Multi-sport indoor and outdoor games goal, targets and backstop

Abstract

A multi-sport training apparatus 1 comprising a portable frame having two vertically opposed, height-adjustable posts 2 supporting a netting material therebetween. The netting material defines a plura

Description

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to equipment which is used to practice sports skills with balls, including shooting footballs, goal practice, field lacrosse, hockey, cricket, netball, and basketball. Background The use of equipment for the practice of ball skills are known and they often are presented as a backstop which is commonly an expanse of netting or flexible material stretched between to vertically opposed ground mounted sports posts, forming a type of netting wall effect. The netting will then have targets printed or cut out in its surface which the user will aim a ball at, for example striking a football into holes cut out in the netting or material surface. These types of equipment often depict one theme, for example one may offer ball targeting for football, with the balls being shot through holes in the material or netting surface to be collected later from the ground behind the equipment, or to land inside capture nets, where the user then takes the ball from inside the net. Other may also offer printed targets on the surface of the material to aim the balls at. The backstop may also be provided alone to stand behind football netting to prevent the ball from travelling to far over it. Cricket targets which depict the cricket stumps, having painted I printed images that represent cricket stumps on them, being a soft or hard option and having netting around them to prevent unwanted ball travel when in play. Netting is also provided for lacrosse, netball, badminton, and hockey to play the ball into safely and is used outdoors mainly. The issue with these products is that the user may have more than one need or type of sport skills to practice and has to purchase multiple equipment to do so. This can be very costly indeed. Further disadvantages with singular type equipment is there expanse and coverage of the target areas resulting in balls often going over the top of the netting and landing in unwanted areas such as a neighbours garden or land. When target equipment is used in football clubs, schools, or sports centres they may benefit from a single piece of equipment which provides many different styles and types of ball games target practice. This will ensure less storage space required as only a single set is required for all play types, as oppose to several. The prior art therefore shows that there is a need for a more effective multi-sport games goal, targets and backstop which is a single piece of equipment that multiple sport types can be practiced on. The present invention aims to provide an improved multi-sport games goal, targets and backstop being a product with a vertically disposed netting surface stretched between two sports posts having chutes to return balls that hit the target with multi coloured designs denoting different sizes or games during use. Summary of the invention According to the present invention there is provided a multi-sport, goal, targets, and backstop, enabling users to practice multiple types of ball sports in the garden or indoors all year round, with less disruption to the players and the neighbouring properties from unwanted stray balls passing over the boundary or fence. The equipment is presented as a vertically disposed netting I material surface stretched between two vertically opposed sectional sports posts. The netting material having openings in the form of different sized generally circular holes into which balls are shot for target or play practices. Some of the holes may have vertically provided chutes which are disposed from the rear of the upper holes to return balls that hit the target downward through the chutes into a lower hole for convenient retrieval. The chutes are an advantage over higher pockets which may be out of reach of shorter players. This makes the equipment more accessible for all. The wide variety of games makes this appeal to both male and female players. The different sized ball target holes equate and relate to the ball size, for example, Football holes are larger than those required for cricket or lacrosse balls, for example. The netting has all of its features displayed in multi coloured designs denoting different sizes or games types during use. These game options depicted in different colours for each also include, further to the aforementioned ball target holes, a basketball hoop and cricket stumps marked on the surface of the netting in a plastic material to create a sound when struck. The different colours are used to identify different games, goals and targets to choose what game is played, as said, and what size goal is appropriate for the skills and size of players. The versatility makes this proposed invention a single solution for family fun in the garden or individual practice to hone skills, with an option of a goal at either end of the pitch forming the basis of the playing area. The equipment is portable and takes a just several minutes to set up and can be stored conveniently in a small bag when not in use. Therefore, ergo, should two families want to play in the park they could each bring their own multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop and make a pitch. For games “over the net” such as volleyball, tennis and badminton, the netting can be positioned in the middle of the garden / playing area and the height of the net set up to suit the game. This is done using the sectional vertical posts which are height adjustable. Games that can be played may have colour options marked on the netting backstop which include goal frame outlines in the same colours as the holes for example, but not exclusively; football, which has large holes for large balls, with the hole and goal shape coloured blue, netball with smaller holes coloured green, a medium hole for field lacrosse and hockey coloured with yellow smaller holes, a small hole selection in red for mini / box lacrosse with a centrally disposed cricket stump printed on the strong plastic material. These are represented in the accompanying Figures thereto and the colour choices for each game representation is limitless. The sports feet sections that are perpendicular to the length of the net keep it upright, and use means for attaching it to the ground to prevent the equipment blowing over or rocking with the impact of balls into the net._lf the net is on soft ground a hooped peg solution driven into the ground provides this added stability. Should the net be on hard ground or astroturf, the hooped peg or similar solution would not work as it would damage the playing surface, in that situation to add stability a different way using water filled weights that can be applied. These are hard plastic containers (cassettes) which have an opening and lid so that water can be introduced to provide the weight. The hard plastic form needs to elegantly fit over the form of the leg so it is not unstable, (a sandbag would naturally form around the feet). The waterfilled cassettes incorporate an “indent recess” on its underside so it is facilitated to fit over the feet structure and lays flat to the ground. The feet and the cassette need to act in a toy block type of locating I interlocking undulation to enable them to “slot” into a position and not slip up and down the length of the leg. This is shown in the accompanying Figures. