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How are basketball courts put together
What are NBA Basketball Courts made of? – Basketball Noise
Buzzing about the NBA re-start in 2020, I was on League Pass watching one of the scrimmage warm up games in Disney World, Florida. I noticed that every time play changed ends the sound of 10 giant humans sprinting up the court was very noticeable. It got me thinking, what are NBA courts made of?
What are NBA Basketball courts made of? NBA courts are made from acer saccharum, better known as ‘hard maple’. This is sourced from forests in the upper Midwest of North America. The only NBA team that do not play on a hard maple floor are the Boston Celtics, who traditionally use Red Oak for their distinctive floor. The maple is the traditional thickness of around 2cm or just over ¾ of an inch. This is how Maple floors have been sized since the 1800’s. NBA floor specifications require a 120 feet x 60 feet (36.6 x 18.3 meters) wood surface with a 94 feet x 50 feet (28.7 x 15.2 meters) painted basketball court. This is typically produced in smaller interlocking sections that can be expertly put together to ensure a perfect finish.
Is that it? Just some wood? Well yes, to some extent. However, there’s a lot more that goes into creating the most iconic playing surfaces in sports history. Read on to find out about who supplies the material, what characteristics the NBA looks for in its floors, how they affect player performance and how often they need to be maintained. Let’s start with that Disney Bubble…
What is the NBA Bubble floor made of?
The ‘NBA Bubble’ is housed within the Disney World ESPN World Wide Sports Complex in Florida. Before the NBA moved in to finish off the regular season and host the 2020 NBA Playoffs it already contained 7 hardwood courts the NBA had earmarked for practice. It was calculated that they needed to an additional 7 practice courts, two half courts, and three custom sized game floors to host the broadcasted games, adjusted for thew social distancing measures and absence of spectators.
Leaning on its shared resources the (relatively) nearby Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic each provided their two floors, in addition the Indiana Pacers donated their main floor to be used as practice courts while the field house undergoes a closed season refit.
This left the NBA short by 2 practice courts, two half-courts, and the all-important 3 custom game courts. These were produced by one of the NBA’s suppliers, Horner and are made of the same Hard Maple specifications as most NBA teams use in their arenas.
What are the costs and time scales to make an NBA court?
Including shipping it costs about $120,000 to supply an NBA standard court. Taking about 3 weeks in total to produce. The NBA’s main suppliers of court floors are Horner, Robbins and Connor Sports Flooring. It is required that an NBA court is changed every 10 years, although teams can apply for year on year extensions after inspection. Some lasting as long as 20 years!
Why are NBA courts made of hard maple wood?
NBA floors are made of hard maple wood because of several factors. It is one of the hardest woods giving durability and strength, it has a tight grain giving it a distinct and neat presentation and it is light in colour. Given the NBA is as much an entertainment business as it is a Sports League the lightness in colour of the wood is very important. It allows the ball to be seen better by players, fans and officials, while reflecting more light, brightening arenas and allowing that glossy shine that can be seen on TV. For anyone players reading who have been lucky enough to walk or even play on a high end wooden floor, let alone an NBA one you’ll know how premium it feels.
Do NBA wooden floors affect performance?
The answer to this is most definitely yes. It is not just the lightness, pattern and visual design of the NBA floor that teams can control when ordering it. They can also control the way it feels to walk, jump and run on and how the ball feels bouncing on it. Each manufacturer has its own patented subflooring system they can offer to teams. These consist of everything from plywood builds to specialized cushioning systems that give the floor a different feel. The more energy the floor absorbs the less energy is returned to the player. It has been likened to running on sand, if there is to much cushioning. This can be tailored to what the organisation, maybe even star players, prefer. Some franchises opt for no cushioning options at all.
As a final flourish, NBA courts are finished with a high gloss polyurethane used to ensure the court has a controlled and even grip throughout. It is vital that these finely tuned athletes can trust the ground underneath them, so they can focus on the task at hand – getting buckets. Each floor’s coefficient of friction is between 0.5 and 0.7. Anything outside this range starts to become to sticky or to slippery.
Each manufacturer will provide extensive aftersales care for these flagship products. Horner – who supplied the NBA courts for the 2020 Orlando Bubble -even had engineers living within the Bubble to ensure each floor can be inspected and treated to ensure maximum performanc.
How Does a Basketball Court Change Into an Ice Hockey Rink?
TECHNOLOGY — Engineering
Have You Ever Wondered...
How does a basketball court change into an ice hockey rink?
How long does the ice in a hockey rink last?
How long does it take to convert a basketball court to an ice hockey rink?
