BAE Systems is supporting the efforts of Great Britain’s short track speed skating team in major championships, having constructed a mounting bracket to increase the mobility and speed of British athletes.
The skate innovation, designed to mimic the movement of bone structure in the human leg, improves on current models by reducing the weight of the skate whilst also increasing stiffness and stability to aid control, particularly around corners.
“Even minute changes to the alignment of the skates can have a huge impact in terms of performance. A real problem for us was the tendency of the old aluminium brackets to warp or bend. Even changes in atmospheric pressure were affecting the alignment of the skates. This caused a number of issues for the team when we travelled by aircraft to competitions and needed to put equipment in the hold, ” said Stuart Horsepool, performance director for the Great Britain short track speed skating world class program.
