MOTION A NALYSIS SYSTEM
Dr. Jim Richards pores over the data from the motion analysis system. The cutting-edge technology has already paid dividends for many skaters, including Ashley Cain, who is wearing the reflective dots in preparation for her jump testing.
about your safety. Instead, you’d drive at a speed that reflected the top end of your comfort zone. In a similar way, there is a limit on how fast you will let yourself spin. Te key is to train yourself to increase that limit,” Dr. Richards said. He encourages athletes to focus on making one small change at a time until the jump is mas- tered.
Te system, Arbour said, has proven to be
psychologically positive for the skaters. “Many of these athletes have been working a long time on perfecting a certain jump without success,” she said. “When they realize how close they actually are, they can often do the changes needed and land the jump.” Te project receives funding through the co-
operation of U.S. Figure Skating and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). “We want to be pioneers in the application of this type of system, and it is definitely a work in progress,” Mitch Moyer, senior director of athlete high performance at U.S. Figure Skating, said. “It is great what Dr. Richards and the other scientists have already accomplished. We are ex- cited to see what is coming as we move into the future of this project.”
Scott Riewald, high performance director at the USOC, is equally excited about the future of this cutting-edge technology.
“Tis technology is ideally suited for the
long-term development of athletes who are looking to add a new jump to their programs,” Riewald said. “Even though the system can help them master a new jump shortly after the testing, it will take a longer period of time to have the confidence and training necessary to land it con- sistently in a competitive program.
“Te athletes using the system today are
most likely working on jumps they will have in their programs in Pyeongchang (South Korea). Our goal is to see U.S. athletes standing on the podium at major international competitions, and if there is an initiative that helps our top athletes develop and maximize their potential, we will do what we can to support it with our resources.”
Coaches with students working on ad-
vanced triple and quadruple jumps can contact U.S. Figure Skating’s Director of Sports Science and Medicine Peter Zapalo at
pzapalo@usfigureskating.org to find out more about using the system.
SKATING 21
PHOTO COURTESY OF BY DARLENE CAIN
PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM RICHARDS
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