Dr. Hab., Professor Dr. Hab., Professor V.V. Ryabchikov¹
Dr. Hab., Professor S.M. Ashkinazi¹
PhD, Associate Professor V.S. Kulikov¹
PhD, Associate Professor N.S. Skok^1
1Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, St. Petersburg

Corresponding author: v.riabchikov@lesgaft.spb.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze benefits of the modern smart yachting technologies for the national yachting sport reserve technical and tactical skills training service.

Methods and structure of the study. In 2019-2021, our research team from the Sports, Health Technologies and Socio-Economic Issues Research Institute in Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health completed the ‘Research innovations to improve the sailing sport reserve technical and tactical skills training service Improvement’ Project on the relevant state order. The Project included an experiment to pilot and test benefits of the ‘SailData’ smart yachting technologies (Italy) and Fast Skipper smart yachting technologies (Russia, St. Petersburg). We sampled for the study the 14-18 year-old sport reserve yachters (n=48) sailing two-person 420/ 470 dinghy and Swan 50 yachts. The smart yachting technologies were operated in the ‘crew and coach’ setting, with the sensors on the sailing craft designed to read, on a real-time basis, the key data for communication and control. The coaches used tablets with Android-based special software to track and analyze the sailing process.

Conclusion. The studies completed under the Research Innovations to Improve the Sailing sport reserve technical and tactical skills Training Service Improvement’ Project gave us the grounds to recommend the following sport reserve training service improvement actions:

- Apply the modern smart yachting technologies for the sailing craft location, control and training service excellence purposes;

- Train the yachters on a systematic and purposeful basis to improve their competitive yachting tactics in regattas; and

- Improve the special physical training service to make the yachters perfectly fit for the sport-specific technical and tactical actions.

Furthermore, we recommended the following yachting sport reserve training service improvement options:

- Special mental training to improve the volitional control, emotional balancing and attention control skills;

- Special conflict-management training to improve the teamwork;

- Competitive mindset formation skills training with a special attention to the potential psychological barriers;

- Efficient interpersonal communication/ cooperation skills training; and

- Special mental training to counter the opponents’ psychological tricks and manipulations.

Keywords: sailing, sport reserve, technical and tactical skills, smart yachting technologies, psychological support service.

Background. Analysis of the modern studies of the yachting elite training systems [4] highlighted a few problems and drawbacks in the technical and tactical skills training and excellence service. The national coaches and yachters still use a very limited digital toolkit for the technical and tactical skills analysis dominated by the traditional video records using smart phones without specialized software. Modern smart yachting technologies are seldom if ever used for the location and tracking purposes by the Russian yachting sport elite. 

Furthermore, most of the sport reserve yachters are tested with very superficial knowledge, skills and experience in the modern smart yachting tactics. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the sport reserve physical fitness tests show poor fitness vertically in every key physical quality including endurance, movement coordination, speed, etc. that need to be trained by special individualized exercises.

Objective of the study was to analyze benefits of the modern smart yachting technologies for the national yachting sport reserve technical and tactical skills training service.

Methods and structure of the study. In 2019-2021, our research team from the Sports, Health Technologies and Socio-Economic Issues Research Institute in Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health completed the ‘Research innovations to improve the sailing sport reserve technical and tactical skills training service Improvement’ Project on the relevant state order. The Project included an experiment to pilot and test benefits of the ‘SailData’ smart yachting technologies (Italy) and Fast Skipper smart yachting technologies (Russia, St. Petersburg). We sampled for the study the 14-18 year-old sport reserve yachters (n=48) sailing two-person 420/ 470 dinghy and Swan 50 yachts. The smart yachting technologies were operated in the ‘crew and coach’ setting, with the sensors on the sailing craft designed to read, on a real-time basis, the key data for communication and control. The coaches used tablets with Android-based special software to track and analyze the sailing process. The smart yachting technologies produced the following test data:

- Tack speed in knots;

- True wind direction versus the bottom in degrees;

- True wind speed versus the bottom in knots;

- Lead/ lag in meters versus the race winner;

- Lead/ lag in meters after the buoy versus the race winner;

- Lead/ lag in meters in the tacking speed versus the race winner.

It should be emphasized that the above detailed logs may be produced only by the smart yachting technologies equipped with the appropriate sensors to rate the spatial locations and control of the mainsheet guards, boom guards, uncoiling/ steering belts, etc.

Results and discussion. The smart yachting technologies piloting experiment showed benefits of the technologies for the following purposes: tracking movement of the sailing craft in every point with preset intervals; and defragmenting the trajectory into specific spans to rate quality of maneuvers and vessel control with the movement speeds fixed by the relevant sensors. Analyses of the yacht control logs make it possible to find technical and tactical errors made by every yachter in the race and analyze them on an objective basis. We have analyzed details of the smart yachting technologies piloting experiment in a few prior study reports [1-3]. The study on the whole proved benefits of the modern smart yachting technologies for the vessel location and control analyses in the yachting sport reserve training and technical and tactical skills excellence systems. The immediate and detailed analyses of the sailing process logs generated by such systems give grounds for the coaches to fairly rate the individual technical and tactical skills in the training process to make timely necessary adjustments to the training service.

Conclusion. The studies completed under the Research Innovations to Improve the Sailing sport reserve technical and tactical skills Training Service Improvement’ Project gave us the grounds to recommend the following sport reserve training service improvement actions:

- Apply the modern smart yachting technologies for the sailing craft location, control and training service excellence purposes;

- Train the yachters on a systematic and purposeful basis to improve their competitive yachting tactics in regattas; and

- Improve the special physical training service to make the yachters perfectly fit for the sport-specific technical and tactical actions.

Furthermore, we recommended the following yachting sport reserve training service improvement options:

- Special mental training to improve the volitional controls, emotional balancing and attention control skills;

- Special conflict-management training to improve the teamwork;

- Competitive mindset formation skills training with a special attention to the potential psychological barriers;

- Efficient interpersonal communication/ cooperation skills training; and

- Special mental training to counter the opponents’ psychological tricks and manipulations.

The above recommendations were detailed in the following publications: (1) ‘Technical and tactical actions excellence in the yachting sport reserve: Practical Guidelines’; and (2) ‘Improving the psychological support service in the yachting sport reserve training systems: Practical Guidelines’.

References

1. Ashkinazi S.M., Ryabchikov V.V., Kulikov V.S. Information-analytical system in sailing sports reserve training process: application possibilities. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2018. No. 3. pp. 29-33.
2. Ashkinazi S.M., Kochergin A.N., Ryabchikov V.V. et al. Some aspects of sailing sports reserve’s technical and tactical skill building. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2019. No. 5. pp. 26-30.
3. Bakulev S.E., Ashkinazi S.M., Kulikov V.S. et al. Information and analytical systems in yachtsmen sports reserve training. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2021. No. 1. pp. 6-8.
4. Kochergin A.N., Ryabchikov V.V., Kulikov V.S. et al. Sailing sports reserve training: results and conclusions of sociological study. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2021. No. 1. pp. 150-155.