It’s all downhill from here After the worst winter for 47 years, the snow has finally gone. I miss it already and now I’m looking forward to virtual winter from the comfort of my armchair courtesy of the BBC and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Britain is not best suited for winter sports since we […]
Revenge of the spaghetti strings?
Many tennis commentators decry the demise of the wooden racket, with a smaller head and less forgiving nature, it demanded a more considered and poised form of play. While it is unlikely that a current professional, raised on cutting-edge carbon fibre rackets would revert to lumber, there is an outlawed stringing method which could have […]
Running with breasts, a weighty issue
Recently, I received an email from Inside the Games, an online newsletter used to keep people up-to-date on the London 2012 Olympics and other events. It had the following headline: Rawlinson removes breast implants to help win Olympic gold in London With only this to go on, I was confused because the only Rawlinson I […]
Who has the fastest balls in the land? Part 1:
When researching topics for lectures and public talks I often find myself on youtube, clicking through an endless parade of videos in search of interesting stories and useful information. It was while looking into the history of the golf ball (a fascinating topic in itself!) that I stumbled across the following clip.
Leipzig: meat, no vegetables and Sports Engineering
On the 18-20th November, Leipzig (Figure 1) in East Germany played host to the ANSYS Conference & 27th CADFEM Users´ Meeting. John Hart and Tom Allen from the Sports Engineering Research Group were in attendance, leaving behind cold wet Sheffield in exchange for cold wet Leipzig. ANSYS produce Finite Element (FE) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. FE […]
Casio EX-FS10: Slow Motion Golf
Golf is an obsession for millions and now an Olympic sport. The intricacies, delicacies and finer details of the game are what set it apart to makes it one of the most loved and hated sports in the world. Golf is a rough sea of changing hope and fortune, a game of highs and lows, […]
Main Dieu! – Thierry Henry’s hand ball
We couldn’t let this one pass, even Radio 4’s Any Questions? had something to say. On Tuesday evening I gave a small lecture about the role of technology in Sport, I used Diego Maradonna’s famous Hand of God as a case study; should football utilise technology to assist referees? I hope the students marvelled at […]
The rise and rise of disability sport
Sports engineers never seem to be that far away from a controversy. Just as one ‘issue’ is put to rest, you can be sure that a new hot potato is on the horizon. I’d argue that this is no bad thing; it is just a symptom of people’s natural resistance to change, and as long […]
The World Cup draw: altitude will be the key
Every World Cup draw is accompanied by a new ball, and media speculation is never far behind. The draw for FIFA 2010 on December 4th will focus attention on the ties in South Africa in next year, but I have some thoughts on what people are likely to be saying about the ball. Goalkeepers are […]
What has golf got to do with the Dambusters?
When I started a PhD on golf-green ball impacts back in 1985, my supervisor Dr Alastair Cochran suggested that I look for information on the Dambusters. For those of you not old enough to have seen the 1955 film starring Michael Redgrave, the Dambusters were the RAF’s 617 Squadron who flew Lancaster bombers during the […]
Engineering Sport 