What 2 Inch Cheer Mats Do Before Repetition Wears Athletes Down
Skills aren't built in one attempt. They're built in fifty attempts a practice, and most of those attempts end in a landing that isn't quite right yet. The floor absorbs every one of them — or the athlete does. That's the problem the 2 inch cheer mat exists to solve: taking the punishment out of volume.
This is the thicker build of roll out carpet bonded foam — the same athletic carpet surface and cross-linked foam core used across cheer flooring, with more than half an inch of additional foam underneath. Sections join side by side into tumbling strips, training floors, or full practice layouts, then roll up when the space is needed for something else.
It's the mat for the work that happens before performance day: new-skill drilling, youth programs, conditioning-heavy practices — anywhere landing count is high and every impact the floor doesn't absorb accumulates in ankles, knees, and backs across a season.
Why the Extra Foam, and Why This One
The construction matches the rest of the line where it counts: 26 oz athletic carpet flame-laminated to 2.2 lb density cross-linked polyethylene foam, made in the USA. What changes is depth. At 2 inches, the foam column under each landing is deeper, which is what the vendor spec calls enhanced shock absorption — more material working before the impact reaches the floor beneath.
Depth matters most when landings are imperfect, and imperfect landings are the definition of learning. An athlete drilling a new pass lands short, over-rotated, off-line — dozens of times before it's clean. On thin or worn-out foam, those misses hurt, and athletes who hurt start holding back. The thicker profile keeps full-effort repetition sustainable.
The roll system carries over unchanged: one person sets up or breaks down a section, no flipping required before or after rolling, a storage strap comes with every roll, and hook fasteners are included with multiple sections so seams stay joined under traffic. Rolled, a section stands 72 inches tall at a 41 inch diameter.
Where It Belongs — and What It Is Not
This thickness belongs where training volume lives: all-star and school practice gyms, tumbling classes, youth and rec programs, and the 3 x 6 home size for an athlete drilling in the basement or garage. It sits within our gym flooring range as the deep-cushion roll-out option.
What it is not: the exact competition-surface match. The thickness cheerleading performs on is 1-3/8 inch, and programs whose priority is replicating performance conditions should train on that version instead. This mat makes the opposite trade on purpose — extra absorption over exact surface match — and it isn't a spring floor or an inflatable air track either. It's a dead mat with more depth.
Three Things to Check Before You Spec It
Three decisions settle the order.
First, be honest about what the floor is for. If it's a drilling and development surface — new skills, young athletes, high-repetition practice — the 2 inch profile is doing exactly its job. If the floor's main purpose is rehearsing routines under performance conditions, the 1-3/8 inch standard thickness is the truer tool, and choosing thickness by "more is better" instead of by purpose is the mistake that burns programs.
Second, size to the space and the work. A 6 x 42 section builds a tumbling strip; multiple sections build out a practice floor; the 3 x 6 home size covers individual training; and custom sizes are available when the room is the constraint. Remember the rolled bulk when planning storage — at 41 inches in diameter per section, a multi-section floor needs real wall space.
Third, plan the calendar. The home-size mat typically ships in about two weeks by ground carrier; full-size sections and custom builds travel by freight and are quoted at order. Back-plan from the season: a development floor delivers the most value when it's down before the heavy skill-building blocks start, not mid-season.
Why Mats Inc.
Mats Inc. has been putting the right surface under hard work since 1964, and this mat is in the line for a coach's reason, not a catalog reason: development floors take more abuse per week than performance floors, and the athletes on them are the ones still learning to fall. We'll help you match thickness to purpose before you order, and every mat carries our 1-year limited warranty.
| Construction | 26 oz carpet flame-laminated to cross-linked polyethylene foam |
| Foam density | 2.2 lb |
| Thickness | 2 inch — enhanced shock absorption |
| Standard section | 6 ft x 42 ft |
| Home / practice size | 3 ft x 6 ft |
| Rolled size | 41 inch diameter x 72 inches tall |
| Colors | Blue, red, black, purple, teal, light blue, and gray tones; white for inlaid logos only |
| Customization | Custom sizes; inlaid carpet logos from vector artwork (max logo width 60 inches) |
| Included | Storage strap per roll; hook fasteners with multiple sections |
| Typical lead time | About 2 weeks for the home size; full-size and custom floors quoted at order |
| Origin | Made in the USA |
| Warranty | 1-year limited (Mats Inc.) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 2 inch mat a different construction than standard cheer mats?
Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO
No — same recipe, more of it. It's the identical 26 oz athletic carpet flame-laminated to 2.2 lb density cross-linked polyethylene foam; the difference is the foam runs 2 inches deep instead of 1-3/8. That means traction, surface feel, and durability behave the way athletes expect from carpet bonded foam, while the deeper foam column absorbs more of each landing before it reaches the floor underneath.
What does the extra thickness actually change for athletes?
Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO
It changes what a bad landing costs. New skills mean missed landings by definition — short, long, over-rotated — and every miss is an impact the body absorbs. The deeper foam spreads that impact over more material, which is what the enhanced shock absorption rating describes. Over a season of high-repetition practice, that's the difference between athletes who can keep drilling at full effort and athletes nursing sore heels and knees.
How does handling compare, given the bigger roll?
Answered by Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO
The roll system works the same: one person can set up or break down a section, the mat rolls either direction with no flipping, and each roll includes a storage strap. The difference is bulk — a rolled section measures 41 inches across versus 32 for the thinner version — so plan storage wall space accordingly. Hook fasteners still come included with multiple sections to keep seams tight during practice.
What sizes can I get in the 2 inch thickness?
Answered by Jinna Hopson, VP of Marketing
The standard 6 x 42 section is the building block, joining side by side into strips and practice floors, and there's a 3 x 6 home size for individual training spaces. Beyond those, custom sizing is available — if your practice room is an odd length or you want the floor to run wall to wall, tell us the dimensions and we'll spec it as a custom build rather than forcing stock sections to fit.
Do the same colors and logo options apply?
Answered by Jinna Hopson, VP of Marketing
Yes — thickness doesn't limit the look. The carpet palette runs blue, red, black, purple, teal, light blue, and gray tones, with white reserved for logo inlays. Logos are inlaid carpet cut into the surface, up to 60 inches wide, from vector artwork (.ai, .eps, or .pdf — and vector files can be produced for you if you only have a regular image). A practice floor in team colors does quiet work for program culture every single day.
Should we buy 2 inch or the standard thickness?
Answered by Jinna Hopson, VP of Marketing
Match the mat to the floor's job. If the floor is primarily for rehearsing routines the way they'll be performed, the 1-3/8 inch standard keeps practice identical to performance. If the floor is primarily for building skills — drilling, youth development, high-repetition tumbling — the 2 inch cushion earns its place. Plenty of larger programs eventually run one of each: a development floor and a rehearsal floor doing different jobs.
By Dustin Thompson, Owner & CEO, Mats Inc.
