Technical Field

The present invention relates to portable goal posts and to goal arrangements incorporating the posts.

Background to the Invention

Many sporting codes require the use of a playing pitch which is provided with goals which are used for various scoring opportunities in the game. Examples of such games include Australian football, rugby, soccer, hockey etc. At sporting venues used by professional players the goals are erected and maintained by ground staff. However, for practise purposes it becomes necessary to arrange to spend time training at a venue which has goal facilities.

Alternatively, less formal practise play can be arranged on any area of grass by using improvised goal posts such as small cones or bollards placed on the ground to indicate the location where the goal would be. Use of cones or bollards has its shortcomings though as the goal has no appreciable height and it can be difficult to properly see the goal from a distance or accurately judge whether a scoring attempt was successful, or not.

Larger temporary goal structures can be utilised for practice. However, the larger the goal structure becomes the more difficult it becomes to transport the goal, to erect and dismantle the goal, and to store the goal when not in use.

There remains a need for improved temporary goal structures used for practice purposes.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect the present invention provides A portable goal post for use in sports practice including: a base portion; a post portion which is arranged to be removably attached to the base portion; the post portion is telescopically extendable and retractable between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration; the post portion extends substantially vertically from the base portion when the base portion is laid on the ground.

The post portion may be resiliently biased towards a vertical orientation to allow the post portion to move away from and return to its vertical orientation.

The post portion may be resiliently biased by way of the base portion being formed at least partially from a resilient material.

The post portion may be a push fit into the base portion.

The goal post may include an internal light module to illuminate the post portion.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a goal arrangement including at least one goal post according to the first aspect.

The goal arrangement may include four posts, two of the posts are of a first height, and the other two of the posts are of a second height.

The goal arrangement may include two posts and a cross member which attaches between the posts.

The goal arrangement may further include an arrangement of electronic sensors for measurement of play performance factors.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a kit for setting up a temporary goal arrangement including: a number of base portions; a number of post portions; and a carry pack for carrying the base portions and the post portions.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a portable goal post;

Figure 2 is a close up of the lower part of the goal post of figure 1;

Figure 3 shows the lowest section of the post portion of the goal post of figure i ;

Figure 4 shows a goal arrangement including four posts of the type shown in figure 1; and

Figure 5 shows another goal arrangement.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to figure 1, a portable goal post 10 is shown including a telescopic vertical post portion in the form of post 20 which is comprised of seven interfitting telescopic sections with the widest section 22a at the bottom through to the narrowest section 22g at the top and a base portion in the form of base 30. The post 20 is removably attached to the base 30 by way of push fit into the base as will be later described.

The post 20 is telescopically extendable and retractable between the extended configuration shown in figure 1 to a retracted configuration. In the retracted configuration all of the post sections 22b to 22g nest within section 22a.

Referring to figure 2, the lowermost post section 22a houses a light module 27 which is installed in the post by removing a screw fitted cap 26. The cap attaches to the screw thread 24 shown in figure 3. Once installed, an on/off button which is accessible from below through an aperture in the cap is used to turn the light module on or off. The post sections are formed from an injection moulded stiff plastic which is both firm and light. When used in low light conditions, the light from the light module illuminates the extended post.

Base 30 includes a silicone portion 25 which receives the cap 26 with a push fit. The silicone portion tapers inwardly with its widest portion at its uppermost region to limit the depth of insertion of the post into the base.

A number of bases 30 and retracted posts 20 can be stored together in a carry pack such as a backpack for easy transportation of the goal post parts to the location of play. To erect the goal post it is convenient to hold the retracted post 20 and with a flick of the arm away from one's body the nested post sections 22 slide out to adopt the extended configuration. When in the extended configuration each of the post portions adopts a light interference fit with its adjacent portions to maintain the post in the extended configuration. With the post extended, it is screwed into the base 30 and the base is set on the ground in the desired location for the goal.

The base 30 is formed from a recyclable rubber resilient plastic material which is flexible to some degree. This biases the post 20 to the vertical orientation but allows the post to bend over to some extend such as due to wind, or being struck by a ball or player. The post then returns to the vertical orientation. This flexibility in the base resists the post falling over.

Referring to figure 4, an example of a goal arrangement 100 is shown which is suitable for playing Australian football. Two posts of the type 10 are placed in the centre of the arrangement to represent the goal posts. Two shorter posts 10 ^λ are placed either side of the goal posts 10 to represent the behind posts. Referring to figure 5, another example of a goal arrangement 200 is shown which is suitable for playing rugby, hockey or soccer. A cross member in the form of crossbar 50 is attached between the posts. The crossbar is formed by push fitting together a number of rods 54 which are joined by connectors 56. An end piece 52 is fitted to either end of the crossbar. The end pieces have a loop portion which fits over a post 10. All of the components of the crossbar 50 can be stored in a backpack along with the components for the posts 10.

In rugby, points are scored if the ball passes over the crossbar 50 and between the posts 10. In soccer or hockey, points are scored if the ball passes under the crossbar 50 and between the posts 10.

The posts shown in figure 5 utilise a stackable type of base 30'. The base is formed from a recyclable rubber material which is moulded over a central tapered silicone region which receives the post. Importantly, the base 30" is hollow which allows for close stacking of a number of bases 30" into a small stack for ease of transportation.

The bases described above can be formed in various weights to suit particular applications. In lightweight versions the base may weigh around 0.7kg. In heavier versions the base may weigh around 1.8kg. The heavier the base the more stable the post. However, there is a trade-off between the weight of the base and the ease of carrying a number of bases.

In some embodiments goalposts may be fitted with electronic sensing and/or positioning equipment to enable measurement or monitoring of various aspects of play such as whether a ball was kicked through the goal, struck a post, or was kicked from what distance or angle to the goal.

In one embodiment, local positioning system (LPS) technology is used which allow tracking the location of objects by means of RF measurements. An IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) collects angular velocity and linear acceleration data. The system is made up of six LPS transceivers which are configured as four Post nodes, one Ball Node and one Processing Node. The post nodes are installed in the base of the posts, the ball node is embedded in a special "smart ball" and the processing node is a standalone unit. The nodes communicate with each other using Bluetooth Low Energy communications and one or more of the nodes may include a GPS transceiver.

The arrangement of sensors allows for tracking of ball movement and other factors in play. The outputs of the sensors are processed by software algorithms to be presented on a user interface on a mobile phone or other computing device to indicate performance factors such as:

1. Post hit

11. Scoring (Goal, Point and OOB)

in Player location

iv Post positioning

A user may elect to share various outcomes of their performance factors using an online social media platform to interact with other users of similar systems.

It can be seen that embodiments of the invention have at least one of the following advantages:

• Goal posts in their disassembled state occupy a small amount of space making the goal posts easy to store and transport

• Dedicated carry pack enables a number of goal posts to be carried as a set

• Posts can be seen from a distance to make for more realistic play.

• Illumination of posts offers good visibility in low light conditions.

• Resilient base resists post falling over.

• Automatic monitoring and reporting of play performance factors

Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.

Finally, it is to be appreciated that various alterations or additions may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the present invention.