ProStance To Exhibit At PGA Merchandise Show
January 20th, 2009 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Putting BiomechanicsProStance, the revolutionary training aid, is delighted to announce they will be exhibiting at the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show, Orlando.
The inflatable balance aid, the must-have tool for any golfer wanting to improve their game, will be on show for the first time at booth #2080 at the Orange County Convention Center from the 29 – 31 January 2009.
With over 40 Tour professionals already trusting this unique product, including three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Rory McIlory, Bradley Dredge, Robert-Jan Derksen, Philip Archer, Richard Finch and Becky Brewerton, the simple balance aid is steadily confirming it’s position as one of the most-advanced, yet simple, game improvement tools on the market today.
With results at the elite end of the game that include improving driving distance by up to 27 yards and reducing the putts per round by up to four strokes, ProStance ensures weight is concentrated through the centre of gravity of the golfer’s body. The result: improved balance leading to powerful more consistent ball striking and smoother more consistent putting strokes
Providing instant feedback during every swing, ProStance is so simple yet effective, it is set to revolutionise the way golf is taught.
With plans to expand its distribution and sales in the US and more countries worldwide, the ProStance team look forward to welcoming you to booth #2080, at the 2009 PGA Merchandise show. www.pro-stance.com
Media Contact:
Pure Sports Marketing on +44 (0)1332 866455 or e-mail info@weknowsport.com
Hi-Tec wins GOLF EUROPE Product Awards 2008
October 8th, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Hi-Tec, Quintic Video SoftwareGlobal sports and outdoor footwear manufacture HI-TEC are proud winners of the Golf Europe Product Awards 2008 presented yesterday at the Golf Europe Exhibition, Germany. Judged by leading industry experts the HI-TEC Pure Power WPi scooped top prize at this years prestigious awards only open exclusively to innovative products scheduled for market introduction in 2009.
The brand new HI-TEC Pure Power WPi is a revolution in golf footwear, never seen before! Featuring HI-TEC’s exclusive CDT game enhancement technology, developed in partnership with Quintic Consultancy and world number 4 and 3 time major winner Padraig Harrington, this style continues to prove that winning power does come from your feet!
The Pure Power WPi also features the worlds first in nano technology – ion-mask™. ion-mask™ is a brand new, earth friendly, scientific advancement that works on a molecular level to repel water and other liquids, ensuring your footwear stays lighter, dryer and cleaner for longer, without changing the original properties of the material.
Unlike other waterproofing technologies that only offer waterproofing with a degree of breathability, the ion-mask™ water management technology offers a further 6 key benefits.
- 100 % Waterproof – By enhancing each individual fibre of the materials themselves and with particularly dense material such as leather it is possible to engineer a 100% waterproof product.
- 100% Breathable – The treatment binds invisibly (on a nano scale) to material fibres, enhancing them, rendering the material as breathable after the process as before.
- Hydrophobic – By enhancing each individual fibre the shoe itself becomes protected, much less absorbent to liquids and quicker drying.
- Lightweight – A treated shoe does not absorb as much water in wet conditions and is on average 35grams lighter than those with a membrane.
- Stay Cleaner – Like water, the treatment also helps to repel dirt and reduce staining whilst the low surface energy prevents long-term dirt and mud build up.
- Environment Friendly – Non toxic, minute quantities of chemical are used during the room temperature process ensuring virtually no waste of materials of energy in comparison to dip application (DWR’s) or membrane technologies.
The award winning Power Power WPi represents a perfect illustration of HI-TEC’s commitment to instantly comfortable and lightweight game enhancing footwear. Available from May 2009 in White / Silver and White / Cobalt in sizes 6-12’s inc halves the Pure Power WPi has a suggested retail around £109.99.
Discover more about HI-TEC featuring ion-mask at www.wetisdry.com
Discover more about HI-TEC CDT at www.cdtpower.com
GEL Makes its Mark…
September 23rd, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, GEL Golf, Golf Biomechanics, Putting BiomechanicsGEL Groove Putters … the Story So Far
It hardly seems possible that it is only 20 months since GEL Golf launched its first range of groove putters, such has been the huge impact that GEL has made on the fiercely competitive international golf putter market.
