Name: Huw Roch

Occupation: DPS Student Sports Technology, Loughborough University

Legitimacy of landings in dispute

Safety issues due to increasing throw distances

Decrease flight distance

Bring nose down to ensure it hits the ground first.

Flight distance needs to be reduced

Decreasing the pitching moment will bring the nose down

This will shorten flight length and increase the likelihood of the nose sticking in the ground

The easiest way to change the pitching moment is to move the centre of gravity away from the centre of pressure (this is where aerodynamic forces of life and drag act).

• In 1986 the centre of gravity of the male javelin was moved 4cm forwards and in 1999 a similar action was taken on the female javelin.

This had a significant effect of the length of the flight and can be clearly seen in the record throw lengths for each year.

Players gaining a unfair advantage due to technological advancement

Courses becoming to short due to equipment development

These clubs create an unfair advantage due to U-grooves on the face

The square shaped grooves allow a very large amount of spin to be imparted on the ball, this helps to stop the ball on the green

Recently clubs started to be developed with a face that allow a deformation followed by a quick restoration to its original dimensions

This acts like a slingshot on the ball creating a large ball speed allowing extremely long tee shots

Many courses simply are not long enough to provide a challenge if the clubs have this capability

Rules need to be developed to ensure unfair advantages are not gained and to prevent the need for major development across most golf courses

Regulate coefficient of restitution properties of club/ball

Create rules regulating shape of groves in the club face

In 1998 a rule was placed stating that the coefficient of restitution between ball and clubface can not exceed 0.83.

Rules on club face/ball coefficient of restitution to prevent large trampoline effect having a sling shot effect on the ball

Square groves on the club face are banned as they allow an unfair level of spin to be imparted on the ball

Identical kicks of a ball can create different deformations and therefore rebound effects depending on the orientation of the ball

Reduce the difference in stiffness between stitches and the centre of the panels

Account for material bias

Create new techniques to bond ball panels without creating areas with differing stiffness properties

Find a way to arrange the material in the panels to find the optimum

Adidas created a new technique for binding the panels of their balls using thermal bonding. This removes the need for stitching creating a much more even material stiffness across the surface of the ball.

An mathematical model was also created which optimises each panel’s orientation with regards to those around it to balance out the warp/weft characteristics of each

Recently the Sports Technology Institute has been involved in looking into the opportunities to improve athletic sprint performance by customising the soles of an athletes shoes.

It has been hypothesised that personally customised sole stiffness properties can improve an athletes performance.

The basic principles that this study is using are that the stiffer the sole of the shoe the less energy is absorbed by the shoe and also that a stiffer sole will create a more efficient lever (by moving the centre of pressure)

To test the theory of shoe customisation a variety of sprint shoes were created with rapidly manufactured soles attached. Each sole was a different thickness to vary the stiffness property.

Various tests were carried out including a variety of jump tests to calculate the impulse generated with each shoe.

These are the results from a subject doing a squat jump with different stiffness soles being worn.

(Shoes become stiffer A-F with F the most stiff)

It seems logical that the companies who manufacture sprint spikes should just increase their shoe’s stiffness to improve performance

However sole stiffness is optimal at a different point for every sprinter. › The stiffer sole requires more energy

generation at the ankle.› It also may require the sprinter to adapt their

technique.› Finding the balance is key

The conclusion that was made was this:

Sprint shoes that have soles of a customised stiffness optimised for an athlete can improve performance. However it requires two way customisation, shoe to athlete and athlete to shoe.