Making the best skating suit possible

To help prepare for Vancouver 2010, Canada’s Own the Podium 2010 organization put NRC scientists to work in areas that are crucial to improving athletic performance. As Canada is the number one skating nation in the world, our speed skaters were the focus of intense research to help them reach peak performance.

In speed skating, a solid understanding of airflow around the human body not only helps athletes improve their body position and reduce drag, but is also critical when analyzing the performance of their race suits.

Knowing this, NRC researchers Dr. Guy Larose and Annick D’Auteuil set out to investigate different factors that can influence the aerodynamic performance of the athlete and their equipment. To do this accurately, they needed to measure aerodynamic drag on the skater’s body for several different body positions because skaters continuously change their body shape as they move around the track.

To move fast you must stay still

It is virtually impossible for any human being, including speed skaters, to remain still long enough to collect the quantity of data needed to analyze aerodynamic performance. Static models were key to NRC’s research. But store window mannequins don’t have the muscular build of an athlete. So male and female body types, based on actual athletes, had to be designed and manufactured. Here’s how…

First, full body three-dimensional scans of a male and female athlete were carried out by XYZ RGB Inc. The company, with roots in both Ottawa and Los Angeles, is accomplished at producing full 360 degree, 3D image scans for special effects in movies and video games. This time, instead of digitizing cinematic heroes they worked with real action figures — Canada’s speed skaters.

Next, NRC’s Design and Fabrication Services translated the 3D computer images into human body parts using a specialized laser fabrication technique (selective laser sintering or SLS) to build each part layer by layer. The body pieces were then fitted together so that the mannequin could be disassembled, dressed in various test race suits and then reassembled.

For each male and female model three different mannequins were produced, each one replicating a skating position — a side push, a glide and a crossover.

Approximately 12 body pieces were manufactured for each mannequin. For one male body, one female body and three different skating positions for each form, this amounted to a total of 72 body parts and six months of work.

The results?

Based on NRC tests, the best race suit for Canada’s speed skating team has been selected. “The suit has evolved significantly from that worn at the Torino games,” says Dr. Larose.

Just as importantly, our skaters now know that they are among the very best at their sport and they are competing with the most advanced equipment available.

That may be just the technological and psychological edge they were looking for in 2002.

…. Now that’s golden.