Groove Equipment Ltd (GEL) was set up by former Hong Kong amateur representative and now Hong Kong businessman, Alec Pettigrew, based on the strong belief that groove technology is set to revolutionize the putter marketplace.
“In the not too distant future, all putters will use groove technology given the proven benefits of grooves which reduce skid on the ball and gets the ball to start rolling straighter and sooner and therefore ensures more putts are holed,” explains Alec, CEO of GEL Golf.
Alec first came across grooved putters when he witnessed Goosen’s putting display in the 2001 US Open and was intrigued by the South African’s innovative, if obscure, putter. Goosen it appeared was using one of the first groove-faced putters to appear on Tour, a Yes! model designed by renown putting guru, Harold Swash. The concept of a grooved putter face was created by Swash when he discovered that grooves at a slight angle grip the golf ball better at impact to improve the forward roll of the ball. The angular grooves allow the golf ball to achieve the desired topspin roll in less time and distance than a flat-faced putter, thereby being more effective at preventing the ball from skipping, skidding or spinning sideways.
Convinced by the groove technology, Alec seized the opportunity to distribute Yes! groove putters in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It wasn’t long before he had created demand that far out-stripped the company’s supply capabilities, so he also took control of global production. Quickly he expanded the men’s range, brought in a ladies range and introduced the distinctive yellow, black and white grips by which the brand is now immediately recognizable.
Yes! putters fast became the second-most played putter on the Asian Tour, and even more telling, first among golfers without a putter contract. Top golfers like KJ Choi, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo and David Howell were all converting to grooved putters.
With Yes! sales and profits spiraling skywards the company was in a better position to take its production in-house. Alec made a clean and amicable break from Yes. Now out on his own and in no doubt about the benefits of grooves in putters, Alec set out to form a new brand of groove putters that he believed would out-perform his rival’s range. It was Alec’s belief that not only could the grooves be improved but there were other technologies that could be incorporated into putters.
And so GEL began operating in Hong Kong in 2006 and its groundbreaking GEL putters, complete with USGA and R&A approval, were launched at the Orlando PGA Merchandise Show in January 2007, closely followed by their European launch in London in March.
The GEL putter range, comprising six models, took the golf trade by storm with their innovative groove technology that boasted inserts of horizontal, multi-layered aluminium grooves for a more responsive feel and enhanced sweet spot. Whilst on the back of feedback from Tour pros GEL has made their putters larger, heavier and more balanced heads, encouraging an even smoother and more rhythmical putting stroke.
Alec ensured that the GEL putters were easily distinguishable by using bright yellow and blue grips for men, and pink and blue grips for women, and electric blue and pink face inserts.
But it was not just the attention-grabbing colourways that made the GEL putters stand out. Independent testing by The Quintic Consultancy on a variety of big name putters (including PING, Titleist, TaylorMade and Odyssey) confirmed GEL as the number one performer.
In July, Alec made his way up to Carnoustie to attend The Open Championship where GEL made its debut on the practice putting green whilst the signing of former Australian Amateur Champion David Gleeson that week gave the innovative GEL Putter its debut appearance in one of golf most prestigious tournaments. That week, the 29-year-old Australian teed off with a GEL Ruby model in his golf bag in the 136th staging of the prestigious Major.
In a momentous week for the brand, GEL also celebrated an agreement reached with Dr Paul Hurrion, one of the world’s leading sports biomechanists and a renown putting coach, to design a second range of putters under the GEL brand. With over 10 years of research and development in biomechanics and putting, Alec recognized that Paul’s experience would perfectly complement GEL’s groove and insert technology.
At the time, Paul was giving advice to a number of top European Tour and Ryder Cup players and later that week he was personally thanked by Open champion, Padraig Harrington, in his acceptance speech for his contribution to the Irishman’s first Major title.
