“I used to think kayakers were backward. Then I stole their tech…”
Straight off, this isn’t a “rowing” product, but technology from paddle sport. In saying that, I believe that this tiny piece of kit may be the missing link that could give rowers all the data that up until now has only been exclusively for the elite national squads and well-funded clubs.
Until recently, I had very little interaction with anyone in paddlesports, even though I share a change room and clubhouse with kayakers, rarely do we ever exchange more than a polite, “water’s looking good this morning.” Moreover, as a means of propulsion the paddle is simply not as effective as an oar, the difference is the leaver and the use of the entire athlete’s body to create a huge multiplication force factor.
But boy, do they do it tough in paddle sport, so credit where credit is due. As you know, they face in the right direction and can actually see where they are going. So just imagine what it would be like at the startline facing forward up a 2km course? You would see the diminishing perspective lanes of marker buoys going far off into the distance and the finish line disappearing over the horizon. Most of us rowers would simply faint at the sight. But not so with paddlers for they courageously face the battle head-on. I think as a rower, looking backward is a nice way of living in denial and not having to face up to the enormity of the race that lies ahead.
Although the paddle predates recorded history, the innovations of paddlesports today are clearly outstripping innovations in rowing. This can be seen in hull and paddle design, testing and telemetry. Paddlesports have developed testing environments unequalled in rowing and are able to research at levels that in rowing we are decades away from. It is in this paddle sports environment that a sports science team at the University of Porto are helping me with my own rowing design work and from which the Paddlemate was developed. The Paddlemate has given me access to data essential for my work as an innovator and I have been using it for the development of a new bow design that has recently been introduced.
Access to power data is still elusive to so many of us in the sport of rowing. Yet, the significance of data in giving crews the winning edge hasn’t been more clearly on display than at Henley 2023. We saw Oxford Brookes, who use NK data extensively, clean sweep in all of their events. Six wins in six events. I was at Henley for Junior Rowing News conducting an interview series on innovation and the critical use of power data was never more apparent. During my interviews, we had a scoop from Filip Ljubicic from World Rowing that a change in the visibility of power data during racing is soon to be enacted. The great gap between those who have the data to train and more importantly, to race with, has never been greater. This is where the use of the Paddlemate will come into its own as such a simple and elegant piece of kit can be easily applied to rowing.
I have had some correspondence with the CEO Attila Schulcz who said about his interest in breaking into the rowing market “We are doing our best to make a better impression in the future.”
I asked Attila about having a different setup to the NK and as to why they were not giving a replica product.
“Our main point is to measure the force in Newtons at the attack of the blade. We can calculate Power (in Watts) from the applied force and we also measure strokes per min, pace and boat speed. Comparing this feature with Nielsen Kellermann’s EmPower OarLock – that is measuring the shaft angle (velocity) and the force in 5 measurement points. We are trying to look at things differently while giving an affordable product – that is why we are using the cloud and real time coaching option via personal smartphones”
I have been using the Paddlemate for six months and have found it to be a useful substitute for a full biometric set-up. For just over two hundred EURO, you can have the instrumentation similar to one with a price tag of a couple of thousand. It was useful to have my doubles partner and I track the power curves, working to create a uniform graph. I love that I can see the data both graphically or on a spread sheet and can really “science the shit out of it!” But there are some compromises which you need to know about before you rush off to purchase a set. I continue to use my stroke coach for real time in boat data and the Paddlemate for postmortem analysis. You will need to keep your phone in the boat so it can record and transmit the data. I have found the interface and the available live data more of a novelty and is dependent on the size of your own phone screen and your eyesight when the work is on. The interface is an aspect that the developers at Paddlemate are working on for the rowing community. But even in its current state, it’s well worth it.
I think the Paddlemate could open up the world of data for those on a lighter budget and we look forward to seeing a more targeted product for rowing. Until then, we’ll just have to keep paddling backwards and see where we end up.
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