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop which has all the advantages of the prior art target equipment and none of the disadvantages. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved multisport, goal, targets and backstop which is of durable and reliable construction. An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public. Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. Brief description of figures Figure 1 shows a frontal view of the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop. Figure 2 shows an end view of the water filled standing weight cassette ensemble. Figure 3 shows a plan view of the water filled standing weight ensemble. Figure 4 shows a frontal view of balls being played on the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop. Figure 5 shows a plan view of the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop. Detailed description of figures A typical embodiment of multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop 1, which has a vertically disposed netting material surface 8 stretched and attached between two vertically opposed sectional sports posts 2 and 12 which are height adjustable with perpendicularly attached feet 13 and 22. The netting material 8 having openings in the form of different sized generally circular target holes 3, 5, 10, 17 and 19 into which balls are shot for target or play practices. Each group of target holes is framed by a printed-on goal frame 7, 16 and 33 which provide a height estimation and boundary for that style of game. All the target holes 3, 5, 10, 17, 19 may have vertically provided chutes 4, 6, 20, 34, 35 which are disposed from the rear of the upper holes to return balls that hit the target downward through the chutes into a lower hole 14, 15 and 21 for convenient retrieval. The chutes 4, 6, 20, 36, 37 are an advantage over higher pockets which may be out of reach of shorter players. Chutes are an advantage over just closed pockets as the ball is returned to the player in a consistent location regardless of which target the ball enters and the wide variety of games makes this appeal to both male and female players. The different sized ball target holes 3, 5, 10, 17 and 19 equate and relate to the ball size. The netting material 8 has all of its features displayed in multi coloured designs denoting different sizes or games types during use. These game options depicted in different colours for each also include, further to the aforementioned ball target holes, a basketball or netball hoop 11 and cricket stumps 18 marked on the surface of the netting material 8 in a strong plastic material to create a sound when struck. The different colours are used to identify different games, goals and targets to choose what game is played, as said, and what size goal is appropriate for the skills and size of players. Games that can be played may have colour options marked on the netting backstop which include goal frame outlines in the same colours as the holes for example, but not exclusively; football, which has large holes for large balls, with the hole and goal shape coloured blue, netball with smaller holes coloured green, a medium hole for field lacrosse and hockey coloured with yellow smaller holes, a small hole selection in red for mini / box lacrosse with a centrally disposed cricket stump printed on the strong plastic material. The top of the net may be coloured purple to identify it as the top for games such as tennis, badminton and volleyball. These are represented in the accompanying Figures thereto and the colour choices for each game representation is limitless. The sports leg sections 2 and 12 which are perpendicular to the length of the netting material 8 keep it upright, and are extendable to create different height options and use means for attaching it to the ground to prevent the equipment blowing over or rocking with the impact of balls into the net. If the net is on soft ground a hooped peg solution (Not Shown) driven into the ground provides this added stability. Should the netting material 8 be on hard ground or astroturf, the hooped peg or similar solution would not work as it would damage the playing surface, in that situation to add stability a different way using water filled weights that can be applied. These are hard plastic cassette 23 containers which have an opening and lid so that water 24 can be introduced to provide the weight. The hard plastic form needs to elegantly fit over the form of the feet so it is not unstable, (a sandbag would naturally form around the feet). The waterfilled cassettes 23 incorporate an indent recess 31 on its underside so it is facilitated to fit over the indent 28 of the feet structure 30 on its surface 27 and lays flat to the ground. Through the thickness of the feet structure 25 are holes 26 and 29 for ground fixtures such as metal hoops or pegs (not shown) as shown in Figure 2. The feet and the cassette locate and interlock via an undulation which enables them to slot into a position and remain static. Figure 3 shows a plan view of the feet structure 30B with its surface 27B and holes 26B and 29B. The balls 32 are shown being played into some of the holes on the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop 1C and falling down the chutes into the lower holes 14C and 15C for convenient retrieval in Figure 4. A plan view of the multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop 1D is shown in Figure 5 having the netting material 8D, with chutes 4D, 6D, 20D, 34D and 35D disposed to its rear, fixed between the two height adjustable sport posts 2D and 12D with feet 13D and 22D shown from this view and the basketball or netball hoop 11D to one post.

