Researchers at Northern Michigan University are testing the safety and performance of a new basketball flooring system introduced by Mercer, Wis.-based Action Floor Systems.
The testing of the new system, known as Zone One, is being completed with human subjects, which is atypical when it comes to testing sports flooring, according to NMU Assistant Professor Matt Kilgas. The students and faculty are measuring the peak force upon landing on the floor after a jump, along with the change in momentum.
“On average, a basketball player will perform 70 or more jumps in a game,” Kilgas told Northern Today. “That's not even counting practices. Those impact forces are considerable—multiple times a player's body weight. If athletes are jumping and landing over and over again, it can lead to overuse injuries to the knee and ankle in particular because those joints are constantly dealing with repetitive, high-impact forces.”
NMU is using a 2D camera during the testing to monitor ankles, knees and hips upon landing and comparing the results to the same activities performed on different maple flooring systems.
Action Floor Systems and NMU partnered after Action Floor Systems National Sales and Marketing Manager Karl Borree, an alumnus, reached out to NMU.
“This research will not only help Action Floor Systems better serve its customer base, but it will help the sports flooring industry as a whole,” Borree said.
