Performance Study: The Effect of a Lace Locking Device on Skate Lace Tension
An experimental approach to studying Panther Teeth conducted by Kelly Lockwood, Colin Dunne, Tzu-Ting Hsu, Ellingson, and John-Allan at Brock University and George Brown College.INTRODUCTIONThe athlete-equipment interaction in gliding and sliding sports has been recognized as a fundamental component of performance success.Athletic footwear have traditionally used laces to secure the foot inside the boot and enhance fit, comfort and performance.Quantitatively assessing the merits of equipment, namely athletic footwear on the execution of technique, is technically challenging and has been handcuffed by the lack of portable and sensitive research instrumentation that can be used in a real-world competitive environment.THE STORYTHE PROBLEM: Laces loosen over time and adversely affects the fit of the boot and the mechanics of the person wearing the boot.THE NEED: Create consistent lace tension and enable the user to customize zones of lace tension.THE SOLUTION: A lace locking device was proposed to maintain lace tension and customize tension zones throughout the lacing pattern.PURPOSEThe purpose of the study was three-fold:To design, build and assess the reliability of a portable measurement apparatus to quantitatively measure lace tension.To investigate the stiffness properties of three different types of laces and assess their ability to maintain tension with and without a lace locking […]