C. Sforza

D. Ciprandi

I. Pacifici

M. Zago

N. Lovecchio

P. Michelotti

AIR Universita degli studi di Milano

IJAE 
Vo l .  122 ,  n .  1  (Supp lem ent) :  159,  2017
© 2017 Firenze University Press 
ht tp://www.fupress .com/ijae
ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY
Rowing technique determinants: a comparison 
between international and national level rowers
Ilaria Pacifici1, Nicola Lovecchio1, Matteo Zago1,2, Paolo Michelotti1, Daniela Ciprandi1, Chiarella 
Sforza1 
1 Department of Biomedical Science for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
2 Department of Electronic, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Rowing is a motor skill that requires high levels of consistency, coherence, accu-
racy and continuity, particularly at an elite level [1]. The rowing stroke consists of 
two phases: the drive, during which force is applied to the blade in order to move the 
boat relative to the water, and the recover, during which the rowers return to their 
former position [2]. The goal of the current study was to investigate the kinematic 
differences between rowers of International Level (IL) and National level (NL), in 
order to identify parameters that have the potential to characterise the best ergometer 
rowing technique. With this objective, we analysed three IL (age: 18.3 (0.5) [years]; 
height: 183.0 (8.8) [cm]; weight: 76.3 (8.9) [kg]), and thirteen NL rowers (22.2 (1.9) 
[years]; 182.5 (4.7) [cm]; 77.1 (7.4) [kg]), using a motion capture system (BTS SpA, Ita-
ly). Duration of the stroke phases, Range of Motion (RoM) of the knee 3D trajectories, 
length of the body Centre of Mass trajectory (COMd) and the curvature of the wrist 
path during the stroke (Index of Curvature, IC) were compared using the Mann-
Whitney U test. The findings showed that the IL rowers presented a non-significant 
decrease of the drive phase duration (IL: 0.94 (0.04) [s]; NL: 1.05 (0.08) [s]; p= 0.122), 
higher Knee Rom (IL: 0.68 (0.04) [m]; NL: 0.51 (0.02) [m]; p= 0.018) in the Anterior-
Posterior direction, a higher COMd (IL: 2.62 (0.12) [m]; NL: 1.74 (0.15) [m]; p=0.026) 
and a higher IC (IL 0.984(0.003); NL: 0.980(0.003); p=0.040). In conclusion, the stroke 
duration, the amplitude of the movement in the Anterior-Posterior direction and the 
control of the wrist path seem to be associated with high-level performances; the 
findings suggest that IL rowers present a better command of technique, timing and 
power, compared to NL rowers. 
References
[1] McGregor et al. (2002) The assessment of intersegmental motion and pelvic tilt in elite oarsmen. 
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 34 (7): 1143-1149. 
[2] Cuijpers et al. (2015) Rowing Crew Coordination Dynamics at Increasing Stroke Rates. PLoS One 
10 (7): e0133527. 
Keywords
Ergometer rowing, elite athletes, sport kinematics, sport biomechanics


Rowing technique determinants: a comparison between international and national level rowers

https://air.unimi.it/retrieve/handle/2434/526356/910293/rowing_pacifici_2017_21551-44769-1-PB.pdf

Rowing technique determinants: a comparison between international and national level rowers

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