“We’re the first in the state to have this,” Rick Neal, school superintendent, said of the new state-of-the art track surface at the new Blackhawk Stadium.
“We went to a school in Lafayette, La., to look at one.”
“We visited quite a few facilities and the facility that we visited in Lafayette, La., blew us away. The field itself was the best I had ever seen but the GeoTrax there was unbelievable. The samples, the sales pitch, none of that matters until you see the GeoSurfaces products in person. The functionality of the surface and the way it transitions to the football field gives the district and incredible amount of fl exibility to run multiple activities that an ordinary asphalt based track just cannot give to you.” Neal said.
Athletic director Tony Travis said the track is better for athletes and he’s excited about the benefi ts.
Once the stadium and track are complete and the construction company turns it over to the school district, community residents will be allowed to walk on the track, which will be open 24 hours a day. There will be a “squeeze gate” installed, Neal said, preventing bicycles and strollers on the track. The wheels are not good for the track.
Neal, a former coach, said the transition between the football field and track is much safer for athletes, both football and track.
He said it avoids the curb that is often present on high school tracks. “When I was at Berryville, a boy came o◊there and tore his ACL,” Neal said of running over the curb between thefield and the track.
The surface is from GeoSurfaces in Baton Rouge, La.
“The GeoTrax running track surface is one of the fastest, most durable and safest running track surfaces ever developed,” said Charles Dawson with Geo-Surfaces. It has been installed in IMG Academies in Florida which hosts training and speed sessions for the NFL. It is used by coach Loren Seagraves to train hurdlers, including two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Angelo Taylor.
According to Geo-Surfaces, thenew surface eliminates asphalt and concrete surfacing which reduces the inherent risk associated with such unforgiving surfaces. The surface is said to be forgiving, non-abrasive, low slide resistance and results in fewer leg injuries including shin splints and other joint related soreness.
It avoids trip hazards prevalent on most field to track transitions.
Doyle Management Group of Marietta, Ga., installed the Geo-Trax running track surface and said it is extremely fast with a short response time. The management group represents/trainsnine 2008 Olympic medalists and multiple other Olympic athletes and World Champions.
“We selected the GeoTrax running track surface to be installed in our indoor training facility in 2010 and I have to tell you we cannot be happier with the performance we have witnessed,” Paul Doyle, founder of Doyle Management Group, wrote to Travis.
“The surface is extremely fast with a short response time the sprinters love yet is more forgiving than most short response surfaces. We have had no casesof shin splints or hip, ankle or foot discomfort that is all too common on typical short response surfaces. We have participated on just about every type of surface in the IAAF and other organizations throughout the great venues in the world and we are as pleased with the GeoTrax surface as any we have participated on,” Doyle wrote.
The new $2.5 million dollar athletic facility built on the campus of the high school includes a GeoSurfaces football fi eld as well as a GeoTrax running track surface.
Sports, Pages 7 on 08/14/2013