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LACROSSE PLAYERS VALUE PERFORMANCE
AND PORTABILITY OF Taraflex®
ATLANTA , GA , NOVEMBER 7, 2005 – Since the Onondaga Nation Arena opened in 2001 and until early 2005, indoor box lacrosse players had been toughing it out on a concrete slab. Now that’s changed and they play and practice on a regulation-size National Box Lacrosse sized field with more than 16,000 square feet of Taraflex® Sport M flooring that is portable.
Arena Athletic Director Joel Carpenter knew the facility needed sports flooring with superior shock absorption because of the speed and power of lacrosse games. Although indoor lacrosse is frequently played on artificial turf that was ruled out because of concerns about knee injuries. Another requirement was the floor had to be portable since lacrosse is played during the spring and summer then the Arena’s space transitions to an ice rink.
While attending college, Carpenter played basketball at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY and enjoyed competing on its Taraflex® court. After trying out the floor again and comparing it to other sports surfaces, he found the decision to recommend Taraflex® an easy one. The Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs approved his proposal.
“The support the Taraflex® floor gives our players is important,” says Carpenter. “We wanted an all purpose floor that felt as natural as possible and had lots of shock absorption. The players and coaches love this floor and I think it’s a great product.”
Taraflex® durability and versatility played a big role in its selection. For five months a year, the Onondaga Redhawks Lacrosse Club, a semi-pro lacrosse team and member of the Canadian American Lacrosse Association, and other players compete on the blue Taraflex® field with white regulated markings. In addition to eight hours of lacrosse practice weekdays and weekend games, the floor’s intensive spring and summer use includes basketball leagues and day camp games of kickball and long ball. According to Carpenter, up to 700 people use the field weekly.
With the arrival of winter, the portable 200-foot-by-85-foot floor will get rolled up and stored until the spring. The large size of the field required modifications of the portable Taraflex® floor. Instead of single width rolls, the installer, Advantage Sport USA of Winooski, VT, heat welded two rolls together to create 10 foot wide sections. Special equipment will be used to handle and store the rolls when the space switches to an ice rink for hockey leagues and ice skating. Advantage Sport trained the Arena staff how to lay the floor and remove it properly.
“Onondaga Nation Arena administrators wanted a portable floor with all the characteristics of a high-performance permanent surface,” says Stephane Leudet, Gerflor national sales manager. “They got the versatility and playability they need for their lacrosse teams and other athletes when they selected Taraflex.”
Lacrosse is extremely popular in the Central New York area surrounding the Nedrow, NY arena. The sport originated hundreds of years ago with the Iroquois Indians who lived throughout New York State, southern Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Different
variations of lacrosse were played across North America although the long stick game now played internationally began with the Iroquois.
The Onondaga Nation Arena, also known as Tsha’Hoñ’noñyeñ’dakhwa’, links directly to Iroquois history. The symbolism is incorporated into the 40,000-square-foot arena’s shape and design with purple and white, the colors of wampum belts that honor important events, treaties and laws. The web site is www.wheretheyplaygames.com.
Taraflex® Sports Flooring by Gerflor continues to gain recognition internationally in 2005. The ATP and Gerflor agreed to a three-year partnership which designates Taraflex® as the “Official ATP Court Surface.” The ATP also selected Taraflex® as the court surface for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, China from 2005 through 2007. As of January 1, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Gerflor agreed Taraflex® will be used for every FIVB-sanctioned competition and event world-wide for four years. This year Fitness Management magazine announced its readers selected Taraflex® as the recipient of the second annual NOVA 7 Award as the best flooring/surfacing supplier for 2004.
All Taraflex® synthetic floors are designed for safety and comfort. Their multi-layered construction includes 100% pure vinyl, a reinforced fiberglass grid and closed-cell foam backing to provide shock absorption, help fight fatigue and deliver consistent ball bounce. Product treatments ensure easy maintenance, stain resistance and prevention of mold and bacteria growth. Taraflex® floors meet and exceed the stringent performance standards mandated by all major flooring associations. Gerflor Sports Flooring, LLC is the exclusive agent for Gerflor Sports Flooring.
For more information, call 800-727-7505.