Architects

It is a common assumption that a well-designed sports floor will suit the needs of dancers, but this is not the case. Sprung floors for sport are tested for adequate ball bounce and athletes require a high degree of energy return or ‘spring’. Dancers have little interest in ball bounce and require a combination of shock absorption and energy return. For a dancer, the quality and consistency of both the sprung floor and dance surface is critical. Every dance step or jump on an unyielding surface wears down the resilience of the body and increases the risk of injury and the prospect of long-term damage.

A sprung floor is designed to offer cushioning and impact reduction when landing after jumps or similar movements. Lower limb problems such as tendonitis, ‘shin splints’, knee pain and ankle strain can all be attributed to incorrectly specified sprung floors. Such injuries can have a significant bearing on the longevity of a performer’s career.

Floors developed for general industrial, commercial or sports applications do not offer the benefits that dancers appreciate when they talk about the ‘feel’ of the floor. Only floors developed for dance do that.

Medical research into dance injuries supports the benefits a suitably designed sprung floor contributes towards reducing the type of injuries associated with dancing on hard, unyielding floors. The degree of spring is also critical, sufficient to absorb the impact of dancers landing from jumps, but not bouncy like a trampoline and localised so that the landing does not affect other dancers nearby.

Currently, no standards exist which relate specifically to dance floors. Harlequin floors are fully tested in accordance with European Standard for surfaces for indoor facilities for multi-sports use, EN 14904:2006 by the Centre for Sports Technology Ltd in London. We deem this an adequate measure for sprung floors, but inadequate with regards to slip resistance of performance surfaces.

The European Standard EN 14904:2006 requires tests for shock absorption, vertical deformation, area deflection and behaviour under rolling load.

Force Reduction (shock absorption)
The ‘Force Reduction’ test measures the degree by which the floor reduces the impact force which occurs when an athlete, or dancer, lands on it. The test is carried out on a concrete floor as well as on the floor under test and the result quoted is the amount by which the force measured on the test floor is lower than the force measured on concrete.

Vertical Deflection
In the ‘Vertical Deflection’ test, the amount by which the floor deflects under impact load is measured directly.

Area Deflection
Area Deflection is measured using a modification of the vertical deflection apparatus. The purpose of the test is to ensure that one athlete or dancer standing on the floor will not be excessively disturbed by the movements of another nearby.

Resistance to a Rolling Load
The ‘Rolling Load Resistance’ test is carried out on two structurally critical areas of the floor. A steel wheel whose width, diameter and corner radii are defined, is loaded to 1500 N and is rolled repeatedly over the surface of each area. After 300 passes, the floor is examined for damage.

The European Standard also tests for vertical ball behaviour (‘ball bounce’) which is irrelevant in a dance floor, and ‘Friction’ which we deem an inadequate measure of the slip-resistance required in a dance surface.

The results of all tests on Harlequin floors can be found in the Specification Sheets for each product.