By September that year, GEL had appointed Caesar Bayliss as its fulltime representative on the Asian Tour with immediate success; GEL quickly became the number three putter on tour and in December was celebrating its first Tour win when American Bryan Saltus won the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open on the Asian Tour. Having thrown his regular putter into the lake during a practice round, Saltus played the tournament with a GEL Topaz in his bag and went on to capture his first major tour title. Asian Tour statistics show that Saltus’ putting average prior to Cambodia had been 30.4 per round but using his GEL Putter, his average that week plummeted to 28.5 putts per round.
“My putting has been the winning formula this week. I had a good start with three birdies and my confidence carried on after that. Quite simply, GEL has changed my life,” were the immortal words used by Saltus to explain his win.
By the end of 2007, GEL was pleased to announce that it had generated first year sales of over 12,000 putters. Not bad for a company barely a year old and entering into a fiercely competitive market made up of a number of big brand names.
After a roller-coaster ride for GEL in its debut year, GEL teed off 2008 with the launch of the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range at the PGA Show in Orlando.
Shortly afterwards in May GEL recorded its second Tour win at the Shanghai Championship on the Omega China Tour when Taiwan’s Hsu Mong-nam secured the title at the Orient Golf & Country Club using a GEL Jade model (two other players in the top five were also using a GEL Putter). That week GEL secured its position at the top of the putter leaderboard by becoming the number one putter on the China Tour.
GEL has also been making its mark on the opposite side of the world in North America. In early September GEL celebrated its third Tour win when American Tom Stankowski carded a final round 69 thanks to a birdie on the final hole to capture the Canadian Tour Championship in Ontario. Using a GEL Emerald putter, the American finished the tournament 272, 16 under par, to earn himself US$37,600 along with his first Canadian Tour title.
Over on the LPGA Tour, Tracy Hanson, who discovered GEL putters at the PGA Show earlier this year, has placed her confidence in a GEL Paul Hurrion putter when competing on the top ladies tour in the world. Meanwhile a host of other LPGA players have been flirting with GEL putters though constrained by manufacturers’ contracts that prevent them from using them in actual tournaments.
These developments marked yet more landmarks in the short history of GEL Golf which has quickly set out its stall as one of golf’s most innovative technology manufacturers.
Six months into 2008 and GEL confirmed that sales had already increased substantially on 2007, with over 15,000 putters sold worldwide by June – another significant milestone in the history of GEL which reflected the giant leap in terms of the impact that the brand has made in such a short space of time.
As of July 2008, GEL Putters are now available at retail in USA, Canada, Australia, Korea, Holland, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Macau and the UK with the number of countries where GEL is available growing all the time.
And in another major development, GEL Golf has Tour representatives on five professional golf tours; namely The European, Canadian, Asian, Japanese and China Tours.
All in all, it hasn’t taken long for GEL to get into the groove and make its mark in the world of golf; no doubt just the start of even greater things to come…
Key Fast Facts : GEL Golf
• Based on figures from the first half of 2008, GEL sales are predicted to grow by 250% in 2008 vs. 2007
• GEL boasts retail distribution in 19 countries around the world
• In just 18 months, GEL has celebrated three Tour wins, one on the Asian Tour, one on the Canadian Tour and one on the China Tour
• GEL Golf has Tour representatives on five professional golf tours; namely The European, Canadian, Asian, Japanese and China Tours
• GEL is currently the number one putter on the China Tour whilst numerous players on the European and Asian Tours have a GEL putter in their bag
• GEL’s 2008 range was designed in conjunction with renown putting guru, Dr Paul Hurrion, who coaches a host of European Tour & Ryder Cup stars
GEL Putters
• Groove technology has been independently proven to give putts better topspin roll, therefore improving putting performance
• GEL putters have pushed back the boundaries of groove technology by using precision-cut, aluminium horizontal grooves on the putter face
• Tour professionals have been consulted to perfect the size, weight and balance of GEL putter heads
• The original GEL Putter Range comprises of the Ruby, Diamond, Emerald, Opal, Amethyst, Topaz & Jade models
• The 2008 GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range comprises the Rego, Sedo, Sedo II & Scindo models
ProStance : the most balanced argument yet for the optimum swing…
August 21st, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Education, Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video SoftwareQuintic Consultancy Ltd is proud to be apart of the latest golf training aid to hit the market! ProStance is based on many years of biomechanical research carried out at Quintic.
