Researchers in Britain have developed a new computer software that would enable swimmers to improve a key aspect of their technique more quickly and effectively than previously possible.
The software is being developed by sports scientists at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Aquatics Research and Education (CARE) with additional input from Sheffield Hallam University.
What the software does is that it provides instant, in-depth feedback on a swimmer's glide technique.
Swimmers glide following starts and turns, when a swimmer is not moving their arms or legs but is just using their momentum to travel through the water.
As well as supplying data on head position, body posture/alignment, the software actively suggests ways a swimmer can improve their posture to minimize resistance and pinpoints the optimum moment to begin kicking.
The new system offers two key benefits beyond the capabilities of any other currently used in swimming training.
First, the feedback it generates is available immediately, so swimmers and coaches can use it at the poolside and implement its recommendations while a training session is still in progress. This will speed up the whole process involved in improving glide technique.
Second, it generates data of unprecedented quality in terms of detail and accuracy.
Ultimately, the result will be faster times in races. Gliding more efficiently, with less 'drag', can cut vital fractions of a second from a swimmer's time.
According to Professor Ross Sanders, who is leading the project, "Both the speed and accuracy of the feedback will add to the value of the advice that coaches give their swimmers."
"Another important benefit is that the alterations to technique suggested by the software are customized exactly to suit each individual swimmer," he added.
"The software could even help to identify the champions of tomorrow," said Professor Sanders. "It will show which young swimmers naturally move easily through the water, which may well equate to outstanding ability or a particular aptitude for the sport," he explained.
http://www.thecheers.org/
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Senate Passes Ban On Waterboarding, Other Techniques
The Senate voted yesterday to ban waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics used by the CIA, matching a previous House vote and putting Congress on a collision course with the White House over a pivotal national security issue.
In a 51 to 45 vote, the Senate approved an intelligence bill that limits the CIA to using 19 less-aggressive interrogation tactics outlined in a U.S. Army Field Manual. The measure would effectively ban the use of simulated drowning, temperature extremes and other harsh tactics that the CIA used on al-Qaeda prisoners after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation, which the House approved in December, and Congress does not appear to have enough votes to override a veto.
House lawmakers, meanwhile, bickered yesterday over a Senate bill approved Tuesday that would permanently expand the government's ability to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects without warrants and would protect telecommunication firms from lawsuits for helping conduct such wiretaps. A temporary law that does not include the immunity provision is due to expire Saturday.
House Democrats had sought to extend the temporary law for 21 days to allow more time for debate, but the full chamber overwhelmingly rejected that idea by a vote of 229 to 191. Thirty-four Democrats joined Republicans in defeating the measure.
The outcome marked a notable victory for Bush, who had threatened to veto any delay and warned yesterday that "terrorists are planning new attacks on our country . . . that will make Sept. 11 pale by comparison."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled last night that debate over the bill is unlikely to end quickly and that Democrats may let the temporary law expire. Although Bush and his aides have said such a move would undermine current surveillance efforts and pose a national security threat, Democrats note that intelligence-gathering orders under the temporary law are good for a year and that routine surveillance powers would remain.
"The President and House Republicans refused to support the extension and therefore will bear the responsibility should any adverse national consequences result," Pelosi said in a statement.
In the Senate, the move to ban coercive techniques at the CIA follows two weeks of intense public debate over the agency's use of waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, on three al-Qaeda prisoners in 2002 and 2003. It also comes in the same week that the Bush administration announced plans to try six prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for alleged involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Five of the six were subjected to harsh CIA tactics.
Congress banned any military use of waterboarding and other harsh tactics through the Detainee Treatment Act of 2006, which was co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), now the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.
But McCain sided with the Bush administration yesterday on the waterboarding ban passed by the Senate, saying in a statement that the measure goes too far by applying military standards to intelligence agencies. He also said current laws already forbid waterboarding, and he urged the administration to declare it illegal.
"Staging a mock execution by inducing the misperception of drowning is a clear violation" of laws and treaties, McCain said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
In a 51 to 45 vote, the Senate approved an intelligence bill that limits the CIA to using 19 less-aggressive interrogation tactics outlined in a U.S. Army Field Manual. The measure would effectively ban the use of simulated drowning, temperature extremes and other harsh tactics that the CIA used on al-Qaeda prisoners after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
President Bush has vowed to veto the legislation, which the House approved in December, and Congress does not appear to have enough votes to override a veto.
House lawmakers, meanwhile, bickered yesterday over a Senate bill approved Tuesday that would permanently expand the government's ability to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects without warrants and would protect telecommunication firms from lawsuits for helping conduct such wiretaps. A temporary law that does not include the immunity provision is due to expire Saturday.
House Democrats had sought to extend the temporary law for 21 days to allow more time for debate, but the full chamber overwhelmingly rejected that idea by a vote of 229 to 191. Thirty-four Democrats joined Republicans in defeating the measure.
The outcome marked a notable victory for Bush, who had threatened to veto any delay and warned yesterday that "terrorists are planning new attacks on our country . . . that will make Sept. 11 pale by comparison."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled last night that debate over the bill is unlikely to end quickly and that Democrats may let the temporary law expire. Although Bush and his aides have said such a move would undermine current surveillance efforts and pose a national security threat, Democrats note that intelligence-gathering orders under the temporary law are good for a year and that routine surveillance powers would remain.
"The President and House Republicans refused to support the extension and therefore will bear the responsibility should any adverse national consequences result," Pelosi said in a statement.
In the Senate, the move to ban coercive techniques at the CIA follows two weeks of intense public debate over the agency's use of waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, on three al-Qaeda prisoners in 2002 and 2003. It also comes in the same week that the Bush administration announced plans to try six prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for alleged involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Five of the six were subjected to harsh CIA tactics.
Congress banned any military use of waterboarding and other harsh tactics through the Detainee Treatment Act of 2006, which was co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), now the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.
But McCain sided with the Bush administration yesterday on the waterboarding ban passed by the Senate, saying in a statement that the measure goes too far by applying military standards to intelligence agencies. He also said current laws already forbid waterboarding, and he urged the administration to declare it illegal.
"Staging a mock execution by inducing the misperception of drowning is a clear violation" of laws and treaties, McCain said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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