The sound of the underwater dolphin-kick: developing real-time audio feedback in swimming

Abstract

One of the main factors for improving movement execution and motor performance in competitive sports is the availability of useful feedback. While coaches can communicate verbally with athletes in most sports, swimming is different. Because the swimmer is underwater most of the time, any type of real-time feedback is difficult. Since the presentation of acoustic information through sonification has proven beneficial to certain motor skills, this paper describes initial considerations for an application of interactive sonification as real-time audio feedback to provide useful information to improve motor execution in swimming. Special attention is given to the underwater dolphin-kick (UDK), which is performed by athletes after every start and every turn and is one of the critical factors for overall performance in world-class swimming. It was examined whether the characteristics of the UDK are represented in the sound in order to create congruency between sound, action and reaction.Two different sonification models were designed using data from 11 national athletes (six juniors, aged 17.0 ± 1.5 years and five seniors aged 23.6 ± 1.3 years). The sonified data were presented to sport scientists and coaches and tested in in a pilot study with three club-level swimmers (17.0 ± 0.8 years) in swimming training. The results indicate that the athletes became aware of relevant aspects of the movement with both sonification models, to which they had no access so far. In detail, the sonification provided information on forward propulsion, movement rhythm and kick frequency – all factors contributing to overall motor performance. Individual statements showed that the athletes noticed deceleration phases in the forward propulsion and the time duration in the movement execution and tried to adapt their movements accordingly. The approaches presented here could therefore serve as a useful training tool for swimmers to improve their UDK.