ABSTRACT
Sporting equipment is designed to be used by athletes. Therefore high-quality information about the movement and forces acting on an athlete is essential for optimizing the design of equipment and reducing associated injury risks. In the absence of quantitative, objective biomechanical information the designer of sporting equipment and environments cannot fully anticipate nor appreciate the implications of design decisions on performance and safety. An aircraft designer would never propose a new airframe without understanding the aerodynamic loads to which it will be exposed, the properties of the material from which it is constructed and the operational requirements which it must satisfy. The designer of sporting equipment must have access to similar information.
