Rower, blade, boat and water are in continual interaction during the rowing stroke and must be highly coordinated to achieve international medal winning performances. Rowing is a strength endurance sport. Its continuous, cyclic and closed skill movement must be repeated more than 220 times in a race at a high strength level. Technical proficiency is essential to achieve a high performance, as it is of little value to develop strength, endurance and physiological capabilities if these qualities cannot be transferred into boat speed. As the performance gap between boats narrows (races are often won =0.1% over 2000m), and the training loads reach the athletes` physical limits, there is a need for further research to find new and innovative ways to help coaches and athletes improve individual racing strategies to maximise boat velocity. Measuring multi-dimensional boat performance during racing was found valuable (Draper 2008), however the data presentation lacked on profiling boat-related variables in relation to crew performances and world`s best times. Therefore, the aim was to analyse racing strategies linked to the rowers` capability using visualisation techniques. Methods In the last three years (at World Championships, Olympics) 45 Australian boats in 18 boat categories were equipped with the MinimaxX tracking device (Catapult Innovations) during racing, collecting boat velocity, 3D boat acceleration and 3D boat orientation. The data were analysed, the stroke by stroke (sbs) data detected using proprietary software. Multi-dimensional graphical sbs time scatter and polar plots with a defined colour scheme were used to profile performance-related thresholds or different race phases for each boat variable to assess stroke consistency patterns in relation to boat velocity. Results 3D time scatter plots revealed a sbs consistency of boat-related intra-stroke patterns in regards to technique, performance and race progress. Lower intra-stroke pattern variations (propulsive boat acceleration) related highly to better boat performances. Polar plots appeared more meaningful for displacement-related variables (transverse boat acceleration, yaw). Discussion/Conclusion Colour-coded multi-dimensional graphical displays were found to be a powerful analysis tool to profile comprehensive sbs changes of several characteristic boat-related curve patterns in relation to the sbs average boat velocity and stroke rate throughout a rowing race. The results underscored that meaningful visualisation techniques are crucial tools to assist coaches/athletes in assessing and fine-tuning racing strategies. These displays are being utilised for training and testing in optimising crew and individual technique parameters and influencing boat motion. Literature Draper C, Rice T, et al (2008). Characteristic curve patterns of 3D boat motion in international rowing races in all boat categories. 13th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Estoril/ Portugal
© Copyright 2009 14th annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Oslo/Norway, June 24-27, 2009, Book of Abstracts. Published by The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. All rights reserved.