What kind of tape to use for the strips?

[tkrivosh]

Hello,

we need to lay-out some sabre strips on a standard gym wooden floor for a tournament.
Two of the biggest requirements are: no damage or residue on the floor, and durability.
Any advice? It would be very much appreciated.
Thank you,

Nellya Fencers
info@nellyafencers.com

[pgepps]

Talk to whoever does the maintenance / equipment ordering for the gym. They should have a catalog, and in it should be a kind of non-marking plastic tape for temporary lines.

Do *not* use the kind of paper tape used for painting. If you put it down for a day for a tournament, it'll come up with few or no problems on a well-finished floor. If you *aren't* lucky or if you leave it for more than a day, you'll spend *hours* stripping the residue off, and you'll be very lucky if the floor doesn't need some serious cleaning and buffing which will tick off the gymn maintenance big-time.

We've used the paper tape for one-day markings successfully many times, but when we had to use a gym for regular practice for a year or so, we got screwed by the residue (and the way the buffers dissolved the paper and spread a gummy mess around).

Take care,
PGE

[tkrivosh]

Thanks a lot