Physiological demands of different sailing techniques of the new Olympic windsurfing class

Abstract

The introduction of the new Olympic class windsurf-board has prompted sailors to develop a new technique of sail "pumping" (rhythmically pulling the sail so that it acts as a wing). Contrary to the old technique that mainly involved upper body activity, the new one requires both upper and lower body muscle activity. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to compare the performance characteristics of the board (speed and pointing angle ability relative to the direction of the wind) as well as the sailors' physiological demands during sail pumping with the old and new pumping techniques. Nineteen male, highly-trained (V(O)(2max)): 65.1 +/- 5.9 ml min(-1) kg(-1)), international level windsurfers from six different countries underwent two testing sessions on-water in a balanced order. Compared to the old pumping technique the mean distance sailed with the new technique (1,872 +/- 15 and 1,764 +/- 13 m, respectively) and the board speed (3.42 +/- 0.49 and 3.81 +/- 0.28 m s(-1), respectively) were significantly (P < 0.05) shorter and greater, respectively. Consequently, the time taken to sail the testing course was significantly shorter with the new compared to the old technique (390 +/- 8 vs. 420 +/- 16 s). Despite the finding that the new technique was sustained at a significantly higher fraction of V(O)(2max) (80.5 +/- 5.2 and 72.7 +/- 4.5%, respectively) compared to the old technique, total energy expenditure (130.7 +/- 11.3 and 128.1 +/- 9.2 Kcal, respectively) and blood lactate concentration 3 min into recovery (9.4 +/- 2.2 and 8.5 +/- 1.7 mmol l(-1), respectively) were not different. It is concluded that application of the new sail pumping technique improves the performance characteristics of the board without increasing the sailors' total metabolic requirement.

Physical requirements in Olympic sailing

“…Comparable or greater values for metabolic response have been observed in boardsailing by De Vito et al (1996& 1997, and more recently, Castagna et al (2007;2008) reported oxygen uptake values of 65 ml*kg -1 *min -1 , or above 80% of VO 2 max, with heart rates above 90% of HRmax and serum lactate exceeding 10 mmol*l -1 in elite Olympic board sailors when recorded during highly taxing conditions on water (characterized by light wind and down-wind sailing where immense sail pumping (i.e. manual repetitive movements with the rig) contributes as a main factor to propulsion).…”

Bilateral and Unilateral Asymmetries of Strength and Flexibility in Young Elite Sailors: Windsurfing, Optimist and Laser Classes

“…The age of these sailors was higher than those of the Optimist and Windsurfing classes, thus the greater value in the levels of strength could be related to a greater development of skeletal muscle structures ( Table 2). Despite this age difference, it would be expected of the sailors of the Windsurfing class to present greater strength values in the hand grip test due to the improvements acquired by the specific practice of their sport [4][5][6]. In flexibility, only the sailors of the Windsurfing class had better results than those of the Laser class ( Table 2).…”

“…On the other hand, in Windsurfing class boats, the strength of the upper limbs is directly related to the sailor's performance [4]. With the action of the flexors of the fingers, together with the that of the flexors of the elbows, the sailor controls the boat sail, which controls the direction and speed of the vessel [5,6].…”

Metabolic Changes During a Field Experiment in a World-Class Windsurfing Athlete: A Trial with Multivariate Analyses

“…Its practice depends on three basic conditions: the athlete, environment, and equipment. Little is known about metabolism in windsurfing athletes because most articles in this area have focused on physiological parameters (Campillo et al, 2007;Castagna et al, 2007Castagna et al, , 2008Chamari et al, 2003;Melis et al, 2003;Pérez-Turpin et al, 2009;Vogiatzis et al, 2002) and injuries (Dyson et al, 2006;Hetsroni et al, 2006;McCormick and Davis, 1988;Nathanson and Reinert, 1999;Nathanson et al, 2008;Neville and Folland, 2009;Nickel et al, 2004;Orchard et al 2002;Petersen et al, 2003).…”