ABSTRACT
A traditional approach to improving the performance of sports equipment usually involves studying the equipment in use, simulating the important interactions and developing mathematical models which predict the effect of changing key variables (e.g. stiffness, massdistribution etc.). These models are based on an understanding of the underlying physics of the problem. This approach is well-proven and necessary, but it often ignores how players relate to their equipment or what the effect of changing these key variables would have on their psychological relationship with their equipment. This study sought to investigate the perception of a range of hockey sticks under different aspects of use, and compare this to physical properties.
