Banden-Flexibilität im Test

Professional ice hockey is one of the fastest and most exciting sporting events.

The occasional body check is part of the game for players and spectators alike.

That also means that some risk of injury remains unavoidable.

For some time now, it is not only the player's protective equipment that plays

a role in preventing injury, but also the boards that surround the field of play.

So-called flexible board systems are softer, and they can reduce the load of robust body checks.

 

Laboratory and reality: FlexBoardPPS keeps its promise 
Until now, laboratory tests have not taken into account influences such as the ice surface, low temperatures and the real board length. In order to investigate these influences on the behavior of our FlexBoardPPS, we have again tested the flexibility of our board in 2019 with AGU Zurich and bfu. This time in two ice arenas and under real conditions. 

Procedure and results

Using a 60 kg pendulum, the maximum deflection and the absorbed energy on impact were measured. The results of our Flexboard PPS were positive - both in the area of the paneling and in the area of the shielding made of acrylic with polycarbonate posts (standard version) or with steel posts (special development for the multi-functional arena Zurich Hallenstadion). Our FlexBoardPPS also stood up well in comparison with the results of another well-known dasher board manufacturer. 

bfu laboratory test 2017
 
On behalf of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, the bfu (Swiss Council for Accident Prevention) together with the AGU Zurich (Working Group for Accident Mechanics) had carried out a study to provide scientifically data to demonstrate the load-reducing effect of flexible dasher boards. 



Approach 
In the laboratory, pendulum and dummy crash tests were used to simulate a body check of an ice hockey player. Measured values were the absorbed energy, stiffness, effective mass and the maximum deflection of the tested board elements. The results of a conventional, non-flexible dasher board served as reference values. 

FlexBoardPPS with acrylic and safety glass shielding
 Our high-quality dasher board model FlexBoardPPS is the only board that has been tested by the bfu with both safety glass and acrylic glass. The test results of both variants were positive and confirmed the effectiveness of our Player Protection System.