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Does anyone else use tennis ball halves as runway markers?

I've been getting creative with them this fall. The ones I plan on using this season are black with a yellow star in the middle (my school colors are black and gold).

I've been coming up with creative ideas for them... when I get back to TX on Monday, I am going to make some ladybug ones, bumblebees, zebra stripes...

What are some other ideas?

And would anybody want to buy any? I could make them for pretty cheap between now and the end of the month. I don't think I'll be able to make any once I am up at school.

At my college, we use tennis balls to cover pole tips since tips get worn down being dragged on the rubber track, it increases their longevity and helps with the budget of getting new tips. As markers, for outdoor i could see putting a spike or stake through them and putting them in the grass by some runways.

Spikes/stakes are great for runways with grass by them, but lots of runways have no dirt near them, especially indoors

I tell the vaulters that train with us to use tape or chalk on rubber runnways (if allowed). I have always been concerned that someone would move a object just placed on the surface of the runnway (accidently or on purpose) a vauler wouldn't know it had been moved until they waisted a runup during a meet. Does anyone else have that "fear". or is this just a phobia that I alone posess ??????????

1yeldud1 wrote:I tell the vaulters that train with us to use tape or chalk on rubber runnways (if allowed). I have always been concerned that someone would move a object just placed on the surface of the runnway (accidently or on purpose) a vauler wouldn't know it had been moved until they waisted a runup during a meet. Does anyone else have that "fear". or is this just a phobia that I alone posess ??????????

It's a real possibility... If any of my marks had been moved more than a few inches, I could tell by eyeballing it. I have all my numbers written down, so I could fix the problem quickly.

We used to use little flags stuck in the grass as marks, but our coach would always make us put a chalk mark on the runway next to the flag, so we wouldnt lose our marks if the flags got moved. we could just use chalk, but theres always 500 different chalk marks on the runway, and the flags are much easier to see.

I like schools that have 6' inch marks all the way down the track. If you know your mark you can eyeball the 2 or 3 inches in between.

For our home meets I tape a tape measure down next to the runway then use chalk to mark every ten feet. For my athletes, I also chalk every foot over their potential mid marks. We use tennis balls away from home but also put colored tape under them just in case they are moved.

Becca, a lot of the high school meets that we go to only let you get your mark with a tape measure then it must be picked up. I don't understand why - but that is the norm not the exception. On outdoor meets we have the kids go to the local lumberyard and but a couple of large nails. we have them put their name and yardage mark on athletic tape wrapped around these nails like a flag. As far as the chalk mark on the runnway most schools only allow tape not chalk. We ALWAYS wright our names and distance on these with sharpe markers so there is no confusion. I have seen shoes, stuffed animals, soda cans, golf balls with nails thru them, survey flags, almost anything. Does anyone have anything different that we have not mensioned ??????????????

our coach gives our varsity guys a half tennis ball and we get to decorate it as we please. I thought our coach was just wierd. I guess not. glad to see others use them to.

i have seen becca's artwork on the tennis balls and trust me, she does the best job ever! Everyone should order one from you becca!

i like to use pinwheels