Claims

1) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop enabling users to practice multiple types of ball sports in the garden or indoors generally using a single piece of equipment, comprising; a vertically disposed width of netting material surface stretched between two height adjustable vertically opposed sports posts with feet, having optional waterfilled cassettes for varied ground conditions to fit over said feet, said netting material having openings in the form of different sized generally circular holes, representing different sports game types, into which balls are shot for target or play practices, the holes may have vertically provided chutes which are disposed from the rear of the upper holes to return balls that hit the target downward through the chutes into a lower hole for convenient retrieval, the netting has all of its features displayed in multi-coloured designs denoting different sizes or sports game types during use identified individually by colour, these game options depicted in different colours, and additional identification via patterns, numbers and text for each may include, but are not limited to, shooting footballs, goal practice, field lacrosse, hockey, cricket, netball, basketball and playing of badminton, volleyball or tennis over said netting material.2) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 1 wherein cricket stumps are marked on the surface of the netting material in a plastic material to create a sound when struck by the ball.3) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 1 wherein the different colours used to identify each different game displayed on the netting material assists the player to choose by colour what game is played and what size goal or target hole is appropriate for the skills and size and height of individual players.4) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 3 wherein the different sized ball target holes equate and relate to the ball size, for example, football holes are larger than those required for cricket or lacrosse balls.5) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 4 wherein the chutes behind the target holes are an advantage over higher pockets which may be out of reach of shorter players and provide the convenience of returning the ball to a single location for easy retrieval.6) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 1 wherein for games played over the net, such as volleyball, tennis and badminton, the netting material may be positioned in the middle of the garden / playing area and the height of the net set up to suit the game, using the sectional vertical sports height adjustable posts.7) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 1 wherein plastic container cassettes are used to stabilize the sprots posts, have an opening and lid to their upper surface so that water can be introduced to provide the weight.8) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 7 wherein waterfilled cassettes incorporate an indent recess on the underside so they are facilitated to fit over the leg structure and lay flat to the ground.9) A multi-sport, goal, targets and backstop as claimed in claim 8 wherein the leg and the cassette of locate and interlock via an undulation which enables them to slot into a position and remain static.A

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