The Brief

SFX approached us and asked us to design their championship platform named ‘The Oval’. They wanted a unique and professional fighting ring with the following features:

• A 7m x 6m inner ring resembling traditional martial arts arenas.

• A modular and easy assemble & disassemble design

• A barrier to keep competitors contained in ‘The Oval’ when fighting.

The Design

We had several discussions with the client and produced multiple sub-frame prototypes. Within 5 months we created the first oval-shaped fighting ring which met all the customer requirements plus a couple of extra features.

We designed ‘The Oval’ elevated off the floor 250mm to present the fighters to the room and make them the main visual point while still allowing spectators to easily see. This was unique to the standard height of boxing rings.

The barrier element became an integrated embankment that contenders could use to their advantage when being pushed towards the edge, allowing them to use the sloped angle to gain height or power to push back their attacking opponent.

‘The Oval’s’ colour scheme is in keeping with traditional competitions, in which a fighter from the red and blue would come out and stand in their respective sides, prior to the fight.

‘The Oval’ was all designed and manufactured in Bristol, within our in-house manufacturing and powder coating facility, with additional supplies of the tatami matting supplied from EpicMats.

The Result

The Oval was installed at the Telford International Centre on 11th May 2024. The SFX Championships were live streamed by TrillerTV and the night was a resounding success. Co-founder Andy Cleeves emailed the team to say: “The event was very well received and thank you so much for your efforts! We have some great pics”.