Specialized sports equipment and accessories including sports flooring

Yes, the legal classification and practical procurement of special sports equipment and accessories does include sports flooring - it is not an ordinary decoration building material, but a functional accessory that is as important as nets and protective gear in many professional sports scenarios.

I used to help golfers who often play with me find suitable weekend venues. When I came across a badminton hall that had just been upgraded, the boss patted the orange-gray PVC floor under his feet to show off to us. He said that more than 200,000 yuan had been invested in this batch of floors. Counting the equipment upgrade budget, he also received a venue subsidy from the Sports Bureau. We were stunned for a moment and asked, "Doesn't the floor count as decoration money?" The boss directly pulled out the local sports venue rating documents for us to see. It clearly classified special sports floors into "venue equipment accessories" and should be included in the total investment in equipment when rating.

In fact, this classification has been quite controversial, so it’s no wonder that many people are confused. Many old stores that sell offline equipment don’t recognize them. After all, they usually sell things like rackets, skipping ropes, and wrist guards that can be carried away directly. Sports floors take up space and need to be installed. Most of them are done by building materials dealers. Therefore, this group generally believes that anything fixed on the ground is considered infrastructure and not equipment accessories.

But if you look at the "Sports Event Equipment Procurement Guide" issued by the General Administration of Sports, as well as the venue standards of the International Badminton Federation and the Basketball Federation, you will find that the other school of thought is more tenable: all parameters of sports floors are for special sports. For example, the shock absorption coefficient of basketball solid wood floors should be controlled between 25% and 40% to prevent athletes from injuring their knees when taking off and landing.； The friction coefficient of badminton PVC flooring must be between 0.4-0.6. If it is too slippery, it is easy to fall, and if it is too astringent, it will sprain your feet. These requirements are completely different from the wear resistance and environmental protection indicators of ordinary home improvement floors. Not to mention that the venues for many temporary events are temporarily laid floors in convention and exhibition centers and gymnasiums, which are easier to disassemble and assemble than the ball racks fixed on the sidelines. Why are they not considered equipment accessories?

I still remember that the city held a youth badminton championship two years ago, and the organizing committee asked our association to help check the purchase list. I saw with my own eyes that the splicable PVC sports floor was directly listed in the budget under the category of "special equipment and accessories." At that time, the finance was stuck, saying that in the past, it was only for building materials, and then I checked the official purchase catalog before it was approved.

What’s interesting is that I encountered a similar thing last year when I renovated the balcony fitness area at home. The ordinary yoga mats I laid out at first always slipped during deadlifts. Later, I bought a 2cm thick rubber floor specifically for the strength area. When I received the invoice, I looked at it carefully. In the category of "Sports Equipment Accessories", the after-sales warranty is calculated based on the one-year warranty for sports equipment, not the three-to-five-year warranty standard for building materials - after all, it has to withstand barbell smashing and high-frequency friction, and the stress situation is completely different from ordinary floors.

In fact, no one insists on making classifications black and white. If you are in the building materials channel, there is no problem in classifying sports floors as functional floor materials.； If you are engaged in venue operation and event procurement, it is more compliant to include it in special sports equipment and accessories according to industry standards. The core also depends on the usage scenario: if it is laid in the corridor and is only used for walking, then it is an ordinary floor. ； If all its functions are designed to match the needs of a certain type of sport, then it is a real sports equipment accessory.

To be honest, next time you go to a stadium to play, don’t just ask if someone has a free racket to borrow. First, look down and see if the floor under your feet meets the project standards. This thing is the most easily overlooked, but it directly affects your sports status and can prevent injuries. It is more important than a convenient racket.