WPPDSports 2015 Abstracts

Full Papers
Full Papers
Paper Nr: 1
Title:

Analysis of Thermal Comfort for Cycling Sport: A Case Study for Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
Authors:

Alessandro Pezzoli and Roberto Bellasio
Abstract: As well known the meteorological and the environmental parameters (as wind, air temperature, rain, humidity, altitude, location, etc…) affect strongly the sport performance. Considering the recent literature on this topic, it is evident how the evaluation of the thermal comfort in the athletes is a crucial subject that has to be studied. In fact the thermal comfort of the athletes is not only linked with the sport performance but also with the safety of the athletes themselves. For these reasons in this research it is presented an innovative methodology to evaluate the thermal comfort of cycling athletes at the next Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. This analysis is carried out for the Rio de Janeiro area considering the two venues for the cycling sport and for the two disciplines (Time Trial and Road Race). The meteorological data of two stations representative of the racing areas have been collected for a period of 20 years. They have been analyzed to produce the wind roses and to calculate two thermal indices: Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET). The results of this research show the importance of the climatological analysis for optimizing the training and nutrition plans of the athletes.
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Paper Nr: 2
Title:

Analysis of the 21/22 October 2014 Storm Experienced by the Sailboat ECO40 in the Gulf of Lion
Authors:

P. De Girolamo, A. Romano, G. Bellotti, A. Pezzoli, A. Boscolo, M. Crespi, A. Mazzoni, M. Di Risio, D. Pasquali, L. Franco and P. Sammarco
Abstract: On October 19, 2014 Matteo Miceli, a known Italian oceanic sailor, left the Port of Riva di Traiano (Rome, IT) with the sailboat ECO40, an Italian vessel, for the Roma Ocean World Project. This ambitious challenge consists in a non-stop sailing alone around the World in energy and food self-sufficiency. ECO40 is a Class 40 oceanic vessel (LOA of 12,0 m) that has been equipped with a data acquisition system for both the metocean parameters recorded on-board (i.e. apparent and real wind speed and wind direction, atmospheric pressure, current velocity, air and sea temperature, etc.) and the kinematic characteristics of the boat itself (i.e. speed and course over ground). Furthermore, the boat has been equipped with a three high precision GPS receivers, provided by Leica Geosystem, for measuring the movements of the boat and with an inertial platform. Due to these high-precision instruments it has been possible to fully measure and characterize the six degrees of freedom of the boat, and accordingly to use the boat as a “sailing wave buoy”. In this paper we present the first analysis of the met-ocean data measured by the boat during the storm occurred in the Gulf of Lion on October 21-22, 2014 that ECO40 faced just few days after its departure.
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Paper Nr: 3
Title:

High Performance Rowing - A Research Outlook using a Coaches Perspective
Authors:

Christian Finnsgård and David McKenzie McGowan
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore research opportunities in the Olympic sport of rowing. While innovation in equipment is promoted in rowing the FISA rules don’t allow for it to be a deciding factor in the performance outcome for an individual crew. Thus, the challenge is to look at innovative ways to develop these abilities within a boat and harness their energy to create the most efficient and effective machine. This paper describes an outlook identifying four areas containing research opportunities with an emphasis on being able to ‘fine tune’ the moving parts of the engine that is a rowing crew: Sonification in the learning of motoric movement, rowing dynamics that will impact the hydrodynamics around the hull by inducing pitch and heave instead of forward propulsion, surface structures and finally objectivity in on water performance. A research outlook is made into different research opportunities in Rowing, using a coaches perspective. Another novelty is the comparison of the work carried out by the athletes in the rowing to the situation in production systems with assembly operators working at assembly workstations, opening up an new area of well-established theories to by utilised in sports.
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Paper Nr: 4
Title:

Electromyographic Analysis of the Swim Start - Bilateral Comparison of the Front-weighted and Rear-weighted Track Start from the OMEGA OSB11 Starting Block
Authors:

Janna Brit Langholz, Gunnar Westman, Magnus Karlsteen and Christian Finnsgård
Abstract: Previous swim start studies involving electromyography (EMG) consistently comprised unilateral measurements and the attachment of the swimmer via cables to a computer. Therefore the present work aims for an overall picture of the muscle activation pattern during the swim start by conducting bilateral measurements with minimal restriction of motion. On that account a multichannel surface EMG device with a wireless Bluetooth connection and videography is utilized in order to assess the nowadays most common start dive techniques of competitive swimming events - differently weighted track starts from the OMEGA OSB11 starting block. The data analysis identified that the normalized muscle activation levels were higher during the front-weighted than during the rear-weighted start - probably caused by shorter block times and less contribution of the arms. Furthermore the onset of the muscle activation seems to be different in between start dive techniques, as for instance the muscles of the rear leg commence contracting earlier while the muscles of the front leg start later in the rear-weighted compared to front-weighted starts. It is highly likely that this originates in the position of the center of mass relative to the muscles. A general overview over the coordination of the different muscles could also be obtained: It became obvious that some muscles are the main drivers of the swim start (vastus lateralis, soleus) whereas others rather exerted supportive actions (gluteus maximus, semitendinosus, erector spinae longissimus).
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