“One of our key areas at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport is wheelchair configuration,” explained Prof Tolfrey.
“We were approached by wheelchair tennis to look at the surfaces they play on as it’s the first Paralympic Games to be played on a clay court.
“It's going to be hot in Paris, it's going to be a softer surface to what the players are used to pushing on. All those environmental factors; the wheelchair interaction on the surface; the player in the heat; hydration; and the optimisation of the chair, all become pinnacle and important characteristics of performance.
“The project we're doing with wheelchair tennis on the surfaces has been going on for the last four years. One, to enable an athlete to be confident in their wheelchair set-up, and two, that we're looking to increase their mobility performance on that surface as well.
“It might just be the fact that the players can go 0.1 metre per second quicker on a turn, or reach a ball in a better, more optimal position to make a shot.”
Prof Tolfrey talked more in-depth about the process of the research and how athlete buy-in is key to success.
“As a scientist, we use a term called evidence-based practice,” she said.
“We gather data and then we feedback to the athlete to show them the numbers and the improvements. It's important that you get the buy-in from the athletes as well in terms of how they feel.
“All of the work that we do here at the university has been co-created as a team of people, and the athlete sits in the centre of that.
“A lot of the consultation of the scientific questions have been driven by the athletes going to the coaches saying “I want to learn about this, I'm going to be playing on clay, is my chair optimised for the clay surface?”
“It has been an embedded process of learning with the athletes as well. They're the person who uses the wheelchair and plays tennis in that sporting environment. We learn from them, they learn from us – I think that's where º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ really embraces itself as we believe in collaboration, collective ideas and moving forward together.”
Wheelchair Tennis will take place at the Paralympic Games between 30 August - 7 September 2024.
For all the latest º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ news around major global sporting events, visit the University’s dedicated website here: /sport/athletes-global-stage/
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