies every hour of every day of every month from Skin Cancer." [Source: American Cancer Society] www.cancer.org

Why is this so? People are still not protecting themselves adequately from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. People today spend more time in the sun! Shorter working hours, earlier retirement, a longer life span, lighter clothes, a waterside lifestyle and more sport and leisure pursuits all put people in the sun more often than ever. UV damage is cumulative! There's no doubt that skin Cancer 'catches up with you.' The longer one lives, the more irreversible damage one suffers from the sun's UV rays.

WHAT SHADE PROTECTION IS AVAILABLE?
Compared to alternative shade devices, (e.g. canvas, metal roofing, tiles, shingles, F.C. etc), SolProtec specializes in the highest quality Shade Cloth fabrics which are:

• porous, and hence reduce wind load factors;
• lightweight, and hence require less structural forms;
• considerably more aesthetically pleasing;
• more economical;
• available in a range of attractive colors;
• guaranteed by the manufacturers for up to 5 years;
• capable of providing higher UV protection ratings.

YOUR TIMETABLE AND ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
The highest risk months are usually the summer months. However, there can be considerable differences throughout the day and over the summer months. As part of general skin protection strategies and personal development programme, does your school or sports park:

• provide adequate shade in the grounds by building shade structures and/or planting trees
• at break intervals and lunch times encourage students, staff without adequate clothing/protection to use shaded or covered areas
• use purpose built shady areas whenever possible
• encourage students to use shade and shelter during summer and at outdoor sporting functions

"But it's winter now, we'll wait until summer to think about shade - it's more important then." WRONG! Now is the time to think about shade!

Common sense tells us, we should be installing shade during the winter, in preparation for the coming spring and summer.

A TIMELY REMINDER
Recent reports of a growing ozone hole extending well beyond Antarctica are a timely reminder for developing Shady Center policies. Our smog free air also means we have less pollution to block out ultraviolet radiation.

The highest risk months for ultraviolet radiation (UVR) are usually November to February but also in October or April can be more damaging than a gray day in January when much of the UHV is blocked by heavy cloud.

SUN SHADE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
When developing a Shady Center policy, the following should be taken into consideration...

• knowing that early childhood educators can play a significant role in the prevention of skin cancer.
• providing adequate shade in the center grounds by building shade structures and/or planting trees.
• encouraging children when outside to use shaded or covered areas.
• use shade areas, especially when sitting, eating and listening to stories and other outdoor play activities.
• avoid being out in the sun around solar noon - 13:30 in NZ.
• teach children why skin needs protection from the sun and how to protect it.
• ensure there is shade around areas where children congregate such s the sand pit and the water trough.

DESIGNING SHADE AREAS
Many points need to be considered including...

• the protection offered by the shade cloth (there is a wide variation between types and brands).
• the height of the shade cover.
• the security and solidity of the construction to reduce theft and/or vandalism and for council permits.
• identifying areas where shade cloth is most and least appropriate.

Many other fabric types are available and commonly used in the tensile structure industry. The majority of these fabrics are fire retardant with ratings ranging from NFPA 701 to CSFM Class A approval. Suitable for Residential and Commercial applications.

WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED
Stringent shade requirements in Building Regulations and Town Planning Acts clearly set the scene for future litigation if UV protection in outdoor environments is not adequate.