Quantifying on-water performance in rowing: A perspective on current challenges and future directions
Open Access
- 16 March 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
- Vol. 5, 1101654
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2023.1101654
Abstract
Winning times at benchmark international rowing competitions (Olympic Games and World Championships) are known to vary greatly between venues, based on environmental conditions and the strength of the field. Further variability in boat velocity is found in the training environment, with less controlled conditions (i.e., water flow, non-buoyed courses), less world class competitors, and the implementation of non-race specific effort distances and intensities. This combination of external factors makes it difficult for coaches and practitioners to contextualise the performance underpinning boat velocity or race results on any given day. Currently, a variety of approaches are referenced in the literature and used in practice to quantify this underpinning performance time or boat velocity, however, no clear consensus exists. The use of relative performance (i.e., time compared to other competitors), accounting for influence of the weather (i.e., wind and water temperature), and the novel application of instrumented boats (with power gates) have been suggested as potential methods to improve our understanding of on-water rowing speeds. Accordingly, this perspective article will discuss some of these approaches from recent literature, whilst also sharing experience from current practice in the elite environment, to further stimulate discussion and help guide future research.This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
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