Waterproof heart rate monitor, reaction light... Black technology helps water polo team prepare for the Universiade video | Football | Technology
Water polo originated in the mid-19th century in England. It was originally a recreational activity where people threw football in the water while swimming, hence the name "water football". Later, it gradually formed a competitive sport between two teams, with the team with the most shots into the opponent's goal winning. At present, the male and female water polo teams of Chinese university students are training in Shanghai and actively preparing for the competition.
In the swimming pool, the members of the Chinese university men's water polo team are undergoing technical and tactical training. Most of them come from universities such as Shanghai Sport University, Guangzhou Sport University, and South China Normal University, with an average age of 23 years old.
Wang Minhui, the head coach of the Chinese university men's water polo team, said that the training situation is relatively normal. Because everyone comes from various provinces and cities, the main purpose is to practice some technical and tactical coordination.
Water polo combines the characteristics of multiple sports such as swimming, handball, football, rugby, and wrestling, requiring high demands on athletes for strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility. During the competition, athletes must remain suspended in the water throughout the entire process and cannot touch the bottom or walls of the pool, which also greatly tests their physical fitness. In addition to technical and tactical training and practical combat, team members also need to undergo specialized physical training during preparation.
Chinese university male water polo team athlete Lie Rongkun: The training atmosphere is quite good for everyone, and everyone dares to compete. For example, when it comes to swimming, everyone rushes together, and I can't let you run faster than me.
During the training, not only did the young men show great effort, but the girls also actively prepared for the battle. The average age of the Chinese university women's water polo team is also 23 years old, and they come from universities such as Shanghai Sport University, Beijing Sport University, and Tianjin Sport University. During the training period, they also arranged multiple warm-up matches.
Wu Zhiyu, the head of the Chinese coaching team for the Chinese university women's water polo team, said: "These days, we are playing a warm-up match with the men's youth team in Shanghai. We hope that the male team members can use their strength and speed to match the speed of our female team members.".
Most of the water polo team girls participating in the Universiade are first-time participants and are full of anticipation for the upcoming competition.
Yan Siya, a member of the Chinese university women's water polo team, said: "I'm a little more nervous, and I'm also looking forward to representing the Chinese team in this competition. And it's in this part of China, so let's strive for better results.".
Training is more scientific and effective, and technology helps prepare for the Universiade
In order to achieve better results, technological elements are increasingly appearing in the training of competitive sports. In the water polo training, the use of waterproof heart rate monitors, reaction lights, video analysis systems, and other equipment makes the training more scientific and effective.
Heart rate monitoring has been widely used in various sports. For high-intensity sports such as water polo, athletes need to use a swimming cap to securely secure a small waterproof heart rate monitor to their head, ensuring that signals can also be transmitted to the system in real time during exercise.
Wang Minhui, the head coach of the Chinese university men's water polo team, said: This is very intuitive. For red ones like this, their heart rate may be above 180 beats per minute, even reaching 190 beats per minute, while yellow ones have heart rates of 160 or 170 beats per minute.
In water polo matches, each team plays with 7 players, including one goalkeeper. In order to train reaction speed, the coaching staff also specially designed reaction training for goalkeepers. Five reaction lights are tied to different positions on the top edge of the water polo goal frame. Athletes are required to quickly turn off the lit lights within the set time, and each action of the athlete is recorded in the system for analysis by the coaching staff.
Yang Jun, the goalkeeper coach of the Chinese university women's water polo team, said that the three lights in the middle for quick shots and support training are for jumping both corners and defending the drop ball. I need to practice at least twice a week, especially before the competition, and I have a higher requirement for her speed.
For each warm-up match, the coaching staff will use a video tactical analysis system to record the entire match.
Wu Zhiyu, the head of the Chinese coaching team for the Chinese university women's water polo team: Here is a template for data statistics, and after the statistics are completed, the data will be reflected in real-time on this template. You can use this video to see where the defense went wrong and where the position was lost.
