Carpet Coating

[little.g.ban]

I apologize if I put this under the wrong category–this is my first post on chief delphi.

So, we have an H-drive with a spring-loaded center wheel in the bag, but are considering a swap to the “rocker” design in our withheld parts (like the one on the 148 X019 prototype). In order to test it, and have a more accurate replication of field conditions, our head coach has recently purchased a roll of the Philadelphia Commercial, Neyland III carpet (closest available equivalent to the Neyland II 20 used on the field as stated in the game manual). The rocker strafe works on other low pile carpets, but not on the Neyland III carpet we just purchased. One of our mentors speculated that the carpet may be coated before sale, and that as it is brand new, this coating may change the properties of the driving surface–manufacturer confirmed that they are coated before sale, and --his would explain our issue, as it does seem to be significantly more slick than other low-pile carpets we’ve tested on.

So here’s my questions:
Are the carpets on the field new each year?
And if they are, do they run a carpet extractor over them at each event to remove this coating?

I could find little discussion of the field carpet on chief delphi–so please redirect me if you see a post with these questions answered. Thanks!

[JamesCH95]

Carpets are generally new at each event.

[philso]

At the event I helped set up last weekend, they just unrolled the carpet, trimmed the edges off and taped the two rolls together along the centerline of the field.

[hrench]

Not good for you today, but nearly every year after the last match they give the carpets away to whomever will haul them off.

We have official carpet on our practice field. But it does have some taped holes.

[philso]

At the end of the teardown, that is what happened to the carpet.

[Brian_Sherman]

Carpets are new for regional events. Some districts use a carpet for 2 events, others use a new carpet per event.

From what I heard, the Neyland II carpet was discontinued late last year but FIRST was able to put in a last minute order for this year to keep it the same carpet style as the last few years. It’s interesting you are finding a difference. Perhaps FIRST is finding the same issue and will select an entire new vendor for next year. Only time will tell.