Posts Tagged ‘Definition’

Artificial Sports Pitches: Giving sports a new definition

The numerous advances made in the field of science and technology have touched every aspect of our lives, including sports. Today, grass sports pitches are passe, thanks to artificial sports pitches. Such surfaces are ideal for many sports such as football, hockey, tennis, netball, athletics, and many more. These sports surfaces have found a prominent place in Multi Use Games Areas where a variety of sports can be played.

The credit for the invention of artificial turf goes to David Chaney, the dean of the North Carolina State University College of Textiles. He, along with a team of researchers, created the first artificial turf in early 1960s. However, artificial turf began to gain popularity from 1965, when Astro Turf was installed in the newly built Astrodome in Houston, Texas. By 1970s, these artificial sports pitches could be found in many of the indoor and outdoor stadiums, used for playing baseball and grid iron football, in the USA and Canada.    

An artificial sports turf is a man-made sports surface made from synthetic materials like polypropylene or polyethylene. The most common type of artificial turf uses grass-like fibres made from polypropylene, which are then lubricated with silicone. These synthetic fibres are then tufted into a primary cloth, and latex is applied to its back for providing stability. The artificial turf, thus created, is then in-filled with a layer of sand and rubber granules. This layer helps to keep the fibres upright and provide the right level of shock absorbency.   

Another popular type of artificial grass is the ‘Third Generation’ artificial grass. The artificial grass fibres, in this case, are made of a softer material, known as polyethylene. The lubricated polyethylene fibres are shorter and more densely packed. Another feature of such an artificial pitch is an expanded polyethylene base, which serves as an effective “cushion” to prevent injury to players. There is no doubt why this foamy material was originally used as a shock absorber in cars. These modern artificial sports pitches also feature spring-like fibres in between the main in-filled fibres to keep the latter upright.   

An artificial sports surface offers many advantages. For instance, it can be used all year round and also requires minimal maintenance. The shock pad just beneath the top layer of artificial grass offers protection to players whilst sliding and falling on the surface.  Furthermore, it is easy to alter the playing characteristics of such a surface by varying the length and the density of the synthetic fibres.  It is therefore possible to design a sports surface specifically suited to particular sports including athletics.

Definition of a Sports Car

A simple definition of a sports car is “a small low car with a high-powered engine, and generally seats two people”. This is more or less a “textbook” definition but gives us an idea of what the public perceives to be a sports car.

The Houghton Mifflin dictionary defines a sports car as: “An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.” This dictionary definition does not seem to capture the general perception of what the public sees as a sports car.

The Houghton Mifflin definition of the “two seat rule” seems out-of-date. Many sports cars today offer small back seats (sometimes referred to as 2+2 seating) and there is a current movement underway to increase the seating room in models long considered sports cars by most automotive experts.

Insurance companies use their own formula in classifying automobiles and often the presence of two doors automatically makes any car a “sports car” in their eyes. This perspective, of course, is as overly simplistic as the standard dictionary approach to defining a sports car. One can certainly think of any number of two door vehicles that fall far short of being an actual sports car. Economy cars and even larger two-door vehicles that are not built with power and performance in mind should not qualify as true sports cars.

Some car buffs will refer to high-performance muscle cars and other larger vehicles as sports cars. Others, however, draw a distinction between these vehicles and “true” sports cars. These individuals will claim that a car can be a “sporting car” or simply “sporty” but still fall short of being a true sports car. Thus, “regular” cars may be outfitted with a “sports package” and/or accessories to make the car sportier, but may not fit a strict definition of a sports car.

Not all automotive enthusiasts, however, embrace this restrictive view of sports cars. In many circles, a sports car is any car offering greater performance or power than more standard offerings. This school of thought will consider muscle cars and other larger vehicles designed with performance in mind as sports cars.

Others will maintain that the distinction between a sports car and any other type of car lies in how the car’s suspension and handling are addressed. Technical debates rage over whether various suspension packages qualify as belonging to true “sports cars.”

Some will argue that a sports car can be defined by its intentions. If the car is designed for performance more so than for utility, they say, it is a sports car. This intent-based definition, however, provides little guidance in determining whether a car is a sports car or not. Particularly in the modern era, the notion of designing a car of any sort without significant consideration of its feasibility and utility seems unlikely. Any commercially viable vehicle, regardless of its performance, must retain significant utility.

Road and Track, a leading automotive publication, summarizes the sports card definition debate with a simple observation: “Ask five people the exact definition of a sports car, and you’ll likely get five different answers.”

There is no clear-cut definition of what really is a sports car. The restrictive definitions of the past seem ill suited to categorize today’s’ diverse automotive offerings and common usage of the term runs contrary to most long-held definitions.

There is, however, a common thought that seems to run through almost all of the outlooks on the meaning of “sports car.” If a car is designed with high performance or race-like capabilities in mind, it can probably be safely termed a sports car. Some purists may balk at such a liberal perspective, but alternative definitions fall far short of accurately distinguishing sports cars form regular production models.