When it comes to choosing the right sports flooring solution for an indoor or outdoor sports facility, you may not know exactly why to choose one over the other. But with some foundational information about the different types of floor systems and how they perform, it may guide you in selecting the best one.

Depending on how well it responds to the player, a sports floor can be categorized according to its elasticity. There are three common types of sports floor elasticity, namely area-elastic, point-elastic and mixed-elastic. The critical point of difference relates to the relative effectiveness of deflection when a player applies a downward force to the surface. For example, when a basketball player runs across a court, every footfall exerts energy as it lands. Now, the energy has to disperse in some way across the floor. That is what sports floor elasticity is.

Area-elastic sports floor

The resilient hardwood maple sports floor with a subfloor system, are categorized as area-elastic. Wood sports flooring typically contains a solid surface with shock-absorbing pads underneath. Because hardwood material is not as pliant like other materials, vertical deformation occurs over a vast area when there is an application of force, thus dispersing the energy further across the surface.

This type of sports flooring offers the player with what is known as deflection that measures how energy produced by activities such as running, dribbling or jumping gets dispersed into the floor.

Have you ever dribbled a basketball and felt the floor vibrate beneath your feet? That is what area deflection measures. Lower value means that the vibrations are smaller and the player doesn’t feel them as much. Higher vibrations can be uncomfortable for the player.

When choosing a floor system with a suitable amount of area deflection, it depends on the players and coach. Area elastic floors generally offer a high level of shock absorption for the safety and comfort of the athlete/player.

A point-elastic sports floor system

Polyurethane pad and pour, vinyl, rubber, and linoleum floors fall under this category. The system is generally attached to the concrete slab localizing the energy from the player movements and ball bounces.

Point elastic floors are like walking on a sandy beach; the movement only occurs close to where you step. In a nutshell, it interacts with every player individually. Point elastic floors can provide shock absorption when combined with a rubber mat as part of the system.

In comparison, while there may be less force reduction than area elastic, with point elastic, there is uniformity of play. Players experience uniform levels of shock absorption, and the ball bounces across the floor.

Mixed-elastic sports floor

It is a blend of area and point elastic sports floor system as it uses synthetic surface with features of a wood subfloor. This type of sports floor allows one to experience excellent shock absorption while enjoying durability, ease of maintenance, and various design options that come with quality polyurethane sports floor.

conclusion

An area-elastic sports floor disperses energy over a vast surface area. A point-elastic spreads energy over a more localized area while a mixed or combined-elasticity combines the properties of both area-elastic and point-elastic. Consulting with the flooring experts will help you identify which sports floor elasticity will work for your facility. Taking the initiative to understand the elasticity aspects is meriting since a sports floor is a long time investment.