With 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games, the new sit-skis for Great Britain’s athletes have been unveiled – with the designs being influenced using the expertise of researchers at Coventry University.
The new sit skis, which have been tested extensively by Great Britain’s leading Para Nordic athletes, are the result of an advanced engineering innovation process led by Williams Advanced Engineering’s in-house Design Team, GB Snowsport’s Sport Sciences department and a multi-disciplinary research team from Coventry University. The sit skis have also had further technological and engineering input from BAE Systems and Formaplex.
The National Transport Design Centre and the Centre for Sports, Exercise and Life Sciences welcomed the athletes to the university in April 2019 to help tailor each sit-ski to the individual athlete’s technique.
“The athlete’s bodies were scanned and measured, and their existing sit-ski rigs were also analysed using scanning equipment. This was accompanied by a biomechanics analysis of the athletes and their rigs. This technical analysis gave the researchers a real understanding of the technical aspects of the athletes’ performance.
“Using cutting edge pressure mapping technology, the university researchers measured variations in pressure experienced by the athletes when using their sit-skis. By identifying high and low-pressure areas of contact, revised designs were proposed that would optimise the fit between the athlete and their bespoke rig.”
These improved bespoke rigs enable the athletes to adopt individual postures that allow maximal and sustained force to be exerted, and will support Great Britain’s quest for Paralympic success at the Games and across the 2021/22 winter season.
“As a university we were delighted that a team of experts from across the university’s research centres were able to work together to help support Williams Advanced Engineering and the GB Snowsport athletes in the preparations for the forthcoming Paralympic Winter Games”.
Find out more about the National Transport Design Centre and the Centre for Sport, Exercise and Life Sciences.
