BRITISH DISABILITY SWIMMING AT THE CUTTING EDGE

Behind the scenes of the GB Paralympic Swimming squad, British Disability Swimming supports its athletes and coaches on the World Class Pathway with a High Performance Science Team, which includes practitioners from the English Institute of Sport as well as the NGB and Higher Education.

The high performance science team provides direct support to the athlete-coach unit in physiology, biomechanics, performance nutrition, mental edge and performance analysis. A project-based approach is also employed to answer some of the ‘big questions’ which will have an impact on performance.

One such project has seen Catherine Gilby, EIS Performance Scientist working with British Disability Swimming, actively involved in the development of a new heart rate telemetry system which is set to revolutionise the world of swim coaching. Italian-based company, Hosand, have had a telemetry system on the market for a number of years which provides ‘real-time’ heart rate feedback. Athletes wear a transmitter that picks up the heart rate signal from a chest strap, sending the data to a receiving unit connected to a laptop. Through this system the heart rate can be viewed for up to 32 athletes during a training session, rather than after or intermittently.

About 18 months ago EIS North West Physiology Technician Paul Barrett, together with input from the company, waterproofed the existing system to use with the British Disability athletes based at the National High Performance Centre in Manchester. There were issues of the signal not working well in water as well as holding the transmitter in place so finding were passed onto the company, with suggestions of development of a specific system to be used in the water.

In June this year, with the final Beijing preparations underway, the company contacted the EIS North West, having developed the Hosand hardware significantly to work underwater. British Disability Swimming Podium athletes based at the National High Performance Centre in Manchester trialled the multiple-user system during the company’s first visit to the UK. The three week trial provided an opportunity to look at it with a number of different athletes during different training sessions.

GB Head Coach for British Disability Swimming, Lars Humer, has already seen the huge impact that this system could have on swim coaching. 

“Finally science and technology has met the coaching demand” said Humer. “For years swim coaches have known the value of being able to monitor heart rate during swim repetitions. Monitoring in real time rather than retrospectively will help coaches to advance swim performance.”

As one of the first teams in the World to order the 32-user system in both able-bodied and disabled swimming, British Disability Swimming has already got plans for the device when they return from the Beijing Paralympic Games. Work with the system will include optimisation of training sets during home programme visits with athletes on the World Class Programme in addition to monitoring up to 32 athletes (at any one time) during training camps. 

“The High Performance Science Team is involved in a number of cutting edge projects” said Tim Reddish, Performance Director for British Disability Swimming. “This new heart rate system will play a major role in the physiological support provided to British Disability Swimming through to London 2012 and beyond.”