Sports Engineering最新文献

Ice hardness and friction influence performance and safety in ice sports, yet the role of water quality remains poorly understood. This study examines how total dissolved solids in rink water affect ice characteristics using nondestructive hardness testing and a skate-to-ice static friction index measured under controlled rink conditions. Results show that temperature influences ice hardness and static friction, with colder ice being harder and exhibiting higher static friction. Water quality also plays a role, as lower total dissolved solid levels reduce static friction, with effects comparable to a 1[Formula: see text]C increase in ice temperature. However, ultra-pure water produced softer ice, while moderate total dissolved solid levels maintained ice hardness with minor static friction increases. These findings support hockey rink recommendations to maintain total dissolved solids near 80 to 100 ppm to balance ice hardness with friction performance. However, other sports, such as curling, may benefit from lower total dissolved solids for reduced static friction. Understanding these relationships informs best practices in rink maintenance and water treatment.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12283-025-00538-z.

Evaluating alpine skis on snow is pivotal for ski development and consumer decision-making, yet it is resource-intensive and hindered by subjective assessments. Leveraging recent extensive ski physical measurements and on-snow ski evaluation metrics, this study proposes an automated methodology that employs elastic net regression, bootstrap resampling, and intelligent feature selection to predict the on-snow performance using a minimal set of physical attributes. Results on 192 skis divided into 10 categories and 29 metrics indicate promising predictive capabilities, with models exhibiting an average Mean Absolute Error rank prediction of 15%. Importantly, the models utilize less than three physical attributes on average, underscoring their simplicity and effectiveness in identifying key performance-defining properties. These findings, to the authors' knowledge, represent the most comprehensive description of ski on-snow performance to date and hold implications for ski design and consumer guidance. Moreover, the automated methodology enables the easy integration of other evaluation sources, facilitating further refinement and validation, while promising to consider the diversity of opinions related to ski on-snow performance assessment.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12283-025-00511-w.

The health benefits of physical activity are well known, however, for the postpartum population there are barriers to retuning to physical activity such as pelvic pain and a fear of movement. Pelvic pain can manifest from instability in the pelvic region and lead to impaired balance and postural stability, exacerbating fear of movement. This study aimed to assess the effect of pelvic compression on postural stability in postpartum women and a nulligravida control cohort. The participants' postural stability was measured using an inertial measurement unit, and the outcome measures JERK, mean velocity, trajectory area index, and root mean squared acceleration calculated, across two visual conditions (eyes open and eyes closed) during tandem and unilateral stances with and without the use of a pelvic compression belt. Significant improvements were observed, particularly in root mean square acceleration (p = 0.003) and JERK (p = 0.001), when a compression belt was used indicating enhanced postural stability, with the participants moving more smoothly and less intensely when maintaining balance. The effect of compression was highly individualised, suggesting pelvic compression could serve as an effective intervention to improve postural stability, though individual responses warrant a tailored approach for optimal results.