Pacing Behavior and Tactical Positioning in 1500-m Short-Track Speed Skating

Konings, Marco J.; Noorbergen, Olaf S.; Hettinga, Florentina J.

doi:10.1123/ijspp.2015-0137

Cited by 55 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…[8][9]18,28] This is in contrast to performance in other head-to-head competitive sports such as short-track speed skating where, in the final stages of the race, the trailing rider has a clear aerodynamic advantage of drafting in the slipstream of the preceding competitors. [15][16] As previously found when comparing cycling with skating, [29] pacing strategies might differ related to the specific nature and characteristics of the different sports.The use of a fast start strategy in the Boat Race is in contrast to other endurance events of similar duration. [11,23] For cycling events longer than 4000m an even-paced strategy is typical and energetically most favourable [11] and this is also the case for performances in longer distances of speed skating (up to 10km).…”

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“…[13][14] During the race, the athletes must respond to events dynamically as they unfold, 4 while still being aware of their physical capabilities, the demands of the event, their opponents' actions, [15][16] tactical considerations, and the level of physical discomfort they are prepared to endure. [6] In comparison to cycling and running, rowing has received comparatively little scientific research on pacing and performance [17][18][19][20] and the unique form of head to head competition of two teams directly racing against each other in the Boat Race has thus far remained unexplored.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…[6,30] and therefore the results of the study provide additional evidence to suggest that athletes balance between choosing an energetically optimal profile and the tactical benefits that play a role in head to head competition in a specific sport, as previously demonstrated in short track speed skating. [15][16] Although establishing an early lead appears the optimal strategy for the race, there remains a positional advantage late in the race for crews on the Middlesex station if they are in the leading position at Barnes Bridge (checkpoint 4; 83.1% of total race distance). From that position, crews have achieved victory on 41/42 occasions (98% of wins) ( Table 2).…”

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Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race: Performance, Pacing and Tactics Between 1890 and 2014

2016

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Key points:1. Oxford and Cambridge crews are now significantly faster and heavier in comparison to their racing predecessors 2. All crews in the 124 year sample displayed a fast start racing strategy 3. Obtaining an early advantage appears more meaningful than the selection of starting station despite undulations in the river course 2 Abstract:Background: Currently no studies have examined the historical performances of Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race crews in the context of performance, pacing and tactics which is surprising as the event has routinely taken place annually for over 150 years on the same course. Objectives: The purpose of this study was twofold, to firstly examine the historical development of performances and physical characteristics of crews over 124 years of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race between 1890 and 2014 and secondly to investigate the pacing and tactics employed by crews over that period. Methods: Linear regression modelling was applied to investigate the development of performance and body size for crews of eight males over time from Boat Race archive data.Performance change over time was further assessed in 10-year clusters while 4 intra-race checkpoints were used to examine pacing and tactics. Results: Significant correlations were observed between performance and time (1890-2014) for both Oxford (r = -0.67; p<0.01) and Cambridge (r = -0.64; p<0.01). There was no difference in mean performance times for Oxford (1170 ±88s) and Cambridge (1168 ±89.8s) across 1890-2014. Crew performance times improved over time with significant gains from baseline achieved in the 1950s (Cambridge) and the 1960s (Oxford) which coincided with significant change in the physicality of the competing crews (p<0.01). There was no tactical advantage from commencing on either Surrey or Middlesex station beyond chance alone, however, all crews (n=228) adopted a fast start strategy, with 81% of victories achieved by the crew leading the race at the first intra-race checkpoint (24% of total distance). Crews leading the race at the final checkpoint (83% of total distance; 1143m) achieved victory on 94% of occasions. Conclusion: Performances and physical characteristics of the crews have changed markedly since 1890, with faster, heavier crews now common. Tactically, gaining the early lead position with a fast start strategy seems particularly meaningful to success in the Boat Race throughout the years, and has been of greater importance to race outcome than factors such as starting station. 3 Introduction:The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is one of the oldest, continuing sporting events in the world, [1] with great history and which is watched annually by ~15 million people worldwide. [2][3] Historically as well as scientifically, the race is of unique value, as performance data have been collected in the same event over 2 centuries: the ideal set-up for a field-based longitudinal evaluation. The first heavyweight men's eights race between the two universities was held in 1829 at Henley-on-Thames, before going...

