SPORTECH

MAYUR BASUK and DINESH

MAREWAD

Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products

used primarily for their technical performance and functional

properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics.

Technical textiles ?

These all are Technical Textile products we are talking about…….

Interlinings

Tire Cords

Fire Retardant Fabrics

Defense

Clothing

High Altitude Clothing

Automotive Fabrics

InterliningsShoe Soles

Medical textiles

Technical Textiles-Global Scenario

Total US$ 127 bn

Packtech36%

Clothtech17%

Hometech12%

Mobiltech8%

Sportech7%

Indutech6%

Buildtech4%

Medtech4%

Protech3%

Agrotech1%

Geotech1% Okeotech

1%

Technical Textiles - Indian Scenario

Total US$ 12 bn

Why Sportech ?

Over the last 15 years there has been a huge increase in participation in active

sports all over the world.

Increase in the participation in sports activity is accompanied by the

development of appropriate of sports wear tailored to meet different

requirement of different sports.

It is predicted that expenditure on sports will grow with a CAGR of 8.9%,

from US$ 1 billion in 2005 to US$ 6 billion in 2025.

In the global scenario, Mobiltech, Indutech and Sportech are

predominant segments which collectively constitute about 56% of total

global consumption of technical textiles.

Meditech, Sportech , Geotech and Oekotech are smaller size but wiil be the

fastest growing segments, over next 3 years. (CRISIL Report Jan 2012)

What is SPORTECH ?

Special clothing and sports equipment to enhance protection, comfort and

performance. Sportech comprises of technical textiles used in sports and

leisure.

It helps to keep optimum heat and moisture regulation of the sports

person.

It offers good air and water vapour permeability.

It should ensure absence of dampness

Rapid drying to prevent catching cold

It should be durable, easy care, light weight, soft and pleasant touch.

Sportech is extensively used for most popular sports – Soccer, Cricket,

Hockey, Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Basket ball,

Rugby, Swimming, Ice Hockey, Yachting, Rafting, Motor Races, etc.

7

Sportech is a branch of technical textiles which are used in sports and

leisure such as shoes, sports equipment, flying and sailing sports,

climbing, angling, cycling, winter and summer sports & indoor sports.

Requirements

Comfort

Smart Functionality

Light Weight

Safety Features

What is SPORTECH ?

CLASSIFICATION OF SPORTECH

These are the active sport Items for specific sport like

inflatable balls for volley ball,football and rugby, hockey

sticks, golf club, etc.

Sports Goods

These are the apparels which have performance

enhancement such asmoisture management,

comfort, anti-bacterial, etc.Eg: Sportswear- Sports shirts,

athletic wear, sport shoes, exercise wear, sport jersey,

gloves, etc.

Sportswear

The sport accessories comprise of nets, turfs, rings, etc which provide

requisite playingconditions.

Sport Accessories

SPORTECH MARKET

Source - Baseline survey report of ICRA Management Consultancy Services Ltd

• The technical textiles usage in the

Sportech segment was of Rs 2,632 crore in

2007-08

• Sportech market for 2012-13 is estimated

at Rs. 4,358 crore

Value-wise share of various products in

Indian Sportech market

SPORTSWEAR

• Comfort in terms of light weight, form fitting, thermal regulation, moisture management.

• Skin friendly

• Strength and durability

• Easy to handle and maintain

• Specific demands of summer & winter clothing

• Design specific to gender (feminine), age (young athelete)

• In specific cases demands from specific sports may include attributes such as anti-static, anti-microbial, UV resistance, FR resistance, water/stain resistance, cut resistance, etc

• Cultural aspects

• Sustainability and ethical demands

KEY ASPECTS OF SPORTSWEAR

Sportswear Required function

Shirts for tennis, volley ball, golf (+

slacks), football, rugby, baseball uniform,

athletic (+short) track suits

Sweat absorbing, fast drying, cooling

Skiwear, windbreaker, rain wear Vapour permeability, water proofing

Skiwear, windbreakers, track suits Sunlight absorbing and thermal retention

Skating costume, ski jump and downhill

skiing suits, cycling costume

Low fluid resistance (for water and air)

Swimwear, leotards, skating costume Stretchability, opacity

Skiwear, snowboard wear, base ball

uniform, football uniform

High tenacity, resistance to abrasion

ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES

Comfort-priorities of a sportsman

Ergonomic comfort– Fit to body

– Freedom of movement

The key requirement to be met is prevent loss of performance of an athlete

Thermo-physiological comfort– thermal regulation

- Sweat/moisture management• Liquid

• Vapour

Sensorial comfort- feel- smoothness, softness

- clinginess

Psychological comfort– like colour, odour, fashion etc

Bending elbow or knee, skin stretchs by 50%, in active sports higher

Fabric requirement

– 15 to 30%, Comfort stretch

– 35 to 60%, Power stretch

Traditionally Lycra/Spandex incorporation by 2% to 30%

New possibilities

– Bicomponent fibres/yarns

– Newer polyesters like PTT

Ergonomic-Comfort

Special Fibers

• Hygra – sheath-core type (water absorbing polymer and nylon)

