Fundamentals of Indoor Sports Floors
- 1. Fundamentals of Indoor Sports Floors: From Rubber to Polypropylene!
- 2. Rubber
- 3. Vinyl
- 4. Polyurethane
- 6. Synthetics Do What Concrete Cant MAXIMUM SHOCK ABSORPTION & ENERGY RETURN. Energy IN vs. Energy OUT
- 7. Synthetics Reduce Injury and Fatigue Surface Related Injuries: Abrasions Slip and Fall Muscle Pulls Torn Tendons Torn Ligaments Impact Injuries
Editor's Notes
- #2: This is the story of all the principal forms of synthetic gym flooring. How they came to be.
- #3: Sheet Rubber flooring
- #4: Sheet Vinyl flooring
- #5: Poured Polyurethane flooring
- #6: Polypropylene tile flooring
- #7: The key element that the Athletic Surface brings to the game is the ability to absorb shock and return energy. Its what the floor gives that allows the athlete to compete at a higher level. Shock absorption allows the body to jump harder, land harder, and be hurt less, while energy return allows the athlete to jump higher, run faster, and play longer with less fatigue. It is what makes a diving board different than a diving platform. But just as a diving board can be adjusted to be very firm or very soft, so too must an athletic surface must be properly tuned with the correct proportions of shock absorption and energy return to allow the athlete to perform at his highest level. Too soft, and its mushy. Too firm, and its hard. A too soft diving board throws off the divers timing because it returns the energy too late.
- #8: Synthetics reduce injuries by providing a properly engineered surface to play on.
- #9: While hardwood gymnasium floors are designed exclusively for basketball and volleyball, synthetic floors allow for multipurpose uses. Breakfast, lunch, PTA meetings, etc.