Abstract
Improving ski-turn skills is of interest to both competitive and recreational skiers, but it is not easy to improve on one’s own. Although studies have reported various methods of ski-turn skill evaluation, a simple method that can be used by oneself has not yet been established. In this study, we have proposed a comfortable method to assess ski-turn skills; this method enables skiers to easily understand the relationship between body control and ski motion. One expert skier and four intermediate skiers participated in this study. Small inertial measurement units (IMUs) and mobile plantar pressure distribution sensors were used to capture data while skiing, and three ski-turn features—ski motion, waist rotation, and how load is applied to the skis—as well as their symmetry, were assessed. The results showed that the motions of skiing and the waist in the expert skier were significantly larger than those in intermediate skiers. Additionally, we found that the expert skier only slightly used the heel to apply a load to the skis (heel load ratio: approximately 60%) and made more symmetrical turns than the intermediate skiers did. This study will provide a method for recreational skiers, in particular, to conveniently and quantitatively evaluate their ski-turn skills by themselves.
Highlights
Alpine skiing, in which skiers make turns to descend a snow-covered slope, is one of the most popular winter sports
Because it has previously been reported that skilled skiers make symmetric turns [1] and, with our method, we found that the expert skier’s features demonstrated symmetry for ski motion, waist rotation, and load applied to the skis, it demonstrates that our method is able to effectively capture the features of an expert skier
The measurement system consisted of three small inertial measurement units (IMUs) and mobile plantar pressure distribution sensors that do not interfere with skiing
Summary
In which skiers make turns to descend a snow-covered slope, is one of the most popular winter sports. Turns performed by a highly skilled skier are, on a flat surface, for example, symmetric [1,2,3]. Such a skilled ski turn requires accurate and rhythmic control of the skis—proper load distribution and active changes in posture are important. The main method to improve skiing skills is to receive instruction at a ski school because it is difficult to learn these skills effectively or to grasp skill level objectively on one’s own. A learning method that shows the relationships between changes in load, posture, and skiing motion would be convenient to facilitate learning skiing effectively on one’s own; a minimalistic assessment methodology that can extract these relationships for skill improvement is required
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