The ISSS is an association of experts who are involved in investigations of and with sports surfaces. Members are individuals as well as bodies like scientific institutes, testing laboratories, sports federations and public authorities. All members are independent of installing companies, their suppliers and any other cooperating company, but expers of the companies are invited to support the discussions of the working groups of ISSS as participants.

The ISSS was founded in 1985 and is a registered association according to Swiss law in Zurich, Switzerland. It has an executive board of three people - at present Mr. Cay Hegerman (chairman) of the Norwegian Building Research Institute (Norway), Mr. Hans Jorg Kolitzus (treasurer) of the Institut fur Sportbodentechnik (Switzerland) and Mr. Vic Watson (secretary) of the Centre for Sports Technology (England). In order to keep independance and openness of economic affairs, the ISSS Trust Fund (TSSS) has been founded. The TSSS is controlled by three internationally respected personalities: Mr. Werner Krems (Austria), Mr. Martin Henriksen (Norway) and Mr. Rudolf Meuli (Switzeland).

WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE ISSS?

Sports surfaces comprise all surface constructions and layers, on which the different sports are performed (from athletics to sports games to gymnastics).

- sports function - protection function - technical function - environmental function.

The scientists and engineers working in the field of sports surfaces have in the past worked in isolation. Thus the importance of research in some countries has been underestimated and is therefore supported insufficiently.

Where ISSS intends to initiate the missing coordination of activities of different disciplines and countries, the ISSS sees itself as a forum of discussion and information between sports technics, testing, sports medicine, biomechanics and building owners.

By international communication, this means the exchange of research results, together with a stimulation of scientific research activities. If this can be achieved, unnecessary duplicate investigations will be avoided, and testing methods and requirements will be harmonized.

The ISSS assumes that national originality in the field of sports surface research has to be accepted. But the people involved therein have a general responsibility in respect of the improvement of knowledge and the avoidance of misinstallations and misinvestigations. They should also care for good communication with colleagues all over the world and take their results into consideration.

Where these references are available, decisions of sports unions and public authorities can be made objectively. Commercial and administrative aspects will no longer be an impediment.

HOW DOES THE ISSS WORK?

COMPETENCE

In the ISSS engineers and scientists are brought together, who are authorities on sports surface sciences in their countries. In addition there are experts from sports unions and from planning and administrative organizations as associated members. These members support and complement the work of the ISSS by their practical tasks set.

WORKING GROUPS

The objectives of the ISSS are prepared in small working groups consisting of about 3-5 members with special interest and competence on the topics in question. The result of this work is then discussed in technical meetings which are arranged at least once a year. Here all members can participate, as well as interested guests.

NEWSLETTER

As a preparation for the discussion of the working groups and as an intemal and external means of information the ISSS Newsletter is published. Here single subjects are treated by different

In addition, publication in the form of Newsletters will contribute to better information transfer to those people who are not familiar with sports surfaces sciences.

The Newsletters are published and sent out by the executive board of the ISSS. The mailing list will be up-dated continously.

PRECISION OF TEST METHODS

A rather important activity of the ISSS will be to find out the precision of test procedures and improve them. Here some steps have been taken already. This is to be continued systematically. It is hoped that test methods can be agreed which give comparable results when run in different laboratories all over the world.

The task described above will require that samples of identified sports surfaces are exchanged and investigated in different laboratories under comparable conditions. The precision of test methods will be evaluated on the basis of statistical analyses of the results.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER GROUPS

Furthermore the ISSS offers help and cooperation to committees of sports unions or national administrations on the topic of "sport surfaces". This activity is coordinated by the executive board of the ISSS.

Cay Hegermann is a civil engineer educated from the Norwegian Technical University (NTH) in Trondheim in 1973. His major topics are building physics, construction technics and testing of materials. He has been working at NBI for more than 10 years and is the project leader of NBI's testing and research of sports surfaces. He is presently the chairman of the ISSS.

NBI is the national centre of research and development for the building and construction industry in Norway. It is an independant foundation and a public institute serving central and local authorities, industry and private individuals and has a staff of about 155, including 65 professionals with university degrees in the field of building technology, electrical and chemical engineering, computer science, architecture and social science.

Norway is at present the only country in Scandinavia with official rules and regulations for sports surfaces. NBI is correspondingly the only institute in Scandinavia testing sports surfaces according to Norwegian regulations and official German DIN standards.

NBI is also a member of the "Internationaler Arbeitskreis Sport- und Freizeiteinrichtungen" (IAKS) classified in the group "Institutions acting on national level, active on the complete field of Sports and Leisure Time Facilities".

Control testing and research are performed for the Royal Ministry of Cultural and Scientific Affairs, Department of Youth and Sport (STUI) in Norway, for sports associations and sports clubs, consultants and manufacturers all over Scandinavia. NBI also offers new product development, materials testing and problem investigations.