Quality analysis of indoor sports surfaces and artificial and natural turf I

The artificial athlete is a combination of the Berlin Athlete and Stuttgart Athlete. It measures the classic values of the Double A (Artificial Athlete) of the shock absorption and the vertical deformation3A also measures the energy restitution.

These measurements are key to determine the playability of the surface, the lumbar and knee load of the game and plantar fasciitis problems.

The alternative to the Triple A is the Field Tester, an instrument that performs the same measurements but in a portable and easy to use format. It has a high reproducibility and measurements can be made on all types of natural and artificial surfaces. It can include the measurement of hardness so in turn we also have a Clegg Hammer.

The rotational resistance is a parameter designed to measure the risk of injury to ligaments on natural and artificial turf surfaces. The instrument has a cleated foot that contacts the ground and mimics the footprint of a player. The result is given in Nxm. Too low values are related to slippery surfaces with poor grip and too high values are related to injuries. There is a portable and lighter alternative that has also reliable and quality results, the lightweight rotational resistance meter.

Quality control is essential to ensure that surfaces do not deteriorate.

Head Injury Criteria (HIC) Tester is a device that finds the height at which a fall is dangerous. It is determined by dropping a standardised mass and looking for the height where the HIC reaches a value of 1000 or the deceleration reaches a value of 200G. It is a very popular instrument for determining the safety of playgrounds, although it can also be used on other surfaces where the fall is key to the development of the activity, such as athletics tracks. The portail version is less precise in its use as it is not as easy to maintain absolute control over the height to which the mass falls.