Thinking of using floor tape on your gymnasium floor? Maybe you should think twice.

Thinking of using floor tape on your gymnasium floor? Maybe you should think twice.
On average, the price to refinish a gymnasium floor costs $3.00 per square foot, which equates to roughly $15,000. According to the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA – www.mfma.org), performers, coaches, trainers, owners and architects who design sports floors cite maple as their preferred sports surface. It accounts for up to 70 percent of the sports floors installed in the U.S. The most preferred variety, northern hard maple represents 58 percent of all U.S. sports floors, this totals more than 17 million square feet installed each year.

Ironically, the most widely used Physical Education, coaching, and teaching aid product is also one of the major causes of costly damage to the gym floor. Aside from cones and rubber bases, gym floor tape has been used by frustrated teachers and coaches in an attempt to educate and instruct movement. This only angers facility custodial staff, gymnasium flooring contractors, and gym floor coating manufacturers due to the expensive damage it causes to the finish of the floor.

“No type of tape is good for use on gym floors!” This is the typical response from gymnasium flooring contractors. The MFMA is the leading authority for safety standards, regulations, and guidelines for gymnasium floors. They have released a position statement advising against the use of floor tape. This is due to the cost of repairs and potential safety concerns that can occur if the flooring finish has been damaged. To view the MFMA position statement click here: https://www.maplefloor.org/TechnicalInfo/Position-Statements/Tape-on-a-Maple-Floor.aspx

In addition to costly damage to the floors’ finish, floor tape is cumbersome to use and remove, lacks creativity in application, and, most importantly can cause serious safety concerns for those using the floors. If the tape has peeled up or has a different surface friction than the floor, this can lead to slipping or tripping hazards. The MFMAs requirement for an approved floor finish has a coefficient of friction value between .5 to .7 for classifying a walking surface as slip resistant. This guideline is not only the requirement of an MFMA approved floor finish, but also for any coating that is applied to the finish itself. Manufacturers of coatings, tapes or surfaces that are used on gymnasium floors should have products tested by a third party independent laboratory. Testing these products will ensure surface friction (ASTM D2047*) of their products meets the MFMA guidelines of .5 to .7.

Don Juron, a high school and collegiate basketball coach and the Director of The Greg Koubek Basketball Camp, knows the dangers of floor tape all too well. “I tore my ACL playing in a men’s league when my shoe caught a piece of loose gym floor tape; it ended my basketball career,” says Juron.

This awareness of unsafe and inefficient teaching tools has led educators and coaches, like Don, to look for alternatives to floor tape. They want something that can offer temporary floor marking options, but will not damage floors or cause safety concerns. Some have tried using white shoe polish and children’s tempra paint.

They have found it not only to be messy, but time consuming and ineffective in creating durable long lasting lines that can stand up to heavy foot traffic. In addition, these products have not been tested for safety.

Recognizing the importance of solving this problem faced by many educators, coaches, dance instructors, etc., FloormarX®, LLC has developed a two part temporary floormarking system that has been a complete game changer.

FloormarX® Temporary Floormarking System consists of a large bodied, wide tipped magic marker and a durable cleaning wipe, that is safe for your wood floor’s seal and for people to move on after using. Both are specially formulated to be applied and removed on well-sealed hardwood floors and other non-porous surfaces. The FloormarX® system has been tested to ASTM D2047 by independent third-party testing laboratories, and is proven to maintain the MFMA’s recommended surface friction with the marker on the floor, and after cleaning the area with the wipes. It has also been tested and reviewed by a leading floor sealing manufacturer, and has shown that neither the markers or cleaning wipes damage the surface of the floor for future coatings.

“Since working on my Master’s degree in Education from the University of South Carolina in 1997, I have been thinking about a solution for a safer, smarter, and easier way to utilize the gym floor as a teaching tool” Says Mitch Snyder, Founder of FloormarX®, LLC. “It is my hope that through FloormarX®, we can contribute a valuable tool that teachers, coaches and instructors can use to enhance their teaching capabilities and improve the learning experience for our students and athletes.” FloormarX® is dedicated to making the instruction of healthy movement on floors safer and easier for everyone. To learn more about the FloormarX® Temporary Floor-marking System, please visit www.floormarx.com or e-mail Mitch Snyder at mitch@floormarx.com.

*ASTM D2047 – American Society of Tested Materials