referring initially to fig1 and 2 , the initial embodiment pit 11 of the present invention includes plural , fabric covered , elongate foam logs 13 which are juxtaposed to provide a relatively planar upper surface 15 . as shown particularly in fig2 each of these logs includes an elongate internal foam block member 17 which is generally square in cross section and is preferably formed of polyurethane - ether foams formed by the reactions which are described in detail above . each of these foam blocks 17 is in turn individually covered by a fabric enclosure 19 surrounding the top , bottom and two sides , as well as the ends of the individual blocks 17 . in order to assure the juxtaposition of the fabric covered foam logs 13 , it is advantageous to include a bottom fabric layer 21 as a single fabric layer sewn to each of the foam logs 13 . thus , each of the foam blocks 17 is completely enclosed , and the fabric layer 21 forms an additional bottom protective layer for the fabric layer 19 , sewn to the bottom layer 21 . the construction of the fabric covered blocks 13 using the common bottom cover 21 facilitates folding the pit 11 in a variety of locations for transportation and storage , and additionally maintains the juxtaposed position of the logs 13 . an additional precaution which may be taken for this latter purpose is the use of a pair of straps 23 and 25 surrounding the pit 11 in a longitudinal direction and cinched end - to - end by a pair of buckles 27 and 29 , respectively . the straps 23 , 25 serve to hold the tops of the individual logs 13 together to assure a relatively planar upper surface 15 . the straps 23 , 25 are , however , preferably positioned adjacent the ends of the individual foam logs 13 so that , upon impact from a jumper , separation of the logs 13 is permitted , as will be explained in more detail below . the fabric bottom cover 21 is preferably made of moisture impervious material so that , if the pit 11 is placed outside on the ground , the foam blocks 17 are protected from moisture . the upper cover material 19 , however , is advantageously formed of breather material , the details of which are described above , in order to assure that the individual logs 13 will not act as air - filled balloons which would otherwise interfere with the cushioning properties of the foam 17 . in addition , the breather material 19 may be made extremely rugged in order to prohibit abrasion of the foam blocks 17 by the cleats used by a jumper . as particularly shown in fig1 at least a portion of the upper surface 15 of the landing pit 11 is covered by a fabric layer 31 which is held in place on the planar surface 15 by plural straps . a first group of straps 33 are preferably formed as nonelastic nylon web strap members , these straps 33 being positioned at the end of the pit 11 away from the athlete &# 39 ; s runway . a second group of straps 35 are attached to the fabric sheet 31 at the end adjacent the athlete &# 39 ; s runway and are formed of elastic cord material . each of the straps 33 and 35 are attached to rings 37 sewn onto the upper covering 19 of the outermost foam blocks 13 . at the opposite end , the straps 33 , 35 are preferably sewn onto the fabric cover 31 or permanently attached to hooks or rings which are , in turn , sewn onto the fabric cover 31 . the use of the resilient straps 35 serves two purposes . first , the resilience of these straps 35 draws the cover 31 tightly over the upper planar surface 15 . more importantly , the resilience in the straps 35 permits the upper cover 31 to slide along the upper planar surface 15 during an athlete &# 39 ; s landing , as shown in fig1 . the stretching of the straps 35 therefore serves to absorb a portion of the athlete &# 39 ; s horizontal momentum . while the straps 33 could also be made of elastic material , it has been found preferable , as stated above , to form these members of nonelastic material so that the upper fabric cover 31 will return to a predetermined position after each jump , drawn to this position by the resilient straps 35 but restrained by the straps 33 . in order to assure the accurate positioning of the upper fabric cover 31 , a pair of marks 39 and 41 are permanently applied to the upper surface of the fabric layer 31 . corresponding marks 43 and 45 are imprinted on the upper planar surface 15 of the logs 13 . before and after each jump , the marks 39 and 41 are aligned with the marks 43 and 45 , respectively , to assure that the upper fabric cover 31 always returns to its initial position . a similar mark 47 is advantageously applied along one side of one of the logs 13 and is used to align the entire landing pit 11 with a mark 49 on the ground or gymnasium surface on which the landing pit 11 is installed . a similar pair of marks ( not shown ) is advantageously positioned on the opposite side of the landing pit 11 . referring now specifically to fig4 the construction details of the upper fabric cover 31 and its attachment will be described . this fabric cover 31 preferably includes a top cover sheet 51 formed by breather material , such as that described in detail above , and sewn to a lower covering layer 53 which is preferably formed of a hard surfaced plastic material such as polyethylene . the layer 53 is intended to operate as a lubricating layer between the breather material 51 and the breather material 