Athletic playing surface

Abstract

An extended athletic playing surface that increases running speed of an athlete performing on the surface and reduces the likelihood of injury to the athlete has a multi-layer construction. The athlete's foot impacts on an upper surface of a sheet material that has a low mass per unit area and is stiffly resilient. The upper surface is supported on either discrete "bumper pads" of a resilient material, or preferably a combination of horizontal, spaced apart supports and bumper pads. The composite structure rests on a conventional surface such as a concrete base. The composite surface is characterized by a low effective vertical mass and a composite vertical compliance that is extremely large in comparison to any comparable known athletic surface. The surface also has a high effective horizontal mass and a low horizontal compliance. In the preferred form, this composite surface is also characterized by a mechanical response that is substantially independent of the point of the impact on the surface, independent of the area of the foot contact, and independent of the presence of other athletes on the surface.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.