Good balance is essential to powerful and consistent golf shots, putts, chips, and full swings. The human body makes compensations both at address and during the swing to give us the impression we are in balance. Biomechanical research carried out at Quintic has found that as golfers, we don’t always know where our weight is truly positioned! We may think that are weight is distributed evenly and ready to hit the golf ball, however, it isn’t until we use biomechanical analyse, in particular force platforms that the true answer is revealed. Even some of the world’s best golfers think they are doing one thing, but actually are doing something else.
The ProStance is borne out many years data collection, research, coaching experiences and ultimately feedback from golfers and coaches at all levels about the product. Research into putting and full swing biomechanics has highlighted the need for the golfer to be stable at address and dynamically balanced during the swing. The ProStance is the latest training aid to enable to golfer to help achieve this. It is simple to use, yet the results are instant and the benefits are a more consistent and powerful strike.
Dr Paul Hurrion MD of Quintic Consultancy, now brings to the consumer coaching aids market the ProStance ™ balance aid, and as one might expect, it’s a winner! ProStance is a product that forces you to become very aware of balance, it’s simple, reliable and supremely efficient.
A key collaborator with Hurrion on perfecting the ProStance is teaching pro Stewart Craig. The two professionals are prefect foils for each other in this. Hurrion’s podiatric work with companies like Hi-Tec and Titleist Performance Institute highlighted the need for ProStance in the first place. Craig’s daily contact with club and county players helped provide a working template that would fit into the training settings of every golfer. The perspective that most pros look at a student’s swing invariably from the waist up was the key to ensuring the benefits of ProStance were not just meaningful to golfers at Tour standard, but to commonplace technique needs as well.
“In my experience the majority of coaching professionals address faults with compensations, explains Craig. However, most of the root problems in the golf swing are due to static or dynamic balance issues. What happens below the waist causes the problems above the waist.”
With the intellectual ability of the partnership now making a real difference to the development of the ProStance, it still took several years to bring to market-readiness. The final results are for every golfer to try and use on a daily basis.
Enjoy the ProStance. A consistent, powerful golf swing starts with a stable set-up and dynamic balance during the swing. ProStance gives you instant feedback during every swing.
Enjoy the results… for more information please visit www.pro-stance.com
“The ProStance is a great tool for any golfer at any level. Balance is the key to the golf swing as it enables the body to make a controlled and repeatable golf swing. Without the correct balance, your mechanics are a series of compensatory movements. The ProStance helps build balance and stability for every part of the game from putting, chipping to the full swing…”
Padraig Harrington
“I would never have believed that so many faults in the golf swing and putting stroke emanate from poor balance in the set up position. The ProStance has simplified my golf swing and helped me make more powerful, efficient and most of all consistent swings…”
Paul McGinley
“The ProStance is cutting edge and simplicity all in one… It will enhance your golfing ability immediately, due to your increases body awareness…”
Bradley Dredge
“I use the product daily to confirm and maintain my posture at address…”
Richard Finch
“I first met Dr Paul Hurrion in 2005 and have unquestionable belief in his ability as a putting coach. The ProStance encompasses a lot of his principles and teachings in a training aid. Without the correct balance, your putting mechanics are a series of compensatory movement. Manipulation of the club head does not stand up to pressure… “
Philip Archer
“The importance of balance in golf is often underestimated. The research of Dr Paul Hurrion (and Stewart Craig) highlights the influence that balance has on reducing compensatory swing adjustments in turn producing more consistency and power for the golfer. The ProStance enables the golfer to establish and feel the correct balance both at address and throughout the golf swing in every area of the game. This training aid is a must for those who want to seriously improve their game.”
