Plastics:
A Valuable Player in all Sports
Plastics
have drastically changed the face of overall sports industry in recent
years and have penetrated into each sport segment due to their high
strength to weight ratio and other useful properties as compared to
conventional materials.
From
the Olympic athlete’s uniforms and equipment to stadium construction,
plastic have helped make Olympics a reality. Runners are running faster,
tennis players can play harder and more and more cyclists are walking
away from serious spills. How? Safety and performance attributes of
plastics play a pivotal role in this achievement. Today’s athletes
display increased levels of skill which are only possible through
technological advances in equipment. They can now be assured of heightened
safety through new and better equipment made of plastics. The main
purpose of introducing this technology in sports is to make the game
easier on the body and reduce injuries.
Athletics
Conventional materials for tracks like clay and cinder require constant
maintenance and are unable to withstand the natural challenges posed
by the weather. Plastics have brought about a revolution by the introduction
of ‘all-weather’ tracks, made from a composite of synthetic
rubber and asphalt. Modern track surfaces use a mix of plastic rubbers,
made from styrene-butadiene or ethylene- propylene mixtures, combined
with allow it to be re-used. Pole-vaulting has completely changed
due to the use of plastics, in both the actual vault and the landing,
which cushions the athlete’s fall. Today, the poles are constructed
from fiberglass and other plastics. Plastic gives the pole the strength
and flexibility it needs, giving the athlete a shallower angle - a
detail that can increase the height of a competitor’s vault.
With a plastic pole, the speed is loaded into the pole, allowing the
athlete to achieve much greater heights at the same speed. These innovations
have allowed modern polevaulters to reach heights of up to 19 feet.
Discs and batons are increasingly being made from fiberglass and moulded
plastics as they are lighter and are valuable for training athletes.
In the other plastic binders, such as polyurethane or latex, or with
solid polyurethane. The plastic blend surfaces have changed the sport
more than anything. The surface has added to the performance of the
runner, making them faster. Due to the improvements in running shoes
brought about largely by the use of plastics, athletes can now run
faster, jump higher and compete with less pain in the feet, ankles
and knees. The shoes have better shock absorption, stability, cushioning,
last longer and keep their shape even after repeated use. Hurdles
are now crafted from plastics, as they are easier on runners than
wood, and do not splinter or break into jagged pieces. Plastic not
only help prevent injury to the athlete, but also increase the longevity
of the hurdle and discs, a steel rim with plastic construction gives
the disc more weight on the outside, creating optimum centrifugal
force, allowing the discs to fly further. ...
....contd.
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