Canoeing is an on-water sport admitted by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and Canoe Sprint became an Olympic discipline in 1936: its programme includes events over 200 m, 500 m and 1000 m. There are numerous Canoe events in single (C1), double (C2) and four (C4) boats. In this discipline the canoeist is kneeling on one knee, and uses a single-bladed flat paddle. In the same way as kayaking, canoeing is a sport whereby propulsion of the boat is derived mainly from muscle actions of the upper body. Conversely, the kneeling position of the canoeist influences the dynamic behaviour of the hull and the force stroke exerted by the single-bladed paddle results in augmented `fluctuation` of the average speed, in greater roll angle and wider pitch span of the canoe with respect to the kayak boat. Besides, the flat shape of the paddle determines the particular paddling technique. In canoeing high forces must be applied at high stroke rates and athletes are coached both in stroke technique and power or resistance training. Elite athletes stand out for the style and efficiency of the stroke, for power and resistance and for skills in the race strategy. Biomechanical measures of canoeing is an important asset to improve performance. In addition comparing results from test to test enables monitoring of an athlete's yearly, and year-to-year improvement. Finally, the experimental analysis of the main kinematical and dynamical parameters allow to examine the shape of the force curves for stroke error detection purposes and to reduce the ineffective hull movements. In this paper the performance and the paddling technique of 4 elite and non-elite canoeists are presented by means of an on-water experimental apparatus. While a lot of research on rowing biomechanics was done and many studies on biomechanical parameters and mechanical efficiency in kayaking exist, to our knowledge no on-water canoeing experimental works are available in scientific literature. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the capability of the experimental system to the monitoring of an athletes`s improvement, to provide useful data for training sessions and to refine paddling technique.
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