• Lumiac - polyester filaments (0.5 - 2.0 denier per filament) with irregular cross sections

• Dryarn - polypropylene microfibre

• Killat - nylon hollow filament

• Roica and Leofeel N - polyether type spandex and nylon66

• Protection against cold (- 18 oC)/hot climate(40 oC)

• From cold

– Best insulator is still air

– Cloths are designed in multi layers to trap maximum air

Thermal comfort

Wasim Akram as a commentator said, during India-England Test series 2011, that when fast bowler from subcontinent try to bowl long spells in test series in England, suddenly back pain starts, that’s why the warm jacket is very much important in cold countries like England.

FAST BOWLERS PAIN IN CRICKET

• From windy, rainy conditions

– Water proof breathable

– Microporous coatings

(Gore-tex)

• Multi layered clothing

• UV resistance

Barrier comfort

Protection

• To prevent or reduce the severity of the injury

• Studies on variety of sports show impact ismajor cause of injury. Abrasion, tear & cutresistance are also important,

• Use of high performance fibres likeKevlar/UHMPE/Carbon/Vectran.

• Major concern is to keep low effect on comfort properties

• Cotton: Swimsuits made entirely from cotton arebecoming popular. While cotton swimsuits arefashionable, they do not always provide the bestfit or the greatest overall longevity in a swimsuit.

• Spandex/Lycra: Most swimsuits contain somepercentage of spandex or Lycra in their fabric.These fabrics provide the stretchy fit that allows aswimsuit to stay in place on the body.

• Velvet: Swimsuits made from velvet and othertypes of crushed fabrics have become morepopular in recent years. A velvet swimsuit isdefinitely nice to look at and to touch, but it is notbest for either swimsuit fit or longevity. Whenwet, velvet has a tendency to soak up water, andcan become quite heavy and sodden.

Swimwear - Raw Materials

Shark skin profiled swim suits will be developed in coming years which will reduce the turbulence of water around the suit and will help in increasing speed e.g. Speedo

Professional swimmers

SPORTS ACCESSORIES

• Efficient and durable sporting items providing designated playing conditions for the targeted sports, viz. Artificial turfs, Sport nets, rings etc.

SPORTS ACCESSORIES

• Manufactured from synthetic fibres, and made to look and perform like a natural grass surface

• It was named as ChemGrass and as it was first installed in 1966 at the indoor baseball stadium, the Houston Astrodome in Texas, US

ARTIFICAL TURF

Manufacturing Technology

INSTALLATION

Benefits

• It doesn’t need water, fertilizer, or mowing

• It holds up to wear and tear far better than natural grass.

• Many are dog durable and gopher proof (there are no roots to eat)

• Doesn’t attract bugs and pests

• Use for Used Tires as a infill material

• Less maintenance

Risks

• It tends to get hotter than natural grass in the mid-day sun

• The production and transportation of artificial turf releases more greenhouse gases than the maintenance of natural turf

• It will need to get replaced and disposed of in a landfill since most types cannot be recycled

• Toxic Exposures on Fields

Benefits & Risks

Knotted TwistedKnotted Braided

Raschel Knotless

Twisted knotless

Ultra cross

DIFFERENT TYPES OF NETS

Product features

TwineSize (mm)

Color Mesh opening size

Dimensions Side & Bottom

Material ofconstruction

Product features

Badminton nets

0.75 Black 20mm 24 x 2.5 ft Black PVC tape (width 20 mm + 20 mm)

HDPE, P.P.,Cotton & Nylon

Badminton nets

Tennis Nets 3.5 - 45mm 42 x 4 Ft Black vinyl coated fabric (width =63mm + 63mm)

HDPE , UVheated-Machineknotted

Tennis Nets

Volley Ball Nets

3 to 4 - 100 mm 9.5 x 1 Mtr PVC coated fabric

HDPE, P.P.,Nylon

Volley Ball Nets

Soccer Goal Nets

7 to 10 - 5 inch 24 x 8 x 6ft - HDPE, P.P.,Nylon

Soccer Goal Nets

Handball Nets

- - 4 inch 2 x 3 x 1 mtr - HDPE & P.P. Handball Nets

Cricket nets - - 2 to 3 inches 100 x 10ft,100 x 12ft,100 x 15ft

- HDPE & P.P. Cricket nets

http://www.technicaltextile.net/sport-textiles/sports-nets/supplier.aspx

The sports nets have an average GSM of 400 and typically cost Rs 250 per square meter

