The Effect of Rocker on Ice Friction in Short-Track Speed Skating

Short-track speed skates are prepared with rocker to improve cornering behavior. However, rocker also has a negative impact on ice friction. As there is currently no scientific theory for selecting optimal rocker profiles, skaters have to rely on personal experience. There is a lack of experimental data available in literature to validate...

Evaluating the use of a piezo-resistive pressure sensor system for performance feedback in long track speed skating

In the sport of long track speed skating, in recent years there has been an increasing desire for training tools which provide deeper technical insight of the skating movement to the athlete and coaches. In previous literature a variety of measurement systems have been presented; one such system included the instrumented klapskate developed at...

Micro-Activity Recognition using Wearables for Human Augmentation

Wearable devices have paved way for several context-aware applications in the field of health-care and sports to improve the well-being of users and their performance for human augmentation. During rehabilitation patients need accurate feedback that can empower and improve the speed of recovery. On the other hand competitive athletes need a...

The effects of different speed skating push-off techniques on the mechanical power, power distribution and energy expenditure

The technique of speed skating is unique in comparison to other sports that require human propulsion. Skaters generate a forward velocity by pushing off sideways. The ideal push-off technique is a trade-off: a more sideward directed push-off facilitates power production, but a more forward directed push-off increases the transfers rate of push...

Modelling and measuring 3D movements of a speed skater

Ice-skating is a rather special form of locomotion: the skater pushes sideward to propel himself forward; Insight in the details of this technique can help a speed skater improve his performance. The aim of this thesis is to develop a reliable and valid three-dimensional biomechanical model that simulates the motion of a speed skater, to gain...

AFThe Vibe of Skating: A Wearable Vibrotactile Speed Skating Coach

Speed skaters often mention a so called “good feeling”, this “good feeling” is the feeling as if the skating goes automatically. Most of the time this feeling rises when skating behind a better skater, but sometimes it also happens when skating alone. This is the feeling nearly every speed skater is after when skating then they say something...

A comparison of speed skating with normal and reduced ankle eversion

Purpose: Executing the sideward skating push-off requires a skater’s full attention and capabilities. Ankle eversion (AE) occurs during the push-off with skaters of low and high skill levels. Controlling AE requires high muscle force. AE adds unnecessary stress thus fatigue is a likely consequence. A purpose for AE in speed skating has not yet...