Alison Nicholas
Padraig Harrington wins the 137th Open Championship!
July 24th, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software
Padraig defends his Open Championship in style with a fine final round of one under par 69 to give him a four shot victory. He joins an exclusive club of multiple major winners, is the first European to defend his title in 102 years and is now ranked at number 3 in the world….
Six opening pars gave Padraig the start he needed in the last round of the Open and he never really looked back after that. Bogies on the 7th 8th and 9th gave him some work to do but he finished in style with birdies on the 13th and 15th before the shot of the day at the par five 17th where he hit his second shot close to make an eagle three and give himself a four shot lead down the last. Speaking afterwards he said it was very satisfying to be out in the last group in a major and to perform under pressure. He leaps to number three in the world rankings and is number one on the Ryder Cup team going to Valhalla in September…
Congratulations Padraig from all at Quintic.
With this win Padraig Harrington secured his 13th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 275th European Tour event. It was his second Major Championship victory in his 41st Major Championship appearance.
*His second Open Championship victory following his triumph in 2007. His second win came in his 12th Open Championship appearance.
*First player to successfully defend The Open Championship since Tiger Woods in 2005-2006.
*Becomes the 16th player to successfully defend The Open Championship title.
*Becomes the first European to successfully defend The Open Championship since James Braid in 1905-1906.
*Becomes the 26th different player to record multiple victories in The Open Championship.
*Becomes only the second European Tour Member to successfully defend a Major Championship, following Nick Faldo at the 1989-1990 Masters Tournament.
*Becomes the 31st different player to successfully defend a Major Championship.
*Becomes the first player to successfully defend a European Tour title since Tiger Woods at the 2006-07 US PGA Championship.
*First time he has successfully defended a European Tour title in his career.
*The 51st occasion a European Tour event has been successfully defended.
*The 28th different player in European Tour history to successfully defend a title.
*The third Irish victory in a Major Championship, following his win in 2007 and Fred Daly in the 1947 Open Championship.
*His fourth top ten finish in The Open Championship from his 12 appearances – and 11th overall top ten from his Major Championship career.
*His victory becomes the 34th Major Championship victory since 1979 by a European Tour Member.
*Becomes the ninth different European Tour Member to win a Major Championship since 1979.
*The sixth Irish victory of The 2008 European Tour International Schedule. The most in a single European Tour season, beating the five of 1989. They are: Graeme McDowell (Ballantine’s Championship and The Barclays Scottish Open), Damien McGrane (Volvo China Open), Darren Clarke (BMW Asian Open), Peter Lawrie Open de España) and Padraig Harrington (The 137th Open Championship).
*Moves to fourth in the European Tour Order of Merit with €1,438,076 from 29th.
*Moves to the top of The Ryder Cup World Points List with 238.64
*Second victory of 2008 following the Ladbrokes Irish PGA Championship last week.
*Third consecutive European Tour season with a victory.
*Moves to a career-high of third in the Official World Golf Ranking.
*Gains a five year exemption into The Masters Tournament, the US Open Championship and USPGA Championship.
*Gains a place in the 2008 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
*Gains a place in the 2008 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational
*Gains a place in the 2009 HSBC Champions
*Extends his European Tour exemption until the end of 2018.
*Moves over €18 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings – just the fourth player to achieve the feat
*The 44th Irish victory on The European Tour.
*Third top ten finish of the 2008 season and 95th of his European Tour career
*His 23rd win as a professional.
Rocket Science for everybody…
June 12th, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video SoftwareArnold Palmer has recently been credited with being the single most important sporting icon to begin the transformation of golf into the ‘game for everyone’. A generation before marketing became a byword for charlatanism with testosterone, Palmer’s looks, undoubted athletic prowess and his charisma made him much more ‘bankable’ than any other golf professional of his age. But here’s an interesting thing… Recently re-produced photos of Arnie in his heyday show the young dragon pouting strangely. This was mentioned in passing to John Lewis from Bay Hill by Palmer UK & Ireland, who explained that it’s because the young Palmer smoked like a chimney, but modern custom forbids this and so the Lucky Strikes have been airbrushed out but the facial expression of the habitual smoker remains. It’s representative of how sport has turned against nicotine and related sybaritic pleasures – many would have thought that golf didn’t really number among the sports where selfdenial and discipline were that evident.
