Patent ID: 7946936

Claim:
A base for a sports system, the base being sized and configured to support the sports system above a support surface, the base comprising: a body constructed from blow-molded plastic and including an outer wall, the outer wall including an external surface, an internal surface and a thickness measured from the external surface to the internal surface; a hollow interior portion disposed within the body, the hollow interior portion sized and configured to receive ballast to help maintain the base in a generally fixed position relative to the support surface, the body and the hollow interior portion being integrally formed as part of a unitary, one-piece structure; and a protrusion extending outwardly and downwardly from the body that is sized and configured to contact a support surface, the protrusion formed from a first portion of the outer wall of the body that contacts and abuts a second portion of the outer wall of the body, the first portion of the outer wall and the second portion of the outer wall being sandwiched together during the blow-molding process to form the protrusion, the protrusion having a thickness that is generally equal to the thickness of the first portion of the outer wall and the second portion of the outer wall, the protrusion having a length generally equal to or greater than the thickness of the protrusion, the protrusion being integrally formed with the body and the hollow interior portion as part of the unitary, one-piece structure, the protrusion including a first outer surface disposed on a first side of the protrusion, a second outer surface disposed on a second side of the protrusion and a rounded tip disposed between the first outer surface and the second outer surface of the protrusion; wherein the first outer surface of the protrusion, the second outer surface of the protrusion and an outer surface of the rounded tip are all formed by the external surface of the outer wall of the body.