The sports industry has been testing sports surfaces since the 1980’s. However, very little has changed in the last 45 years. Those tests, and today’s focus exclusively on low-energy, lower-extremity (leg/foot) – surface impacts. Anyone who has watched a practice, game, or performance knows that other impacts, specifically falls happen, and yet our traditional standards do little to consider how the floor responds to these higher energy impacts.
During multiple conversations over the years, ASET has been told that hardwood courts are HARD and that there is no reason to consider head impacts, as the surfaces are incapable of providing any meaningful head impact or fall protection. The reality is that we know that in the early 2000’s specifiers in the United Kingdom adopted a test method developed for head injury protection for turf and applied it to indoor court surfaces. Futhermore, HIC and g-max are widely used in the sports industry where they are used to test synthetic turf, playgrounds, and protective padding. ASET Services recently presented our early research into HIC (Head Injury Criteria), and CFH (Critical Fall Height) testing of hardwood surfaces, at the American Society of Biomechanics’ 2024 Annual Meeting in Madison Wisconsin. A copy of the abstract can be found here, and a copy of the poster can be found here. This research was partially funded by Action Floor Systems, LLC.
HIC testing offers an opportunity to take a more holistic view of sport/dance surface safety and performance. Traditional impact testing of sport/dance floors involves relatively little impact energy, about the same energy as a basketball dropping from 6 ft. HIC and g-max testing at elevated drop heights (above 3 ft), provides insight into the surfaces’ response to higher energy impacts, and provides at least some indication of how the floor may respond to higher energy impacts such as those from falls. Our research developed a simple non-destructive test method for hardwood (area elastic) surfaces, and showed that hardwood sport/dance floors can be designed to offer meaningful, and measurable safety advantages during falls.
We believe this test offers the industry a meaningful way to provide safer surfaces and thus safer venues for all participants. Contact us to learn more about this innovative test and how to incorporate it into your products and facilities.