ORGANISATION
InnoSportlab de Tongelreep started out more than 10 years ago with a couple of above-water cameras to meticuluously examine the dive start of swimmers in order to improve their start performance. The above-water cameras doubled in number and were supplemented with more than 25 underwater cameras mounted in the walls of the swimming pool. Owing to the in-depth analyses of her start and subsequent refinements, Ranomi Kromowidjojo became one of the fastest female starters ever.
We develop not only innovative systems for performance improvement but also for making swimming lessons more attractive and enjoyable. Children often abandon swimming by the time their swimming lessons are finished, moving on to a ‘real’ sport. If more children would choose swimming as their main sport, the pool of future talents would be larger than it is now. We want to contribute to this goal.
Our movement scientists and engineers closely collaborate with companies and senior scientists as well as with the coaches and swimmers themselves on innovations that will help to bring the swimming sport forward. The field lab is also a lively learning environment for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students that offer support in ongoing research activities or carry out their own research projects.
MISSION & VISION
Together with athletes, coaches, business partners and scientists we work on innovations to improve swimming performance and participation. We are looking continuously for ways to bring swimmers and swimming forward. In parallel, we work on a greater societal goal: to make swimming more fun, such that more children keep on swimming and the talent pool keeps on growing.
FACILITIES
At the heart of InnoSportLab de Tongelreep is an instrumented swimming pool for measurements, tests and analyses. The swimming pool is equipped with an extensive system of high-resolution video cameras allowing us to make video recordings everywhere in the swimming pool, both under and above the waterline. With this system we can record and analyse all aspects of competitive swimming, i.e., the dive start, the tumble turn and the stroke technique. With additional kinetic measurement devices we can also measure and analyse the forces generated by the swimmer, as well as hydrodynamic and aerodynamic aspects of swimming. Everything is geared toward the fine-tuning of details, because details make the difference between good and excellent performance, between losing and winning. Our movement scientists and engineers develop custom-made analysis software with which everybody can improve his or her swimming performance. Together with each other and our systems we can also improve your swimming performance.
With our knowledge and expertise we also aim to make swimming lessons more fun. To this end, we are currently working on a project with interactive LED lights in the swimming pool. In the course of 2020 we will begin a ‘Swimming school’to test this innovation in actual swimming lessons.
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