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Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by lucas.lucas Wonders, “how do they change a basketball stadium to a ice rank” Thanks for WONDERing with us, lucas!
Have you ever been to Los Angeles? If you have and you're a sports fan, there's one place you may have had the chance to visit: the Staples Center. In addition to hosting concerts and all sorts of special events, the Staples Center is also home to three professional sports franchises: the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, and the Los Angeles Kings ice hockey team.
Back in May 2012, the Staples Center was an exciting place to be. All three teams made the playoffs, requiring the arena to host six playoff games in just four days. The Staples Center had to change from a Kings ice hockey rink to a Lakers basketball court to a Clippers basketball court and back over the course of less than a week.
Thanks to the modern technology that exists in today's sports arenas, the crews that man the Staples Center were able to transition between basketball courts and ice hockey rinks quickly. In fact, these transitions occur all over the country, since many cities have arenas that host both professional basketball and ice hockey teams.
If you think it sounds like a lot of work to convert an ice hockey rink to a basketball court and back again, you're right. Depending upon the technology used and the workforce available, the transition can take dozens of workers as few as 90 minutes or just a few workers an entire day to complete.
If a crew had to create a new ice hockey rink for each game, the process would be much more complicated. What many people don't realize, however, is that once an ice hockey rink is created at the start of the season, it stays in place until the season and playoffs are over.
The layer of ice on an ice hockey rink is only about an inch thick. However, it is created out of many tiny layers of ice to make sure the ice is strong and durable. It remains frozen throughout the season thanks to a calcium-chloride solution (called brinewater) that is cooled and circulated in the layer of concrete that forms the base of the ice layer.
When it's time to convert an ice hockey rink to a basketball court, the walls and glass panels around the rink are removed. Then large pieces of insulated plywood are laid out over the top of the ice. Finally the basketball court is pieced together like a puzzle on top of the plywood. The special plywood keeps the ice cool and the court warm. After the game, the process is reversed to get the arena ready for the next ice hockey game.
So when the basketball players are out there slam dunking the basketball through the hoop, the court they're running on still has the ice hockey rink beneath it. Don't worry about the basketball court sliding on the ice, though. It's heavy enough to stay in place on its own. For example, the basketball court the Denver Nuggets team plays on consists of 285 pieces that weigh 186 pounds each, which adds up to a court that weighs 26.5 tons!
The ice in an ice hockey rink is only removed when the regular season and playoffs are finished. When it's time to get rid of the ice, the brinewater is warmed and circulated under the ice to begin the melting process. Once the ice has melted sufficiently, it is then broken up and carted off by front end loaders.
Wonder What's Next?
Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day might lead to some interesting conversations in your garden!
Try It Out
Are you ready to take to the court? Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member:
Which professional basketball teams share arenas with professional hockey teams? Do your own Internet research to find out the answer! Before you get started, though, take a guess at how many teams share facilities. Start making your list by writing down all of the professional basketball and hockey teams you can think of. Then complete your research online. Were there more or fewer teams that share facilities than you thought there'd be?
Why do you think professional teams share facilities? Why don't they all just build their own arenas? Think about the economics of switching from court to rink and back. Compare those costs to the expense of building and maintaining an arena. You'll probably need to do a bit of independent research to determine some approximate costs for these things. Based upon your research, what do you conclude about the wisdom of switching from court to rink and back versus building individual arenas?
With technology constantly evolving, the means of switching between basketball courts and ice hockey rinks might change over time. Can you envision any inventions that might make the process easier in the future? Could new arenas be designed in such a way that switching between uses could be faster and easier? Let your imagination roam and write down or draw pictures of ideas you think could revolutionize these processes in the future. Share your ideas with a friend or family member. What do they think about your ideas?
Amiya for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!
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How is the arrangement of the basketball court, what equipment is needed| AVK Group
Construction of basketball courts
Every year basketball becomes more and more popular among young people, which makes it necessary to build new basketball courts. The parameters of the sites and the list of necessary equipment are strictly regulated. You can order high-quality equipment from the international company AVK Group.
Basketball courts
Indoor areas - the playing field is located indoors.
Outdoor playgrounds - the playing field is in the open air, asphalt, various materials, lawn are used as a surface.
Since basketball has several branches, the playing fields for each of them have their own characteristics.
Classic basketball courts are equipped in accordance with the requirements of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
In school gyms and sports clubs where amateur games are held, basketball backboards are installed on special mounts to save space.
Mini basketball courts are standard sizes, but the basketball hoop is mounted lower. In this case, it is advisable to install a height-adjustable basketball truss.
Playing fields for streetball are two times smaller than for classic basketball. When arranging the site, much attention is paid to the quality of the surface, since the game will be held in the open.
