Sportstechreview is an independent blog focussing on new sports equipment design developments and innovations world wide. It is run voluntarily, therefore, if you would like to submit an article or new sports product development for publication, please email: sportstechreview@gmail.com.
According to HEAD, "YOUTEK™ combines superior technologies to give you the individual benefits you need to match your playing style. Not only does YOUTEK™ meet your individual needs but it enhances your performance on the court and brings out the best in you”.
“The new YOUTEK Extreme Racquets are able to adapt to each shot you hit,” said Roger Petersman, Senior Category Manager Tennis Racquets. “The Extreme racquets have an increased head width allowing for much greater spin generation on the ball, which is perfect for the aggressive, modern tennis player.”
The YOUTEK™ Extreme line offers two new models:
YOUTEK™ Extreme Pro – All of the benefits of the Extreme MP in a heavier, stiffer version, the Extreme Pro provides YOU with all of the extra touch, power and spin you need for an aggressive game.
YOUTEK™ Extreme MP – The Extreme MP is designed for the modern tennis player with the perfect combination of weight and balance to be quick through the air. Now with YOUTEK™ to perfectly match YOUR individual needs.
Sportstechreview has been priveleged to welcome a new football boot technology by a newly formed company Brightstar Sports Tec Ltd. their technology aims to replicate compliance orf the skin, ultimately improving the ability for a footballer to spin (swerve) the ball upon comand.
. The technology has shown to create a greater mean spin than competitor boots by up to 26%.
. The mean spin results do demonstrate the prototype’s consistency in providing an enhanced level of spin when compared to the competitor’s boots in both dry & wet conditions.
. The prototype samples demonstrate higher COF than all competitor boot samples in both wet & dry conditions.
. The initial prototype shows remarkable potential with clear development channels available to reach class-leading performance in the future.
We got in touch with Iain Davis and this is what he said:
"I played football up till a knee problem forced me to retire at 17, I was still able to have a gentle kick about after an operation but was told that any contact sport was a bad idea!
Through out my life and as far back as Ii can remember Ii have watched football and the world cup has always amazed me,due to the difference in technique speed and effort that different teams from around the world have or dont have.
The team that had always stood out was brazil .They seemed to play effortlessly,deft touches,bending balls around the corner making the ball work for them!
Knowing that alot of the south American players came from playing bare footed as youngsters due to alack of money and yet had in their adult game afar better first,second and final touch than most of the rest of the worlds players got me thing,how,why??
I came to the conclusion that playing bare footed ,allowing the skin of the foot to have better grip on the ball as it would GRIP,STRETCH and MORPH to the balls surface,allowing greater contact time,enhanced grip and a general better control!! I was going to try to replicate skin on the outside of a football boot!
So now having this as my starting point i then started to source materials that would have these properties,grip,elasticty and morph to the surface of a ball.I was able with the help of a friend who was a cobbler to mock up a prototype that had these working properties.. All the time that i was doing this was just to prove a point to myself and for no other reason,
I played football for half an hour in my normal boots to get my natural touch and then changed into my prototype boot and absolutly straight away i was able to induce greater spin on the ball,thus proving my point,to me!!!
After afew days i realised that it may have a wider audience .I was on a train that stopped short of the station(Horley) and there beside the train line was a sign on a building for "EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEY",,i phoned for an appointment ,went along and from there begun the process of gaining first the British Patent then going on to get 11 European granted Patents.
I then with the help of Sussex university went about applying for Goverment grants to do the R&D to prove the concept as it was still scientifically unproved and would be very hard to get proper interest from Brands and such,3 years later and failed applications I decided to try to get private investment which was achieved and i was then able to get Progressive Sports based at Loughborough university(one of the worlds leading sports rnd facalties) to undertake the R&D.
The RnD came back positive when tested against the worlds biggest brands boots which have enhanced grip,strike locations with results of upto 26% more grip,20% more spin generation and my material had protective properties that would protect the metatarsal bones of the feet!!
Result...
I am now at the point where the technology needs to be incorperated into a football boot and as such i am looking to raise more investment so that i can have arun of boots made up .With help from Howard wilkinson who has invested in this technology we will be able to make direct contact with top flight professionals and take their game to a greater level, exagerate their natural ability and allow greater team,game play".
Good luck Brightstar and we hope it makes it big!!! We will keep our readers up to date.
According to HEAD, "YOUTEK™ combines superior technologies to give you the individual benefits you need to match your playing style. Not only does YOUTEK™ meet your individual needs but it enhances your performance on the court and brings out the best in you”.
“HEAD has taken technology to a whole new level with YOUTEK™,” said Roger Petersman, senior business manager of tennis racquets for HEAD Penn Racquet Sports. “YOUTEK™ can actually sense the needs of the tennis player during different shots to perfectly match your game.”
