COMPARISON OF FORCE CURVES BETWEEN ON-WATER SINGLE SCULL ROWING AND THE ROWPERFECT ERGOMETER

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The purpose of this study was to compare the RowPerfect ergometer to single scull rowing in order to validate its use in rowing training and crew selection. Eight national-level rowers were tested over three sets of 500 m, at stroke rates of 24, 26 and 28, on both the RowPerfect ergometer and on-water in a single scull. Blade force and oar angle were measured on-water while force and stroke length were measured on the ergometer. Both force and angle/length were normalised for comparison between the two forms of rowing. Co-efficient of multiple determination revealed high consistency levels for the 5 representative normalised stokes of each subject. Cross-correlation demonstrated high correlations between the force curves of the ergometer and on-water sculling. Thus, the results indicate that the RowPerfect ergometer successfully simulates on-water sculling.