Basketball Court Dimensions
The playing field is a flat rectangular surface, its dimensions are regulated by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The area where official competitions will be held must have the following dimensions:
width of the basketball court - 15 m;
basketball court length - 28 m;
height - from 7 m.
According to the regulations, deviations in size by 1-2 m are allowed, but official competitions cannot be held on such playing fields. The minimum size of the field should be 26 x 14 m, the maximum - 30 x 18 m. These standards apply in all countries, including Russia.
Municipal basketball halls are not under the jurisdiction of FIBA, so the size of the playing field in schools or universities can be 12-16 m wide and 20-28 m long. The standard dimensions of mini-basketball courts are 18 x 12 m. The measurement is taken from the inner edge of the lines that limit the playing space of the field.
What equipment is needed to equip a basketball court
Floor covering.
Basic equipment: scoreboards, basketball hoops, backboards, protective protectors, arenas, etc.
Inventory storage systems: racks, tables, carts.
Referee inventory and equipment: a set of flags, referee's whistle, a bar for measuring height, a stopwatch.
Tribunes and seats.
Scoreboard and referee timing systems: video scoreboard, ball possession indicator, timekeeper button, attack time scoreboard, etc.
Auxiliary equipment for playgrounds and basketball: protective net, backboard fixing device, sweepers.
Locker room equipment: hangers, benches, lockers.
Basketballs.
How is the process of arranging the basketball court
The process consists of the following stages:
selection of the location of the object;
preparation of the base, the durability of the future playing field will depend on it;
choice of sports surface;
installation of a protective barrier, lighting system, play equipment.
AVK Group provides services for the complex equipment of facilities for elite sports. Among the facilities built by her there are a large number of sports facilities of international level. The company's specialists will perform the entire cycle of works on arranging a basketball court with the highest possible quality, taking into account the requirements of international standards. Clients will be offered favorable terms of cooperation.
Basketball Court Rules and Standards
When arranging the playing field, it is necessary to follow the regulations approved by the International Basketball Federation. To date, the following documents are used:
Mandatory requirements for sites for official competitions:
the playing field must be indoors;
the surface of the coating must be hard and flat, it is unacceptable to have cracks, bends and other defects on it;
lighting must be positioned in such a way that it does not interfere with the movement of players on the field.
What should be on the playing field
The main areas of the basketball court:
back zone - here is placed the basket and the front part of the backboard, this is the "own" half of the field;
front zone - here is placed the opponent's basket, the front part of the backboard and part of the playing area, limited by lines;
three-second (penalty) zone - looks like a trapezoid, located directly near the opponent's ring;
three-point zone is a part of the field from which 3 points are awarded for hitting the ball into the opponent's ring;
bench area - located outside the playing area, it provides 14 places for substitutes and sent-off players.
Rules for Marking
Each basketball court must be marked. All lines are applied with paint of the same color (most often white is used), they must be clearly visible from anywhere on the site. Line width - 5 cm.
Main lines:
face;
side;
central;
central circle.
The side lines form the long sides of the rectangle, while the front lines form the short sides. With their help, they allocate a playing area. The center line divides the court into two equal zones. The center circle is located in the middle of the field, its radius must be 180 cm.
The free throw line is drawn parallel to the front line, its length is limited to the penalty area. The three-point line has the shape of a semi-ellipse.
Bench area features
The bench area should be located on the same side as the scorer's table. It can be in the form of a rectangle or square, the length of the lines is from 2 m. This zone should be located at a distance of 2 m or more from the playing area. Distance to spectators and billboards - at least 1 m.
Supports and shields
Supports for structures on which baskets and billboards are attached are installed at a distance of 2 m from the front lines. They should be painted in a color that will contrast with the walls and the site itself.
Shields are made of tempered safety glass or wood. The thickness of the shields must be at least 3 cm, dimensions - 1.8 × 1.1 m. They are marked with white or black markings, the line width is 50 mm. In the center of each shield there is a rectangle measuring 590 × 450 mm.
You can order high-quality equipment for the playing hall in the AVK Group catalog https://ru.avkgroup.at/category-equipment-game-halls-basketball/.
Field covers
The playing field is regularly exposed to heavy loads, so its surface must meet the following characteristics:
resistance to external influences;
durability;
good water permeability;
uniform, no seams;
low injury risk;
quick assembly;
easy care.
The most commonly used coatings are:
rolled rubber crumb coating - mounted in a matter of hours, has a number of positive properties;
rubber flooring - ideal for outdoor basketball courts, has excellent strength characteristics and retains an attractive appearance for a long time.