19 forming the upper fabric covering for the foam logs 13 . it is therefore selected as a material which will slide easily on the breather material 19 . as shown in fig4 the nonelastic straps 33 may be passed through rings 55 attached to web members 57 which are in turn sewn between the fabric layers 51 and 53 . the straps 33 may be returned on themselves after passing through the rings 55 and bound in place permanently . as previously described , the remaining end of the straps 33 may be similarly attached to the upper covering 19 of the foam blocks 13 , and a similar attachment arrangement may be used for securing the resilient straps 35 to the fabric cover 31 and pit 11 . in using the landing pit of fig1 and 3 , the pit 11 is placed adjacent the end of an elevated runway , this runway typically having a height which is equal to the height of the foam blocks 13 . the runway , as is typical in a long jump or triple jump configuration , will have a toe block which will determine the initial jumping point for the athlete . the athlete will typically begin his running approach toward the pit 11 a substantial distance behind this toe board . a chalk box is set in the runway surface just short of the toe board . the chalk material will adhere to the bottom of the athlete &# 39 ; s feet so that , after he has run and jumped onto the pit 11 , the chalk on his feet will leave marks at the point of landing on the upper fabric cover 31 . thus , if the marks 49 have been set up a predetermined distance from this toe board , if the marks 47 are aligned with the marks 49 , and if the marks 39 and 41 are aligned with the marks 43 and 45 , respectively , the chalk marks on the fabric cover 31 left by the athlete &# 39 ; s feet will serve as a measurement point for determining the length of the athlete &# 39 ; s jump . after the athlete has completed his jump , the marks 47 , 49 , 39 , 41 , 43 and 45 are again aligned and a measurement is made between the toe board and the chalk mark on the fabric cover 31 closest to the toe board , this measurement being an accurate determination of the jump distance . it is therefore important that each of the respective alignment marks be aligned before and after each jump . referring now specifically to fig2 the operation of each of the foam blocks 13 in response to an athlete &# 39 ; s impact will be described . when the athlete lands , his foot 51 will typically land on the upper fabric cover 31 at the top of one of the individual blocks 13 . his cleats will typically become attached to the upper fabric cover 31 but the lower lubrication layer 53 will permit the fabric layer 31 to begin sliding in the direction of the athlete &# 39 ; s jump . this sliding will continue until the athlete &# 39 ; s feet 51 slide into one of the interstices between adjacent foam blocks 13 . the athlete &# 39 ; s feet , at this point , will engage the upper corner of one of the foam blocks 13 and this foam block , as shown in fig2 will become deformed , absorbing the lateral and vertical momentum of the jumper . the use of the particular foam material described in detail above for the blocks 113 , that is , material which has a limp , wet and mush feel , provides a reaction to the athlete &# 39 ; s jump which is quite similar to the sand into which the athlete is accustomed to jumping . furthermore , this type of material provides substantial protection to the athlete to avoid injury , and the relatively heavy weight of the material permits the foam blocks 13 to absorb the substantial lateral momentum of the athlete . referring now to fig3 and 5 , an alternate construction of the landing pit of the present invention will be described . this pit 59 utilizes an identical upper fabric cover 31 as that shown in fig3 and used in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 . this upper fabric cover 31 is attached , as in the previous embodiment , by plural nonelastic strap member 33 and plural elastic strap members 35 to the pit structure . similarly , alignment marks 39 , 41 , 43 and 45 , as well as alignment marks 47 and 49 , are used to align this pit structure and the fabric cover 31 to the toe board of the athlete &# 39 ; s runway . in the pit 59 , however , rather than using the plural elongate juxtaposed foam blocks 13 of the prior embodiment , two identical large foam pad members , one of which is shown at 61 in fig5 are each enclosed by fabric covers 63 and 65 to form a pair of cushion members 64 and 66 . these fabric covers 63 , 65 are preferably constructed with the bottoms and sides formed of moisture and air impervious polymer material . the top layer 67 , however , is advantageously formed of breather material such as that described in detail above and is advantageously formed as a single sheet of such material covering the tops of each of the cushion members 64 and 66 . the use of the pair of cushion members 64 and 66 permits a folding of the pit 59 , using the top cover member 67 as a hinge at the intersection of these cushion members 64 , 66 , to facilitate transportation and storage of the pit 59 . forming the upper fabric cover 67 for both of the cushion members 64 , 66 as a single sheet additionally assures that the two cushion members 64 and 66 are maintained in a juxtaposed position at all times . the foam block material 61 used for filling the covers 63 and 65 is preferably