AN ACCURATE ESTIMATION OF THE SPRINGBOARD REACTION FORCE IN VAULTING TABLE OF GYMNASTICS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the measurement method of the reaction force from the springboard used in vaulting table of gymnastics. Ten male gymnasts?performed the handspring vault. The springboard was mounted on four force plates. The ground reaction force was obtained at 1000Hz. A high-speed camera at 500Hz sampled the springboard motion. The springboard was modeled as, 1) twenty-nine segment model consisting of three boards, 2) twelve segment model consisting of upper board, 3) two segment model consisting of upper board and 4) one segment model consisting of upper board. Board reaction forces of these models were calculated from GRF and accelerations of segments. Results indicate that the simpler two segment model can be used to accurately calculate the BRF as same as the complicated model (twenty-nine segment).