You can choose a high-quality coating for the playing field here: https://ru.avkgroup.at/category-surfaces-playing-halls-basketball/. The catalog contains products of well-known world manufacturers.
Who monitors compliance with the requirements for the arrangement of basketball courts
Control over the compliance of the playing fields with the approved standards is carried out by representatives of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) and inspectors of the State Administrative Technical Supervision. If discrepancies are found, protocols on administrative offenses are drawn up.
Conclusion
The arrangement and dimensions of the basketball court are strictly regulated by the rules established by the International Basketball Federation. The creation of a playing field of any complexity can be entrusted to the international company AVK Group, whose employees have extensive experience in the complex equipment of facilities for elite sports.
Equality in sport draws attention in Finland
At the Paralympic Games, athletes with physical disabilities received relatively high attention. Athletes with mental disabilities received fewer headlines, even though there is such an international forum as Special Olympics.
In Finland, where equality is highly valued, the PuHu Juniorit basketball club created the first team in 2005 to include people with mental disabilities. Watching his cousins play, the little boy wanted to know why he couldn't play.
“And we thought, why not? ‒ says coach Pirjo Pellikka. “There was a real need for this type of team.”
It's called unified basketball (eng. unified "united", approx. transl. ), and Pirjo Pellikka became one of its champions. In unified sports, athletes with disabilities train with partner players who do not have mental retardation. According to the Finnish Association of Athletes with Disabilities, combined classes are held in basketball, sailing, volleyball, bowling, floorball (mini bandy), equestrian sports.
Classes for everyone
Players hit the ground running for unified team PuHu Juniorit Red. Photo: ThisisFINLAND website
Today, 15 basketball clubs across Finland have unified teams with almost 400 members in total. How does it work? Three athletes and two partners from each team are on the court at the same time. Partners are not allowed to actively score points, but are allowed to score from a teammate's pass.
At a recent training session for the PuHu Juniorit unified team at the club's base in Vantaa, north of Helsinki, players shared their thoughts on basketball, equality, and the importance of being part of a team.
“We are not helpers on the court,” says Lotta Aaltonen, player partner and captain of the PuHu Juniorit Red unified team. “We are team members just like everyone else.”
Lotta's basketball career spans nearly three decades. She played for different teams in the Finnish first division and represented the country in the national team.
As for unified basketball, for Lotta it was “love at first sight”. The atmosphere in the team is very positive and stimulating. “The unified team brings together people with different backgrounds,” she notes. “It expanded my perspective on both basketball and life.”
Cohesion and good mood
You can also have fun with your friends in training, the atmosphere in the team is very positive.Photo: ThisisFINLAND website
The team's second captain, Teemu Salmenaho, an athlete, is also a veteran basketball player. With nearly 15 years of experience, he is deeply committed to basketball and his team. To participate in training three times a week, he travels in each direction for almost an hour.
“I think the best thing about basketball as a hobby is a good team atmosphere and sense of humor,” says Teemu.
When asked about his best basketball memory, he answers without thinking: “The 2015 Special Olympics World Cup in Los Angeles. We played in the second division and finished fourth.
It is one of the hardest woods giving durability and strength, it has a tight grain giving it a distinct and neat presentation and it is light in colour. Given the NBA is as much an entertainment business as it is a Sports League the lightness in colour of the wood is very important. It allows the ball to be seen better by players, fans and officials, while reflecting more light, brightening arenas and allowing that glossy shine that can be seen on TV. For anyone players reading who have been lucky enough to walk or even play on a high end wooden floor, let alone an NBA one you’ll know how premium it feels.
These consist of everything from plywood builds to specialized cushioning systems that give the floor a different feel. The more energy the floor absorbs the less energy is returned to the player. It has been likened to running on sand, if there is to much cushioning. This can be tailored to what the organisation, maybe even star players, prefer. Some franchises opt for no cushioning options at all.
lucas Wonders, “how do they change a basketball stadium to a ice rank” Thanks for WONDERing with us, lucas!
In fact, these transitions occur all over the country, since many cities have arenas that host both professional basketball and ice hockey teams.
Once the ice has melted sufficiently, it is then broken up and carted off by front end loaders.
Compare those costs to the expense of building and maintaining an arena. You'll probably need to do a bit of independent research to determine some approximate costs for these things. Based upon your research, what do you conclude about the wisdom of switching from court to rink and back versus building individual arenas?
chicagotribune.com/gamechangers/
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The area where official competitions will be held must have the following dimensions: 
Among the facilities built by her there are a large number of sports facilities of international level. The company's specialists will perform the entire cycle of works on arranging a basketball court with the highest possible quality, taking into account the requirements of international standards. Clients will be offered favorable terms of cooperation. 