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Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race: Performance, Pacing and Tactics Between 1890 and 2014

2016

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“…For example, drafting i.e., one skater, skating closely behind another, has been shown to reduce both heart rate and blood lactate in short track speed skating (Hoshikawa et al, 2005;Rundell, 1996). Thus allowing a skater or team to conserve energy for the later stages of the race, where improved performance has been shown to result in better final race position (Konings, Noorbergen, Parry, & Hettinga, 2016). The difficulty in overtaking, however, has been cited as a reason why skaters and coaches are reluctant to utilise drafting as a race strategy (Hoffman, Listemann, McManaman, & Rundell, 1998).…”

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Relay exchanges in elite short track speed skating

Hext

Heller

Kelley

et al. 2017

European Journal of Sport Science

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In short track speed skating, the relay exchange provides an additional strategic component to races by allowing a team to change the skater involved in the pack race. Typically executed every 1½ laps, it is the belief of skaters and coaches that during this period of the race, time can be gained or lost due to the execution of the relay exchange. As such, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of the relay exchange on a team's progression through a 5000 m relay race. Using data collected from three World Cup relay events during the 2012-2013 season, the time taken to complete the straight for the scenarios with and without the relay exchange were compared at different skating speeds for the corner exit prior to the straight. Overall, the influence of the relay exchange was found to be dependent on this corner exit speed. At slower corner exit speeds (12.01-13.5 m/s), relay exchange straight times were significantly faster than the free skating scenario (P < 0.01). While at faster corner exit speeds (14.01-15 m/s), straight times were significantly slower (P < 0.001). The findings of this study suggest that the current norm of executing relay exchanges every 1½ laps may not be optimal. Instead, varying the frequency of relay exchange execution throughout the race could allow: (1) time to be gained relative to other teams; and (2) facilitate other race strategies by providing an improved opportunity to overtake.

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Will the Conscious–Subconscious Pacing Quagmire Help Elucidate the Mechanisms of Self-Paced Exercise? New Opportunities in Dual Process Theory and Process Tracing Methods

et al. 2016

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RUNNING HEAD: CONSCIOUS-SUBCONSCIOUS PACING CONTROL 2 Key PointsThe extent to which athletic pacing is under conscious or subconscious control has been a significant point of discussion and disagreement among researchers in this field, yet has failed to produce notable advances in our understanding of pacing mechanisms.The notion that conscious processes are independent of subconscious, pre-conscious and unconscious influence is conceptually flawed, restricted in theoretical scope and has limited investigative utility.Key terms of conscious, preconscious, subconscious and unconscious are defined and dual process theory, which distinguishes between intuitive and deliberative action, is offered as an alternative framework for investigating the control of athletic pacing. RUNNING HEAD: CONSCIOUS-SUBCONSCIOUS PACING CONTROL3 Abstract A prevailing issue is the extent to which athletic pacing decisions are made consciously or subconsciously. In this article we discuss why the one-dimensional conscioussubconscious debate that has reigned in the pacing literature has suppressed our understanding of the multidimensional processes that occur in pacing decisions: how do we make our decisions in real life competitive situations? What information do we use and how do we respond to opponents? These are questions that need to be explored and better understood, using smartly designed experiments. The paper provides clarity about key conscious, pre-conscious, subconscious and unconscious concepts, terms that have previously been used in conflicting and confusing ways. The potential of dual process theory, in articulating multidimensional aspects of intuitive and deliberative decision-making processes, is discussed in the context of athletic pacing along with associated process-tracing research methods. In attempting to refine pacing models and improve training strategies and psychological skills for athletes, the dual-process framework could be used to gain a clearer understanding of i) the situational conditions for which either intuitive or deliberative decisions are optimal, ii) how intuitive and deliberative decisions are biased by things like perception, emotion and experience, and iii) the underlying cognitive mechanisms such as memory, attention allocation, problemsolving and hypothetical thought. RUNNING HEAD: CONSCIOUS-SUBCONSCIOUS PACING CONTROL4

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Pacing Behavior and Tactical Positioning in 1500-m Short-Track Speed Skating

Cited by 55 publications

References 29 publications

Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race: Performance, Pacing and Tactics Between 1890 and 2014

Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race: Performance, Pacing and Tactics Between 1890 and 2014

Relay exchanges in elite short track speed skating

Will the Conscious–Subconscious Pacing Quagmire Help Elucidate the Mechanisms of Self-Paced Exercise? New Opportunities in Dual Process Theory and Process Tracing Methods

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