In the YOUTEK™ Prestige Series, YOUTEK™ incorporates d3o™, a “smart material” which dramatically changes its behavior under dynamic loading or impact. Located in the shaft of the racquet, d3o™ reacts to the needs of a player within nano seconds, providing a softer touch and better feel on slow speed impacts, like slices and drop shots, and increases stiffness necessary to create power on high speed impacts, such as a serves and passing shots.
The Prestige series includes the following:
Prestige Pro: Features a more open string pattern providing extra pop for a more aggressive tour player and also includes a leather grip for ultimate tour performance.
Prestige Mid: A great tour racquet that offers maximum touch and control with the extra stability that is ideal for serious heavy hitters.
Prestige Mid Plus: Provides outstanding touch and control for great playability and is the racquet choice of HEAD stars Gilles Simon, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tommy Haas.
Its great to finally get a female on board after months of searching and here she is....
Sian is currently a PhD student at Loughborough University in England. She is studying in the Sports Technology Institute on a project with British Swimming, developing new technologies for improved performance analysis of elite swimmers.
Sian graduated from Loughborough University’s Sports Technology BSc before joining the research team in 2006. Alongside her research studies she has also gained additional expertise working as a consultant for Progressive Sports Technologies on projects involved with sports bras development and novel training devices.
On completion of her PhD, early 2010 (fingers crossed!), she will return to surf trips to the coast, snowboarding trips to the Alps and plenty of mountain biking down the road in the Peaks.
READ HER FIRST BLOG POST BELOW...
Sian’s previous sports research papers include:
Accelerometer profile recognition of swimming strokes Vol.1, pp 81-88, Proceedings of the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) 7th International Conference June 3 - 6, 2008, Biarritz, France
Business Process Modelling and its use within an Elite Training Environment Vol.1, pp 73-80, Proceedings of the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) 7th International Conference June 3 - 6, 2008, Biarritz, France
Enabling technologies for robust swimming performance monitoring Vol.1, pp 45-54, Proceedings of the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) 7th International Conference June 3 - 6, 2008, Biarritz, France.
d3o, a concept so simple yet so effective. Think back to that experiment we all did as kids, cornflour + water = complete amazement. When stirred gently it flowed around our fingers like water, yet when hit it became as solid as a rock. Richard Palmer, creator of d3o, has applied this same concept to a material that is now incorporated into all kinds of apparel and protective equipment.
The ski industry is littered with products with the d3o touch this season. Let’s start with the big guns, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Spyder will be supplying the U.S. and Canadian ski teams with race suits, where regular padding has been replaced by d3o on the forearms, triceps and thighs. Working with Spyder, the d3o team were able to reduce the padding by 40% compared to previous d3o protection and consequentially improved the overall aerodynamics of the suit.
For those of you who prefer skiwear that leaves a little more to the imagination there are jackets and pants by Head and Schöffel, beanies by Ignite, impact shorts by Burton R.E.D. and gloves by Hestra.
Fancy contributing to sports garment design and science. Progressive Sports are developing a new high visibility garment for a major sports brand and would like your views on the design! If you complete the questionnaire, which should only take a few minutes, then you could win a new high visibility running top!!!
Please click the link above or below for your chance to win the running jacket below:
So, I attended a fantastic bike fitting course in London over the Xmas period, hosted by CycleFit and SICI (Serotta Cycling Institute). It is a scientifically focussed course which prescribes methods to create a comfortable/ safe bike fit whilst maintaining a great performance posture profile. As part of my job at Progressive Sports we hope to offer Bike fitting (the university way!), with rigorous science attached, to the general public. We will hopefully be using technologies such as a Lode ergometer, Vicon biomechanical analysis and seat pressure systems in the end. At this stage, however, we are just at the beginning and I am going to blog about becoming a professional bike fitter from scratch!
12th November 2009
RECHARGE recovery suit compression garment by UnderArmour
Athletes at every level across the globe know Under Armour as the brand that provides the advantages they need to maximize performance. The originator of performance apparel introduces post-game/post-workout compression. You broke your body down…now build it back up with Under Armour compression that recharges you between games or workouts. RECHARGE™ compression is designed to re-energize your body, promote muscle repair and reduce swelling.
HOW RECHARGE™ MAKES YOU A BETTER ATHLETE
• STRATEGIC COMPRESSION- Designed to target muscles to reduce swelling & decrease soreness time.
• DYNAMIC CASTING EFFECT- Aligns & stabilizes muscles so they can repair themselves better.
• UA INNOVATION- Re-energizes your body for the next game or workout.
For best results:
• Put on RECHARGE™ Compression within two hours post-game or post-workout.
• Wear RECHARGE™ top & bottom together for 24 hours.