NET SPECIFICATION

• Dimond Mesh and Squre Mesh

• Dimensional stability is important

- Heat stabilized nettings

• Aesthetic is very important

• Antifungal property is often asked

• Color fastness

• Resistance to UV

• Indore nets – F. R. is important

GENERAL DEMANDS

• Outer fabric: These are almost exclusively synthetic materials which are windproof and usually have a water-repellent coating

• Inner fabric: Synthetic fabrics (especially Nylon) are used predominantly

• Filling: Weight and pack size, for a given amount of warmth, are two of the key considerations when choosing a filling. The fillings are - Down, Kapok or Synthetics

http://gearjunkie.com/outdoor-retailer-innovation-awards-summer-2010

SLEEPING BAGS

• Tents are generally made of four different fabrics.

• Outer tent and flysheet: Fabric cover pitched over a tent to give extra protection against bad weather

• Inner tent and lining

• Valances/mud flaps

• Ground sheet: Waterproof sheet spread on the ground inside a tent

TENTS

• Cotton canvas

• Polyester/Poly cotton

• Jute

• Nylon/Ribstop nylon

• Pure cotton canvas and polyester cotton blended canvas (Polyester/cotton 30/70 or 50/50) are the most widely used material for making tents. Canvas cloths of 8-15 Oz per square yard are generally used for tents.

• The camping tents are generally made of synthetic materials as they have a higher strength to weight ratio. Nylon is a very popular material.

Raw Materials

• Waterproof

• Breathable

• Lightweight

• Strength

• UV protection

• Rot proof, Persistence &

Decolorize Resistance

• Flame retardant

• Durable

IDEAL TENT PROPERTIES

• The demand from the Defence, Para militaryforces and other government agencies likeGeological Survey of India, Railways etcaccount for majority of the demand both involume and value terms.

• Various types of tents are required by thegovernment agencies for housing of defensepersonnel, stores, temporary hospitals etc.

SCOPE IN NEW APPLICATIONS

SPORTS GOODS

• Indian Sports Goods industry is more than a hundred years old.

• India is among the largest sports goods manufacturers in Asia after

China and Japan.

• India is one of the largest producers of footballs and other

inflatable balls.

• Indian hand stitched inflatable balls are preferred due to better

bounce than Chinese machine-stitched balls.

• Exported to United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany,

France and Australia.

• Highly labour intensive

• The unique and high-skill oriented processes helped industry to

survive.

• Global brands such as Reebok, Adidas, Puma, Wilson and Yonex

are sourcing their products from India.

SPORTS GOODS

Categories Products

Inflatable BallsCricket Balls, Training Balls, Volley Balls, Mini Balls, Hand Balls, Basket Balls, Rugby

Balls, Foot ball, Hockey Ball etc.

Exercise

equipment

Exercise and Gymnastic equipments, Health & Fitness equipments, Club equipment,

Playground equipments

Footwear Sports shoes, Boxing boots

Outdoor games

equipments

Flying Discs, Wickets and Bases, Sticks, Bats and Clubs, Badminton, Tennis & Squash

Rackets Cricket equipment, Hockey equipment, Lawn Tennis equipment, Children’s

playing Shuttle cocks, Rolling skates

Indoor games

equipments

Table Tennis equipment, Weight lifting equipment, Carom boards, Chess boards ,

Marbals, Snake & Ladder, Ludo

Protective

Equipments

Leg guards, Head guard, Chest guard, Shin Guard, Helmets, Protective equipment Arm

Boxing gloves, Hand gloves Soccer

Vehicles Bicycles, racing bikes & racing motor cars

Others Metal Trophies and medals Shirts, trousers, track suits, Ties, bags and badges, Inflating

Pumps/ Needles

Different Sports Goods & Equipments

Cluster Major Product Categories

Jalandhar Inflatable ball ( Soccer/Rugby/Volley/Net/Hand & Basket ball) in PU & PVC, Boxing Equipment,Cricket Equipment , Sports ware, Track and Field Equipments, Sports Training equipment,Hockey Equipment, Hockey Foam Moulded Goalie Range & Ship guards, All kinds of Nettings

Meerut Weight Lifting Equipment ,Cricket Equipments, Athletics Equipments,Boxing Equipments, Table Tennis, Badminton, Carrom board, ,Fitness and Exercise equipment,Lane Markers, Basket ball, Netball rings, TT accessories, Sports Apparel

