Forget the image of sports success as a triumph of brawn over brains—Australia’s smart athletes are now embracing micro-technology as their secret weapon.
At Perisher Blue resort, researchers from Griffith University and the Australian Institute of Sport conducted the first major snowboard competition to be judged electronically with a new hi-tech monitoring system.
Australia’s hottest athletes from the Ski & Snowboard Australia National Squad wore the device, which precisely measures acceleration, rotation, and air time to provide an instant record of each athlete’s performance across a range of aerial tricks.
Griffith PhD student Jason Harding is working with the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport to develop the device.
“The device won’t replace human judges—we will use it alongside top professional judges, who assess the competitors from a subjective viewpoint,” he said.
He said judges traditionally used a hand-written ‘memory board’ to record notes on performance, faults and technique throughout a run.
“This means they have to look down, and so they could miss key parts of a run. This effectively provides an electronic memory board so they can keep their eye on the competitor.
“At this elite level the competitor’s skill is so evenly matched, judging can come down to a matter of opinion. This technology provides another dimension to objectively assess a performance.”
Project supervisor Dr Daniel James of Griffith University’s Centre for Wireless Monitoring and Applications said snowboarding was just one of a variety of sports being revolutionised by micro-electronics.
“Griffith University electronics engineers are working with Queensland Academy of Sport on a system to monitor an Olympic swimmers’ stroke speed and efficiency, while others are developing a cricket-bat mounted device that measures stroke acceleration and power at different phases of a batsman’s swing,” he said.
“It’s ideal for sports such as swimming and surfing that are difficult to monitor from a distance, but it can really be adapted to most sports. We just need to work with sport scientists and coaches to find a way to get the specific information they need.”
Dr James said the new micro-technology devices had clear advantages over previous lab-based monitoring systems.
“It gives the opportunity for assessment during training and potential actual competition, whereas lab systems are difficult to move to the performance environment.”
The engineering team has even adapted the technology to Japanese sword-fighting, an art in which competitors take years to perfect their swing.
“Elite sports is a high stakes environment, adoption of technology has historically encountered some resistance from athletes when integrating technology into time-honoured sports and arts. Many coaches are retired athletes who use the methods they were trained with,” Dr James said.
“But once they realise the gains that could be made, they embrace it. For example in cycling and rowing it’s now rare to get an athlete that’s not monitored in some way.”
He said while technology was a powerful tool, it wasn’t a magic bullet for aspiring athletes. “Electronics will give them the edge by helping them train smarter, but it’s always going to be up to them to put in the work!”