The Super Sopper is a rolling sponge used to remove water from sports grounds, particularly cricket fields, but also golf greens, tennis courts, racecourses, and other sports venues. The device can also be used to remove surface water from other spaces open to the elements, including hard cots and floors at building sites, to allow activities to continue without having to wait for the area to be dry out or be cleared of water by other means.
The concept was invented in Australia in 1974 by Gordon Withnall when he was 80 years old, after his
golf ball
A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf.
Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...
landed in a puddle of water while he was playing a round of golf near
Liverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately south-west of the Sydney CBD. Liverpool is the administrative seat of the local government area of the City of Liverp ...
. He recognised the need for some means to collect surplus water from the grass at sports fields, to allow the sports to continue more quickly and effectively after a shower of rain. His invention initially attached sponges to the rotating drum of a manual
lawn roller, with perforations in the metal drum allowing the water to be collected in an internal tank. The invention was featured on the
ABC-TV show ''
The Inventors'' in 1974 but did not win the programme. Withnall moved on to a vehicle similar to a
road roller
A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at land ...
, with wide water-collecting rollers at each end, developed for
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
in 1979, and then exported to
the Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
in London. Many hundreds were sold to schools in Japan by Withnall's company, Kuranda Manufacturing, which is now run by his son Len Withnall.
A full-size Super Sopper typically comprises a small motorised vehicle with large rollers at each end. The outside surfaces of each roller are covered with a spongy water-absorbing material, such as
polyurethane foam
Polyurethane products have many uses. Over three quarters of the global consumption of polyurethane products is in the form of foams, with flexible and rigid types being roughly equal in market size. In both cases, the foam is usually behind othe ...
. The large rollers collect water as they roll over the ground, and the continuing rotary motion of each rollers takes the water-filled sponge past a smaller hard roller rotating in the opposite direction, which squeeze the water out of the sponge and into a storage tank, allowing the large rollers to collect more water when they return to the ground again. When the tank is filled, the collected water can be emptied into a drain. Water is collected in a continuous process as the vehicle moves forward, supplementing any drainage installed in the ground, and allowing sporting activities to resume more quickly after interruptions for rain. Smaller versions with one roller can be towed or pushed by hand. Similar devices exist, such as the "Supersopper" made in India.
References
Super Sopper water removal system Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia
Science Week 2014: Super Sopper and super fun at Castle Hill Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, 11 August 2014
Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences archive
Encyclopedia of Australian Science
supersopper.com.au
Sports equipment