J & K Cricket Bats

Delhi Football Carrom Board, Chess Cricket Equipment, Billiards/Snooker/Pool Tables Accessories,Football Bladders, Boxing equipment, Punching Sports, Helmets Educational, Puzzles BoardGames

Gurgaon Golf Equipment, Board Games

Mumbai Water Park Slides, Carrom Board, Fitness Equipment Sports Nets, Helmets,

Kolkata Skipping rope, Carrom Board, Magic tricks & magic apparatus,

Chennai Tennis Balls, Sports Shoes and Apparels

Bangalore Bowling Equipments Sports Medals & Trophies, Gym & Health Equipments

Different Sports Goods & Equipments

Product Brands

Sports apparel Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Puma and Nivia Sports.

Sports footwear & shoes Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma, Lotto Sports and Ace

Sports goods Reebok, Yonex, Cosco, Adidas, Nike, Wilson, Puma, BDM, TSS,

Dunlop Sports and Jonex Sports

Fitness goods Aerofit

Distribution of Sports Goods Manufacturing Units

TEXTILE MATERIAL USED IN SPORTS GOODS

MANUFACTURING

Sport Goods Composite materials

• Consist of Boxing Gloves, Boxing PunchingGloves, Boxing Head Guards, Boxing PunchingPads, Abdominal Guard, Speed Ball, PunchingBag etc.

Boxing Equipments

BOXING EQUIPMENTS ARE MADE OF

• PU laminated / PVC coated fabrics,

woven polyester fabric / Nylon fabric.

• PU/PVC coated fabrics are the most

commonly used fabrics.

Helmets

• A PVC thermoforming 0.5 mm thick, the edge of which are taped to the foam material which is polystyrene & PU.

Cricket Gloves

• Batting gloves are made of PU

laminated fabric.

• Wicket keeping gloves are made

of PVC coated fabric as they are

subject to more wear and tear.

Protective Equipments

Stiff bounce from fast bowler

• Cricket is now more safer game than, it was in 80s or before

• But still Stiff bounce from fast bowler, when touch the gloves, sometimes results in fracture of fingers

• This can be improved

Leg injury in foot-ball

• This is a very common injury that footballers face, light weight and strong pads having high impact strength can be developed

• Tennis rackets have evolved from wooden and metalframes (the latter were introduced in the late 1960s)to the modern ones, which are made of monolithicmetals, metal–matrix composites & carbon fibrereinforced composites.

Tennis Racket

• Consist of football, volleyball, basketball, handballetc.

• Footballs have varying sizes i.e. Size-3, Size-4 andSize-5.

• Circumference & weight of the Official football ispredefined.

• Manufacturing technique

Inflatable Balls

Raw Materials

• PVC and PU fabrics are the most widely usedmaterial for sport shoes and are also known asartificial leather.

• PU fabrics have the advantage of higherbreathability over PVC fabrics

SPORTS FOOTWEAR

• Shoe uppers made of PU/PVC coated/Laminated fabrics

• Linings on the counters and below the shoe uppers

• Others including non woven insoles, laces, tapes, labels,

elastics, sandwiched meshes, etc

• The shoe uppers and linings account for 90-95 % of the

technical textile components.

Manufacturing

Sports shoes are made of three layer

• Upper layer made of woven nylon, PET & leather

• Middle layer of foam

• Inner layer of warp knit fabric or woven.

The Product Designs

TECHNOLOGY USED FOR MAKING SPORT SHOES COMPONENTS

S.No. Technology used Purpose

1. Weaving For upper layer

2. Warp Knitting As Inner layer

3. Braiding For Shoe laces

FUTURE SPORTS GOODS

• Consumer satisfaction, aesthetics and pleasure in use.

• Consumer safety.

• Diversity of different sports and age groups.

• Environment: extremes of temperature, rain, snow, ultraviolet

• Life time.

• Short development lead-times.

A smart soccer ball that allows exact position tracking during play.

Sporting equipment has been developed withtechnology features attached, like MP3/ipod sportsshoes, the ‘iGallop’ and mini stepper.

FUTURE SPORTS GOODS

GPS Sport Watch for Smart Runners

CARBON-FIBER LEGS

Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas Paralympics: Pistorius wins final track gold of Games

FUTURE SPORTS GOODS

• A large untapped potential in sportech segment exists in

India.

• India should now prepare technologically as well as investment

wise, to take up challenges with emphasis on areas like product

development through R&D, quality testing, human resource

development, etc.

• India, the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power

& has huge potential for sports textiles.

• With Indian population over 1 billion and its emerging economy

with growing health and fitness awareness the demand for sports

textiles will only increase and market is bound to grow.

CONCLUSION