Equipment, clothing or shoes than confer advantages are called ergogenic aids. One of the most recent and widely observed examples of grand-scale ergogenic enhancement was during the 2003 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where many swimmers were allowed to swim in highly technical speed suits whose new materials and designs conferred the advantages of reduced water drag and increased velocity. Professional tennis has seen ergogenic advances in racquet weight, design and materials. Shoes, too, can now be enhanced by springs in the forefoot.
Ergogenic Aids
Spring-loaded basketball shoes allow a player to vastly improve his or her vertical jump height. Thus, the shoes become ergogenic aids. Ergogenics involves introducing performance-enhancing mechanisms to the human body; any equipment, nutritional supplement, or item worn to improve an athlete's performance beyond their own natural capability is considered an ergogenic aid. Some aids are legal, such as carbon graphite materials used in tennis racquet frames; others are illegal, such as anabolic steroids. Some make little difference to the athlete's normal ability --- but a basketball shoe with springs makes a difference.
Spring-Loaded Shoes
Athletic Propulsion Lab's Concept 1, a basketball shoe released in the summer of 2010, reportedly can add nearly four inches to a basketball player's vertical leap. The shoe's forefoot sole contains a springlike mechanism that, like any spring, can transfer the potential energy created by the player's crouch into kinetic energy that adds power when the player pushes off the ground. The National Basketball Association has already banned this shoe from professional competition, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association has not yet banned them.
Many Happy Returns, From The Shoe
Athletic Propulsion Labs states that much more went into the Concept 1 design than just inserting a spring. Their researchers applied the laws of physics to the entire shoe, making sure that midsole and even the heel contributed to loading the forefoot spring area with maximum potential energy. Special cushioning prevents the spring device from creating foot pain, and high-compression EVA, a material used in running shoe construction, is applied throughout the length of the sole to absorb shock. Even shoe soles without springs but made of EVA have superior energy return; they enable you to jump higher than soles with no such material to add bounce.
Track & Field Shoes
High jumpers and hurdlers are track athletes who could gain ergonomic advantages from spring-loaded shoes. USA Track & Field. USATF has banned any type sprung shoes, as has the International Association of Athletics Federations. RunTex reports that in April 2007, Spira Footwear, which manufactures spring-loaded walking, hiking and fitness shoes, filed a lawsuit against both sports organizations, claiming trade infringement. However, any shoes that enhance performance in the realm of professional competition will be viewed as illegal. So, enjoy them if you want to gain the edge in a pick-up game of basketball --- but do not wear them to internationally sanctioned, world championship-level competition.
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