Visual Search Strategy During Regatta Starts in a Sailing Simulation

Abstract

In a sport conditioned by natural elements such as sailing, visual perception is a key factor for the performance. Research has shown that the visual behavior of athletes at different skill levels varies, which may cause differences in the performance achieved. The aim of this research was to examine the visual behavior of sailors from different ranking positions at the start of a race in a simulated situation. Twenty junior sailors (N = 10 top and N = 10 bottom ranking) participated in this study. The visual behavior was recorded at the start of a sailing simulation. The top-ranking sailors performed more visual fixations on the locations that have more highly relevant information, such as "telltales" and "rivals," than do bottom-ranking sailors (p < .005). The top-ranking sailors are closer to the start line at the time of the start signal. The analysis of the visual search strategy shows that top-ranking sailors employed a more active visual search strategy. More experienced athletes can make better use of the information obtained from the important locations.

Complexity, Regularity and Non-Linear Behavior in Human Eye Movements: Analyzing the Dynamics of Gaze in Virtual Sailing Programs

“…This would be a result to be taken into account, since we would then see a functional visual behavior, as indicated in other studies [19], which could allow sailors to optimize their visual search strategy. Further, these results are in line with those obtained by Manzanares et al [39], which showed that bottom-ranking sailors, who have a lower level of experience, performed fewer recurrent fixations on locations than top-ranking sailors. This more erratic visual behavior may be related to a higher complexity index, although this was not analyzed in that research study.…”

Performance Factors in Dinghy Sailing: Laser Class

“…Age seems to be a key factor in choosing the most suitable route during the competition. The age of the sailor is significantly and negatively related to the distance travelled (r = −0.88; p < 0.01), with the oldest sailors being those who will use less time and distance to complete the competition course [25,26].…”

Performance Analysis in Olympic Sailors of the Formula Kite Class Using GPS

“…When the sailor is sailing, he/she must carry out a decision-making process in order to interpret and respond to the stimuli of the environment, and such process is influenced by the ability to visualize [7]. This variable determines the spatial orientation of the sailor, and the greater the development of this capacity, the better the position in which he/she will be located in the starting area and the better the route chosen during the regatta will be, using the positions of buoys as a reference [8,9].…”