A Deeper Look Into Rowing
For as long as rowers have been taking to the water they have also been asking themselves the challenging question, “will it make the boat go faster.” Recently, technology has advanced in such a manner that we are now able to provide clear and objective answers to that question. Finally, we are able to look under the hood and analyze what contributes to boat speed.
Why Telemetry Matters
We disagree with the old adage of practice makes perfect, rather we subscribe to the notion of practice makes permanent. When fine-tuning the rowing stroke precise repetition is key and immediate real-time feedback allows the athlete to accurately monitor their stroke. Data points such as handle speed, seat speed, total oar arc, blade path, boat acceleration, and boat velocity all aid the athlete focus on the ideal stroke profile. Athletes are now able to train more intelligently and efficiently allowing them to improve their technique rapidly and with a greater understanding of will, it makes the boat go faster.
A Telemetry System can speed up the mastering of efficient rowing technique and synergism. The data from the system needs to be displayed in “real-time” allowing athletes to quickly make changes to improve and even match their rowing stroke to other athletes. The data can be used to blend technique, select athletes that row a similar style so as to predict the success of a particular line-up, and help the athlete reinforce good technique. A Telemetry System goes way beyond even what the best rowing simulators offer as it also focuses on those issues that occur from less than optimum
Rowing Performance by Quiske
Rowing Performance by Quiske was launched in 2016 in an effort to create a system that would tackle three main goals in telemetry. Simply provide instant feedback in the boat, a cloud-based portal for post-session analytics and data recall, and finally a simple and effortless tool for data tracking. These three criteria lead them to develop one of the simplest and comprehensive telemetry tools on the market today.
Quiske Pods
One of the biggest limitations of most telemetry systems on the market today is their complicated installation on the boat. Rowing Performance changed this landscape with their development of the Quiske Pod which can quickly be attached to either the oars or seat and will wirelessly transmit your performance data for instantaneous feedback on your smartphone.
Online Portal
While there are many tools that can help generate information about the rowing stroke, one of the critical factors is the ability to review the data post-session. With this concern in mind, Rowing Performance launched a cloud-based online portal that allows your training sessions to seamlessly upload after the practice is completed. The portal also provides all the tools necessary for critical analysis of an athlete’s training sessions as well as the ability to compare workouts over time to examine how the technique may be evolving.
Instantaneous Feedback
Instantaneous feedback was an essential goal of the Rowing Performance system from the outset. This leads us to develop the Quiske Pod App which connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to the Quiske Pods in the boat. The Quiske Pod App is available for download and works on Android telephones – many of which IP68 certified waterproof. Utilizing the phone’s internal gyroscope and accelerometer allows the system to provide additional information on boat acceleration, boat speed, and mapping.