the polyurethane - ether foam material described in detail previously in order to provide a feel for the athlete which is not unlike the sand which the athlete is accustomed to using . the embodiment of fig3 and 5 additionally includes a large bumper block 69 which , as shown in fig5 preferably includes a solid foam block 71 covered by breather material 73 on all sides . the foam block 71 may be a lighter , more resilient foam than the foam material 61 since it is intended to absorb shocks normal to its surfaces rather than tangential thereto . the block 69 advantageously includes a planar lower surface 75 intersecting at a right angle with an elongate rear surface 77 and a relatively short , normally extending frontal surface 79 which abuts the end of the cushion member 64 . extending from this surface 79 to the top 81 of the bumper 69 is a slightly inclined frontal impact surface 83 . attached to the lower surface 75 of the bumper 69 is a pocket 85 formed of breather material which is closed at the end 87 adjacent the end 77 of the block 69 and is likewise closed at the sides of the bumper 69 . this pocket 85 has an opening 89 facing the cushion member 64 . a tubular pocket 91 , preferably formed of breather material , is attached to the sides of the cushion member 64 and extends at least part way along the cushion member 64 . this pocket 91 is open at both ends 93 and 95 . a stiffening member 97 , such as a sheet of plywood , is passed through the pocket 91 and positioned into the pocket 85 to rigidly interconnect the end of the cushion member 64 and the bumper 69 . additionally , plural fasteners 98 may be used to interconnect the top rear edge of the cushion member 64 to the bumper 69 . plural handles 99 may be provided on the cushion member 64 to facilitate transportation of the cushion members 64 and 66 when folded on top of one another . a pair of earth - embedding augers 101 may be attached , as by nylon straps 103 , to the front cushion member 66 to anchor the entire landing pit structure , including the cushions 64 and 66 and the bumper 69 , in position on the ground . alternatively , as shown in fig6 if the cushion members 64 and 66 are used indoors , a pair of straps 105 may be attached to the front corners of the cushion member 66 and attached to the elevated runway 107 on which the athlete approaches the landing pit 59 to anchor the pit 59 relative the runway 107 . alternatively , the cushions 64 and 66 may be recessed into a surface excavation in the ground when the equipment is used outdoors , so that the excavation holds the cushions 64 , 66 and bumber 69 in place . the landing pit 59 is used in the same fashion as the landing pit 11 of fig1 and 4 , the athlete approaching the pit along a runway 107 and jumping onto the sliding fabric member 31 , leaving chalk marks on the member 31 for measuring the distance of the jump . in addition , the bumper 69 assures that the athlete will have a soft landing area as he falls forward after his feet have become embedded in the relatively soft , spongy foam material 61 within the cushion members 64 and 66 . as the athlete falls against the cushion members 69 which , as previously mentioned , is less dense than the remaining cushion members 64 and 66 , there will be a tendency before the bumper 69 to roll away from the landing pit 59 and raise one end of the cushion 63 . the plywood member 97 prohibits a rotation of the bumper 69 relative the cushioning member 63 by assuring that the pockets 85 and 91 remain coaxial . thus , with the landing pit properly anchored either by the augers 101 or straps 105 , the entire pit structure 59 and bumper 69 will remain in place during an athletic meet , interconnected by the plywood member 97 , the common upper cover member 67 , and the fasteners 98 . referring now to fig6 an alternate means for measuring the location where the athlete lands on the pit 59 , used in lieu of the chalk mark method previously described , is shown . in this measurement embodiment , a pair of standards 109 are positioned on the ground of gymnasium surface adjacent the pit 59 . these standards , through a pair of uprights 111 , support plural light emitters arranged along the length of the pit 59 in a mounting assembly 113 . on the opposite side of the pit 59 , the uprights 111 support plural photocells 115 arranged along the length of the pit 59 in a mounting assembly 117 . each of the light emitting devices ( not shown ) within the mounting assembly 113 is aligned with a specific photocell 115 and is separately wired to a monitoring electronic device such that , when the athlete lands on the surface of the pit 59 , he will interrupt one or more light beams passing from the element 113 to the element 117 . the electronic device is then designed to monitor the light beam closest to the runway 107 which is interrupted by the athlete &# 39 ; s feet , this light beam being an accurate measurement of the distance of the athlete &# 39 ; s jump . it will be understood that , in this embodiment , the position of the pit 59 is not critical , and therefore alignment marks 119 are placed on each of the standards 109 and are used to align the photo - optical system with corresponding alignment marks 121 on the ground or gymnasium floor . the marks 121 are selected to be a predetermined distance from the toe board used to begin the athlete &# 