At the Open in 1976, Johnny Miller walked away with the champion’s purse of £7500,having beaten Jack Nicklaus in to second place by 6 strokes. And the biggest attraction on the Royal Birkdale ground was the Guinness Tent, says an observer of the time. Golf was slightly rarefied, slightly Bertie Wooster, slightly… well… naff. Then Tiger Woods happened. With his shameless athleticism and firebrand physicality he has 60 PGA victories and 13 majors and will surely go on to break the Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors … ‘did him no good at The Open, mind you. Padraig Harrington didn’t gain possession of the Claret Jug at The Open using a metal detector. His training regime is strict, well-researched, rigorously executed. And what’s behind it all?
Biomechanics…
When kids go to school today, if they’re taught physical education by a recent graduate of any decent training college, biomechanics will have been written large in the syllabus of what physical education teachers have to master. For those of us who aren’t aware of the term Sports Biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer. It is concerned, in particular, with the forces that act on the human neuromusculoskeletal system; velocities, accelerations, torque, momentum, inertia… It also considers aspects of the behaviour of sports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athletic performance and injury prevention.
Harrington has mastered this concept, because as an athlete his in depth knowledge of how his body works in golf competitions allows him to monitor his performance in fine detail, accentuate positive and eliminate negative aspects, as well as avoid strain or injury. Dr Paul Hurrion is a doctor of biomechanics, and consults regularly with Padraig, as well as with the likes of Paul McGinley, David Howell, Philip Archer, and Lee Westwood. During interviews with the press at the Scottish Open, much was made of Westwood’s recent visit to a putting lab to sort out his erratic performance on the greens.
“The laboratory is a room with a hard floor, green carpet, cameras all over the room and mirrors – it’s a bit kinky really,”
Lee Westwood
It’s quite an accurate description of ‘The Quintic Putting Lab’ in the centre of England
where Dr Paul Hurrion is based. It would also describe the set up Padraig Harrington has at his home in Dublin; a faithful replica of the lab at Quintic.
“Quintic Performance Analysis Software provides com-prehensive, easy to use, tools that allow me to analyse my full swing, chipping and putting in fine detail, whether I’m on the practice range, indoors or away on Tour,” explains Padraig. “I am able to synchronise and compare my swing action and tempo immediately, whilst the use of the drawing tools enables me to calculate the speed and acceleration of my club and arms.”
This science is what is making the single most meaningful contribution to sport in our time…
To read the complete article please click here download the PDF document
Hurrion – Golf Ireland.pdf
Quintic present at the ISPAS workshop
January 17th, 2008 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Quintic Video SoftwareThe 15th and 16th of January saw the ISPAS (International Sport & Performance Analysis Society) workshop conference take place at Leeds Carnegie Stadium. Quintic demonstrated their latest software developments to help and aid performance analysts and coaches. For information on the latest Quintic functions such as automatic tracking and multiple camera capture please go to www.quintic.com/software/
The theme of the workshop was the ‘Working Analyst’ analysts from all over the UK, Europe and rest of the world presented on a variety of different sports ranging from judo, trampolining, water polo, football and athletics, providing an insight into current techniques used and areas of interest in each discipline, as well as how other disciplines such as physiotherapy and strength and conditioning can benefit from correct performance analysis.
Simon Kerry from Quintic who provides sports science support for UKA presented on the role of Quintic in Athletics, focusing on two key areas: Technique analysis within shot put and injury screening during the off season. Case studies have also been produced on these two areas. They can be downloaded from www.quintic.com/quinac/education.htm
World Number one Squash player Amr Shabana ties up with Hi-Tec…
October 22nd, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Hi-Tec, Quintic Video Software
Egypt’s World Number one squash player Amr Shabana has signed a two-year worldwide agreement with HI-TEC Sports.
