Hello everyone! 4013 is wondering if anyone going to the Bayou regional has extra 2.5" pool noodles? We’ve only been able find 2" pool noodles. Also, does anyone know a place in New Orleans to get 2.5" pool noodles? (We currently only have 2.25" and need 2.5" pool noodles) Thank you so much!
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Sorry, too far away to help, but you can actually buy them on Amazon.
How many do you need? We can bring a few, but they will be orange, lol.
It was a pleasure playing with you in Huntsville, you guys play some mean defense.
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2.25" is considered nominal, pool noodles seem to get smaller every year and inspectors know about this. see your LRI if there are any issues.
We need 12 in total but we’ll take anything that you can spare.
Thank you! We can’t wait to play against you, or hopefully with you next time 
It was a blast! 
Thank you!
Yeah our robot inspector at Rocket City passed us but strongly suggested that we fixed it.
2.25" actual measurement is normal for something that is sold as 2.5" nominal. The word “nominal” can be confusing. The appropriate dictionary definition (I’m sure @marshall will have something to say about that!) is:
of, being, or relating to a designated or theoretical size that may vary from the actual
So they sell pool noodles and call them 2.5", but they never actually are that size. It’s the same way with wood - 3/4" plywood isn’t actually 3/4" thick. A 2x4 isn’t actually 2 inches by 4 inches. If you buy pool noodles and the box says 2.5", then you’re good to go - that’s the “designated or theoretical size”, even though it’s not the actual size. If you think “they’re all 2.25” anyways" and buy noodles where the box says 2.25", you’ll probably get something closer to 2" and have issues.
An experienced inspector will know just by looking at the bumpers if the noodles are normal or not. I spotted two issues this past week from behind the inspection desk when the teams put their bumpers on the scale. In one case, the team could only find 3" noodles and cut them to square using a bandsaw - square cut noodles make the bumpers look unusually crisp! In the other, the team had proper noodles, but completely assembled the bumpers before ironing on their team numbers - the noodles partially melted from the iron, removing about 1/3 of the depth!
Now, just imagine being the LRI at that event, in North Dakota, during a blizzard, and trying to find replacement noodles for those teams…
Did you buy yours off of amazon? If so, can you please send a link?
Thank you for your helpful information. This reassures us that if we don’t get the correct size pool noodle, then hopefully there will be some lenience. In the mean time we’re trying to get as close to the correct size as possible.
No, sorry, we got our from a local store in September (we have about 16 noodles in my garage ;-).
Aww, we just used the rest of our supply this season for our bumpers, but we always have bought ours from local the local Academy. There are a couple in the New Orleans Area.
Thank you so much, we didn’t think to check there and will be going there as soon as we arrive
I’m a mentor for 2183 and we will bring any spares we have
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