Coming Up With More Things To Ban

Posted by Anthony Mowl in EQUIPMENT on 08-25-11    2 Comments


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So the next conference of “Stuff-to-be-banned” is happening next week in Melbourne, Australia. Who can forget the now-banned Speedo LZR full-body swimsuits that broke 43 world records in a single World Championships? Now scientists of the type who came up with the LZR are coming back for seconds at the Asia-Pacific Congress on Sports Technology.

Be on the lookout for new world records and banned products in kayaking, badminton, and cycling with workshops next week on:

  • Instrumentation of a kayak paddle to investigate blade/water interactions
  • Aerodynamic properties of a shuttlecock with spin at high Reynolds number
  • Fabric testing for cycling skinsuits

And in the ultimate example of finding a way around the word no, you can attend “An evaluation of swimsuit performance,” and “Microstructures an aerodynamics of commercial swimsuits.” Or how about we tinker with swimming some more so we can break some more world records just for the sake of taking the athlete out of the sport, and have scientists come up with a new starting block? You can check out “The effect of start block configuration and swimmer kinematics on starting performance in elite swimmers using the Omega OSB11 block.”

While scientific research in general is important, I can hardly see how putting bright minds together to improve kayak paddles or swimsuits is going to help the world. A new shuttlecock? Seriously? Do we really need these things? Another golf ball that goes further (A study of golf ball aerodynamic drag), or a newer soccer ball (Aerodynamics of contemporary FIFA soccer balls) sounds to me like excuses to get people to buy more stuff. What’s wrong with the balls we have now? They’re round enough, aren’t they? There’s plenty of work to be done in regards to global warming, efficient energy, or making a tablet computer that could actually compete with the iPad. Or how about we help Matt Damon out and get some clean water to Africa?

With conventions like this and scientists working on these projects, it looks like we’re getting to the point where instead of going to a sporting event, I might as well just rent a movie. At least a good movie can be less predictable than sports have become.

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2 Comments on “Coming Up With More Things To Ban”

  • Nick Hamilton

    Oxymoron or just Moron?? You’re writing for a blog claiming to be ‘your connection to sports and technology’. Yet you mindlessly rubbish a potentially excellent conference expanding the connection between sports and technology. Please explain yourself better otherwise you just come across as a small minded troll looking for an argument.

    08-26-11 » 9:51 am »

  • Anthony Mowl

    I can see your point that this post might come across as an oxymoron. But there’s a difference in the type of technologies that are potentially beneficial to sports and the type that I see as wasting time, money, and smarts.

    The conference has some good workshop topics that analyze injuries, cardio, and the development of signals and measurements. When it comes to safety, conditioning, and communication technologies, I’m all for it. But coming up with new balls and swimsuits, in my mind perverts and changes the sports they’re supposed to “improve.”

    What’s wrong with a golfer working on their game instead of having a ball that does more for them? Or a swimmer who practices harder instead of having a more aerodynamic swimsuit? These types of innovations to me, are unnecessary.

    08-26-11 » 10:05 am »

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