Abstract
The principal aim of this study was to examine the impact of variability in interpersonal coordination and individual organization on rowing performance. The second aim was to analyze crew phenomenology in order to understand how rowers experience their joint actions when coping with constraints emerging from the race. We conducted a descriptive and exploratory study of two coxless pair crews during a 3000-m rowing race against the clock. As the investigation was performed in an ecological context, we postulated that our understanding of the behavioral dynamics of interpersonal coordination and individual organization and the variability in performance would be enriched through the analysis of crew phenomenology. The behavioral dynamics of individual organization were assessed at kinematic and kinetic levels, and interpersonal coordination was examined by computing the relative phase between oar angles and oar forces and the difference in the oar force impulse of the two rowers. The inter-cycle variability of the behavioral dynamics of one international and one national crew was evaluated by computing the root mean square and the Cauchy index. Inter-cycle variability was considered significantly high when the behavioral and performance data for each cycle were outside of the confidence interval. Crew phenomenology was characterized on the basis of self-confrontation interviews and the rowers' concerns were then analyzed according to course-of-action methodology to identify the shared experiences. Our findings showed that greater behavioral variability could be either “perturbing” or “functional” depending on its impact on performance (boat velocity); the rowers experienced it as sometimes meaningful and sometimes meaningless; and their experiences were similar or diverging. By combining phenomenological and behavioral data, we explain how constraints not manipulated by an experimenter but emerging from the ecological context of a race can be associated with functional adaptations or perturbations of the interpersonal coordination.
Highlights
Interpersonal coordination means that the movements of at least two individuals are coupled
The inter-cycle variability was examined through its magnitude (RMS and Cauchy index (Ci) values) and frequency
Boat velocity variability was associated with the variability in the interpersonal coordination and individual organization at kinematic and kinetic levels, which is in accordance with the literature (Soper and Hume, 2004; Hill and Fahrig, 2009; Nolte, 2011)
Summary
Interpersonal coordination means that the movements of at least two individuals are coupled. As propulsion alternates with oar recovery, the variations in boat velocity cannot be avoided, which led Hill and Fahrig (2009) to suggest that variations in boat velocity can cost as much as an additional 5 s in a 2000-m race compared with a boat hypothetically moving with constant velocity These authors noted that “a slight reduction of velocity fluctuations may be achieved by a moderate reduction of stroke frequency compensated by an increased force output for each stroke” In rowing the minimization of inter-cycle velocity variations can be achieved in three distinct ways: (i) monitoring stroke rate (Soper and Hume, 2004 advised 30 cycle.min−1 for 2000 m; Hofmijster et al, 2007 advised a stroke rate considerably lower than 36 cycle.min−1), (ii) optimizing the ratio between stroke length and stroke rate, and (iii) increasing the synchronization between the rowers For this latter point, Baudouin and Hawkins (2002) mentioned that “coordination and synchrony between rowers in a multiple rower shell affects overall system velocity” This coordinative aspect of rowing performance was recently investigated through the analysis of how rowers experienced their activity (Lund et al, 2012; Millar et al, 2013; R’Kiouak et al, 2016): the authors emphasized that the rowers attempted to coordinate their limbs (i.e., intrapersonal coordination) and themselves (i.e., interpersonal coordination), and sought to coordinate with other environmental information such as the variations in the boat velocity (i.e., extrapersonal coordination) (Millar et al, 2013)
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