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The Biomechanics Lab tests elite curler techniques for Canadian Olympic Committee
The Biomechanics Lab has funding from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Own the Podium program to do research of elite level curlers in order to improve their chances of medaling in Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
They tested 3 men's and 3 women's teams, all world champs at some point within the last 5 years.
They shipped their motion analysis cameras (8 cameras) and system out to the Edmonton Saville Centre. There, they were setup along either side of a sheet of curling ice from the hog line to the house (as seen in the photo).
The cameras are used to track small reflective markers that were attached to the curling rock and the curler's brooms. The motion analysis system records the positions of these markers in 3 dimensions to better than a millimeter accuracy.
They were tracking the trajectory that the rock makes (speed and spin rate) with and without sweeping. They were testing several different techniques that the curlers use in tournaments to determine which sweeping strategies are the most effective at moving the rock where you want it to go.
This information is funded by the Own the Podium 2010 program of the Canadian Olympic Committee with the intent to giving Canadian athletes an advantage at the Vancouver winter games in all winter sports.
The people who went were Trevor Birmingham, Dan Bechard (PhD student-rehab sciences), Rebecca Shultz (PhD student-kinesiology) and Kristyn Leitch (MSc student-rehab sciences).
Three men's teams (Martin, Koe and Ferbie) and three women's teams (Kleibrink, Bernard, King) were tested and they all made sure to wear their Fowler Kennedy wind breakers and they think they made a very good impression on the organizers.