39 ; s jump so that the photocells 115 will be accurately aligned to this toe board and may therefore be used to accurately determine the jump distance . an additional , alternate measurement embodiment is shown in fig7 . in this embodiment , the alignment marks 47 and 49 on the pit 59 and gymnasium or earth floor are used to align the landing pit with the toe board on the athlete &# 39 ; s runway . in addition , a paper or other easily torn sheet 199 is attached , as by a strip of masking tape 121 , to the leading edge of the slidable fabric cover 31 . alignment marks 123 and 125 on the paper sheet 119 are accurately aligned with the alignment marks 45 and 43 , respectively , on the surface of the landing pit 59 . through the use of these alignment marks , the paper sheet 119 is accurately positioned relative the toe board on the athlete &# 39 ; s runway . when the athlete lands on the surface of the paper sheet 119 , he will tear this surface at the point where his heals strike the pit 59 . once the alignment marks 47 and 49 have been used to replace the landing pit 59 in its original position , and the alignment marks 123 , 125 , 43 , 45 have been used to replace the paper sheet 119 in its original position , an accurate measurement may be made from the athlete &# 39 ; s toe board to the tear in the sheet 119 to determine the distance of the athlete &# 39 ; s jump . when used either indoors or outdoors , the arrangement of the landing pit 59 or the pit 11 of the present invention within the track arena is shown in fig8 . an oval track 127 used for other events surrounds the track area . along one leg of this track 127 and inside of its confines is the elongate raised runway 107 used by long jumpers and triple jumpers to approach the pit 59 . the top of this runway 107 is typically covered with artificial turf and , at a predetermined point adjacent the pit 59 , a toe board 109 is positioned on the surface of the runway 107 to mark the point where an athlete begins his jump . it will be seen that the pit 59 and bumper 69 are adjacent the track 127 , making the bumper 69 extremely important for insuring that jumpers do not enter the track 127 to interfere with other athletic events . a pair of stabilizing members 129 may be used to position the bumper 69 and landing pit 59 relative the track 127 . these stabilizing members 129 are additionally shown in fig5 and are positioned against the end of the combined pit 59 and bumper 69 . an abutment block 131 may be used at the end of the bumper 69 to absorb shock from the bumper 69 and transmit this shock through the stabilizing members 129 to the track 127 . as shown in fig8 when the chalk marking measurement embodiment described in reference to fig1 is utilized , a chalk box 131 is placed adjacent the end of the runway 107 just short of the toe board 109 . this chalk box 131 should be long enough so that the athlete steps in the chalk with each foot prior to his jump . the athlete steps into this chalk box 131 to apply chalk to his track shoes prior to the initiation of a jump . in summary , there has been described a pair of embodiments 11 and 59 of landing pits , each designed for jumpers whose principal velocity vector is horizontal . these pits , through the use of a specific type of foam material , absorb the lateral momentum of the athlete while protecting him from injury . the athlete is further protected through the use of a sliding upper cover 31 mounted elastically by members 35 which serve to further absorb the athlete &# 39 ; s momentum . the bumper 69 provides a surface onto which the athlete can fall on the completion of his jump to protect the athlete and athletes involved in other sporting events . this results in a readily transportable long jump landing pit which requires fewer maintenance operators during a track meet , which protects other athletes from spraying sand and from collisions , and which is easily set up for repeated jumps so that these jumping meets will progress more rapidly than heretofore possible . furthermore , numerous measurement techniques are disclosed to accurately measure the distance of an athlete &# 39 ; s jump . other elements may be used to heighten spectator interest in these sporting events . thus , for example , the cover 31 or paper sheet 119 may be imprinted with special marks indicating different jumping records previously set so that spectators can immediately compare a jumper &# 39 ; s distance with previous records .
a portable long jump pit is disclosed which may be installed in a gymnasium , on top of a regular playing surface and used in conjunction with an elevated runway , or outdoors recessed into the ground surface such that the top is level with a runway . the pit includes a foam cushioning member which is held stationary relative the runway and a separate fabric cover over the cushioning member which is held in place by elastic cords . when the long jumper lands on this fabric member , it moves laterally on the top of the cushioning member , the elastic supports and the cushioning member absorbing the lateral momentum of the athlete . an optional enlarged landing pillow or bumper is placed at the end of the pit opposite the runway to protect the athlete from running beyond the pit surface after his jump . numerous marking systems are disclosed for recording the landing position of the athlete .