The Effect of Posture on the Running Speed of Skiing

These experiments were performed at the Syowa Station in Antarctica (69°00'S, 39° 35'E) where a straight ski course was constructed (length 100m. gradient 12°). The conditions were as follows; wind velocity: 0-0·5ms−1, temperature: − 25°C, snow temperature: −29·5°C.snow density: 0·309 gcm−3. Running speed was measured by a coil-magnet system. The subject with a small magnet fixed on one leg ran closely down past the coils placed every 5m along the course. Two healthy members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition who were well-trained skiers acted as subjects. Running speed was measured in three different postural conditions (a) standing, (b) egg-shaped, (c) starting in the egg-shaped posture and then standing erect in the latter half of the course. Velocity was measured throughout the course and the following results were obtained: velocities at the final section of the coils, which were placed 65m from the start point, were as follows for each postural condition: Subject KW; (a) standing, 7·6ms−1 (b) egg-shaped, 8·6ms−1 (c) egg-shaped followed by standing erect, 8·2ms−1. Subject B; (a) 7·8ms−1, (b) 8·9ms−1, (c) 8·4ms−1. The friction between the ski and snow was calculated as about 0·13 for all conditions. It was concluded that postural difference may have a considerable and clear-cut effect on running speed even when the skiing speed is rather low.