UPDATED! Boot Survey Early Results 1 : Manufacturer and Sport

It is early days in gathering data in the Big Boot Survey but looking over the handful of initial responses gives a good idea of what brands of footwear are being used for touch . First thing to say is that we are currently dealing with a relatively small sample size, however these same results will be updated when more data is gathered.

The shoes are fairly even split in use between what might be called ‘dedicated’ touch shoes and boots that are mainly marketed as for football or rugby use. Asics and X-Blades are the only brands mentioned who make a shoe that is marketed as for touch. However it has been noted that some of the shoes that Asics designate as hockey shoes in the UK bear a striking resemblance to touch shoes sold in Australia, particularly in the tread pattern.

For boots that have not been bought as touch shoes the majority are football (soccer) boots. However it is not possible to say if these are used for both sports or if they were a new purchase for touch use.

I’ll start to release results on how individual manufacturers and boots are rated once a much larger data set is available to draw conclusions from. So if you’ve not already entered results for the boots you’ve owned click here. EXTRA SURVEY RESULTS ARE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO COMPLETE THE SURVEY.

The Big Boot Survey: In search of the perfect touch shoe

As one of the country’s largest touch clubs, typically introducing over a dozen new players to the sport each year, we often get asked for recommendations on what footwear to buy. Of course there is so much choice out there, and every player is different. Just looking around at a club training session and you can see almost as many types of boots as players. So making any kind of recommendation is difficult. How much do you want to spend? Are you just looking for something for the summer season? Will you use the boots for any other type of sport?

But what if we had access to opinions and thoughts on boots sourced from a wide range of players we’d be much better placed to make recommendations for those starting their touch playing careers. So this survey is an attempt to do just that – gather data on what types of boots are used, what are the most popular manufacturers, what tread types are suited to different ground types.

Feel free to make a survey entry for each type of boot you’ve owned. But remember it’s a chance to shout about the best boots you’ve owned as well as moan about the ones that fell apart after 6 games!

As sufficient data is gathered some of the results and conclusions will be published on this site – so check back for updates.

Click to go to the SURVEY

Aberdeen strike gold again at the STA national championships

Saturday 4th August 2012 will be remembered for many golden moments. But while the mens coxless fours, Copeland and Hosking and the womens cycling team pursuit all made their mark in sporting history 400 miles to the north a group of girls from Aberdeen were writing their own names into the record books.

After several years of Edinburgh dominance the Aberdeen women had captured the national title for the first time ever in 2011. Close to half the 2012 squad were part of that team but they were joined by several girls playing at this level for the first time in their touch careers.

Ahead of the event the decision was made to take the maximum permitted squad of 16 girls to the tournament. This was in part prompted by what was going to be a gruelling schedule of games with up to 175 minutes of touch to be played in one day. A late withdrawal of Edinburgh Ice due to lack of players meant one game less, but with a lot of flexibility offered by the selected players the large squad gave the coaches plenty of options to keep legs fresh for the later stages.