The 28 year old from Cairo, who this month celebrated one and half uninterrupted years at the top of the PSA World Rankings, first reached the number one spot in April 2006 and has since maintained his dominance by adding five PSA Super Series titles to the take his tally to 16.
The agreement will see the two times world champion sporting the new 4:SYS Squash World Squash Championship model, launched especially for next years HI-TEC World Squash Championships. He joins several top stars including current World Champion David Palmer, James Willstrop, Nick Matthew and Lee Beachill in wearing the brands revolutionary new 4:SYS Squash shoes.
HI-TEC’s Group Brand Communication Manager, Jason Larke said: “Amr has consistently demonstrated his credentials as one of the worlds top players and no-one can argue with his record. HI-TEC has a long long history of working with the worlds best players and I am immensely proud that we can welcome Amr and look forward to working with him in the future.”
Shabana, looking to add to his list of successes at the forthcoming British Open, said of his signing: “It is great to join such a famous Squash brand, I know of the work that has gone into their new shoes and it was great to finally get on court with them. The cushioning and grip is fantastic, they are so comfortable, light and they really help my game and protect my body. I am looking forward to competing in them at the British.”
Over 2 years in development the revolutionary 4: SYS Squash shoes have been independently tested and designed by biomechanics experts Quintic Consultancy Ltd. Specifically designed to cater for dynamics of movement in Squash they boast up to 38% better impact absorption, up to 35% total reduction in force and up to 6 times better grip than any other brand tested.
For further details please visit http://www.changeyourshoes.co.uk/
What we learned at school today!
October 1st, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Education, Quintic Video SoftwareWithout doubt, one of the biggest themes to occupy the mind of anybody involved in childcare or education is fitness – most lately the subject of obesity among the very young is very high profile.
While it proves a great hobby-horse for government ministers and educational commentators, there seems precious little in the way of actual, workable solutions to accompany all the hand-wringing that goes on.
I’ve always been of the belief that sport is vital to a child’s development, and taught correctly at a young age generally makes for higher chances of athletic achievement – even brilliance – later in life. I have no truck with the lobby that says sport is under-funded in Britain. But while that may be true, it isn’t the sole source of our ills in competitive sport on the international stage. I think the way that children are introduced to sport and then coached and taught about it can let them down.
My specialism, Biomechanics, is an in-depth knowledge of the way the body works in an athletic context, and as such it can lead you into the minutest details of musculo-skeletal minutiae… the shorthand for this is, dull, dull, dull!
Sport shouldn’t ever be dull – to watch or to learn. Kids are famously and frequently described as sponges, able to absorb masses of information through natural mental agility and curiosity. Failure to engage these enquiring minds and develop physical proficiency in sports is more at fault, than so-called lack of investment in sport.
Consider this…
Children are great mimics. Their instinct is to copy. So instead of taking a class of unskilled and disengaged kids into a field, throwing them a ball and telling them to get on with it, why not show them how it’s done by showing them video of how Beckham bends it, or how Graeme Hick gets a cricket ball to travel off the bat at incredible speed, or how Jonny Wilkinson spiral kicks a rugby ball… and let them copy it?
The kind of video capture and analysis software techniques used for professional athletes offers young people one enduring advantage when learning to master a sport. By taking theory out of the abstract, showing how the sporting greats do it, encouraging them to emulate it, then marking their progress by comparing video of their own performance as it develops and improves, it actually brings sport to life in the classroom!
I don’t think there is a single better favour you can do for a child who wants to be good at a sport.
Video is a powerful and indispensable tool in showing developing athletes what they should be looking for and how to emulate it.
While this is more about technique, there is the additional benefit of injury prevention – in disciplines like gymnastics knowing the correct way to land, tumble and fall is crucial – in cricket a fast bowler who does not understand correct front foot placement in the delivery stride will develop ankle problems sooner or later.
