Boundary Tape System
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Hooplines, the installation

There are many products on the market to outline your home courts. I know I have tried several of them. Either the directions are too easy, HA, or too wordy. I remember using one of those "chalk" outlined courts only to have it washed away that afternoon, Florida summer days at their finest. The wonderful heat that we experience in South Florida and combination of afternoon showers will really test this product over the summer. This is the first installment that will be followed with an update in August to let everyone know how this court marking system holds up to the elements.

Let me start by saying that the instruction manual is brief and to the point. The directions don't stray from getting your court up quickly. The hardest part is having a clean surface. I rented a pressure washer, only because my driveway really needed it. A little bit of bleach was added to get the really nasty stuff up. However, a morning of drying time later I was ready to begin.

The system comes with a specially marked measuring tape to make life easy. I can still remember the fuss with that silly chalk and stringline, what a mess! The only chalk needed this time was for "X" to mark the starting point directly under the backboard, pay attention to the location. Next mark the sidelines of the "painted" area, 6 feet both sides of the "X". The free throw line, 15 feet perpendicular to the backboard. Scribe a 6' radius for the "top of the key". Finally, mark the tangent points of the "key" to the baseline marks and opposite sides for the actual free throw line. You are now ready to lay down the tape. check the back cover of the instruction manual and select the style court you desire, I selected the recommended layout. Whew!, now that was tough. Wait a minute, that only took less than an hour and I literally have two left thumbs. Not bad for someone referred to as "Tim "the toolman" Taylor", Arrrr!Arrrr!Arrrr!

The true test is going to come over the next few weeks. Our court is the home court for hours of basketball daily during the summer months. The gang starts around 8:00am and goes until nearly lunchtime. Then back out to beat the afternoon rains. dinner time comes and they are back at it until nearly 9:00pm. And this is during the week. We will get to see how well Hooplines holds up these guys.