Dalhousie researcher trying to improve Canadian kayak and canoe racing times
Posted May 14, 2018 09:09:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – A local scientist has been gathering data with inertial sensors hoping this will help coaches understand exactly where their athletes have room to improve.
The sensors measure speed, stroke rate, and position of the athlete as well as pitch, yaw, and roll of the canoe or kayak.
Josh Goreham, Dalhousie PhD candidate and sport scientist, says he hopes this will help Canadian athletes improve their time.
“What we are able to do is take this data from the boat and directly relay it to a tablet…That's our goal, to have that information in front of the coach, on the motorboat, as we travel along with the athlete.”
His research and technology, funded through Mitacs, will be used during the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup 1 in Hungary on May 18-20.
Goreham says this goes deeper than traditional velocity tracking.
“The goal of my research, obviously, is long term, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024. Really I want to give the coaches in another tool for feedback to give to their athletes.”