Sports may be under-funded, but that’s not really the point at debate here. In truth, the UK offers a vast array of sports to the enthusiast willing to learn. And the best way to see as many children as possible realize their potential is by allowing them to look, absorb and copy.
A good technique is a safe technique as well as an efficient one. With skill comes achievement and further enjoyment…
Dr Paul Hurrion
Article in Independent Education Today Magazine (October 07)
Why Sports Shoe design isn’t all Cobblers – Definitive
September 18th, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video SoftwareThe Open Champion Padraig Harrington five years ago approached a sports shoe manufacturer and asked, “Why do I play golf in a pair of dress shoes with spikes? A hundred-metre runner wouldn’t run his race in the same pair of shoes as a marathon runner…”
The shoe that The Open champion wore (to win The Irish Open as well, by the way) was developed as a direct result of this interrogation by Harrington, the golf world’s undisputed man of the moment.
The launch coincided with the time when the rules and regulations of golf balls and drivers were made significantly more stringent, and golfers were looking into new ways of improving their game within the rules of the R&A. Hi-Tec was one of the first shoe manufacturers to do extensive Biomechanics research into hardware development, but according to Hi-Tec’s Frederik Sundstrom, the really unique part of the whole undertaking was that they did it in collaboration with one of the best players in the world.
“After our success with CDT Power most of the major brands have jumped on the bandwagon and tried to create game improvement golf shoes,” says Sundstrom. “I am not sure if all of them do biomechanics research, but I know the company that works with a player of Harrington’s calibre does.”
While Hi-Tec contributed the commercial clout and business acumen, it was towards biomechanist Dr Paul Hurrion and his Quintic Consultancy that they turned for chapter and verse on how actually to design the shoe itself.
Hi-Tec now has a patented technology with its outsole that helps them stay ahead of the competition. It is a combination of parts, says the manufacturer, that make their shoes perform better than any other. Essentially, the concept gives better stability and grip for better balance. The balance gives greater consistency and – consequently – the ability to hit the ball further when desired.
It is the biomechanical perspective that proves the overriding importance of balance in this area of golf.
Hurrion falls short of becoming too high-falutin’ about the biomechanical angle to this, but the contribution of the ‘strictly scientific’ cannot be underplayed. His strength is an comprehensive understanding of the behavioural dynamics and implications of athletes and their environments – and that includes their equipment.
“Our focus is not exclusively on the sort of performance that can be quick-fix addressed,” explains Hurrion. “Performance can be enhanced with chemicals, for example, but we know where that can lead.
“The strategy has to be a more all-encompassing approach that combines performance, comfort, ergonomics, injury-prevention and musculoskeletal optimization. And that informs our product development across all sports and hardware provision from toe to body, hand, shoulder, neck and head.”
Hurrion uses a perspective that is as broad as it is far-reaching. Specifically, as a committed sports fan himself, he sees his mission as ensuring athletic excellence as part and parcel of – and not averse to – physiological well-being and longevity.
Whether he’s involved with a Dubliner golfer in his 30s like Harrington or a javelin-thrower like Goldie Sayers in her late teens, or a cricketing colossus like Graeme Hick, Hurrion is the man with X-ray eyes. Rotate more at the shoulder, you risk injury if you continue on that path, flex more at address, brace during the impact and follow through…
Frederik Sundstrom : “I don’t think the golf shoe industry would have been where it is today if it wasn’t for Padraig Harington and Dr Paul Hurrion. They pushed Hi-Tec to come up with something that helped Padraig swing the club even better… a shoe that gave him better grip and a very stable platform that enabled him to hit the ball with better consistency and with more power. I think the new shoes were a catalyst that enabled Padraig to take his whole game to a new level. According to Padraig, he now has the best clubs, ball, caddie, putting coach, swing coach, management team and now the best shoes. He’s at the top of his game, and we aim to help keep him there, as part of the team behind him.”
http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/news.asp?storyid=4083
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