University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+ University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2020 Evaluating aerial landings in surfing: Implications for performance and training James Robert Forsyth Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1 University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Evaluating aerial landings in surfing: Implications for performance and training James Robert Forsyth Bachelor of Science (Honours, Class 1), Bachelor of Science (Exercise Science) This thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the conferral of the degree Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Senior Professor Julie R. Steele AM Dr. Diane L. Riddiford-Harland Dr. John W. Whitting (Southern Cross University) Dr. Jeremy M. Sheppard (Canadian Sport Institute Pacific/Edith Cowan University) University of Wollongong School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health 17 December 2020 1 Dedication Mum, this thesis is for you. Throughout the course of this thesis, we have each fought our own battles. I will never forget the excitement you would show whenever I had something new to talk about with my research. Your interest in what I was doing, how I was doing it and why, never faded. Every milestone, we shared with the same excitement. Even when nothing was going right in your world, you always showed the strength to push on and put on a smile when I had something to say. Your strength and courage to keep on going was my greatest motivation to finish this. I wish I could share this celebration with you. Carol-Anne Humphreys February 1958 – October 2018 i Declaration I, James Robert Forsyth, declare that this thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the conferral of the degree Doctor of Philosophy, from the University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. This document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. James R. Forsyth 26 August 2020 ii Publications This thesis includes chapters that have been written based on the following journal articles: Chapter 2: Forsyth, J.R., Riddiford-Harland, D.L., Whitting, J.W., Sheppard, J.M. & Steele, J.R. Essential skills for superior wave-riding performance: A systematic review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 2020, 34(10): 3003-3011. Chapter 3: Forsyth, J.R., de la Harpe, R., Riddiford-Harland, D.L., Whitting, J.W. & Steele, J.R. Analysis of scoring of maneuvers performed in elite men’s professional surfing competitions. International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance, 2017, 12(9): 1243-1248. Chapter 4: Forsyth, J.R., Riddiford-Harland, D.L., Whitting, J.W., Sheppard, J.M. & Steele, J.R. Understanding successful and unsuccessful landings of aerial maneuver variations in professional surfing. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sport, 2018, 28(5): 1615-1624. Chapter 5: Forsyth, J.R., Riddiford-Harland, D.L., Whitting, J.W., Sheppard, J.M. & Steele, J.R. Training for success: Do simulated aerial landings replicate successful aerial landings performed in the ocean? Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sport, 2020, 30(5): 878-884. Chapter 6: Forsyth, J.R., Richards, C., Riddiford-Harland, D.L., Whitting, J.W., Sheppard, J.M. & Steele, J.R. Rate of loading, but not landing technique, is moderated by limb and aerial variation when surfers land aerials. Journal of Sports Sciences, submitted for publication, September 2020. Chapter 7: Forsyth, J.R., Tsai, M-C., Sheppard, J.M., Whitting, J.W., Riddiford- Harland, D.L. & Steele, J.R. Can we predict the landing performance of simulated aerials in surfing? Journal of Sport Sciences, submitted for publication, August 2020. A list of talks pertaining to the thesis that have been presented at scientific conferences is listed in Appendix A. iii As the primary supervisor, I, Senior Professor Julie Steele, declare that the greater part of the work in each article listed above is attributed to the candidate, James Forsyth. In each of the above manuscripts, James contributed to the study design, recruited participants, was solely responsible for data collection and data analysis, and was largely responsible for statistical analysis and data interpretation. The first draft of each manuscript was written by the candidate and James was then responsible for responding to the editing suggestions of his co-authors. The co-authors, Christopher Richards, Diane Riddiford-Harland, Jeremy Sheppard, John Whitting, Ming-Chang Tsai and myself were responsible for assisting in study design, data interpretation and editing the manuscripts. James has been solely responsible for submitting each manuscript for publication to the relevant journals, and he has been primarily in charge of responding to reviewer’s comments, with assistance from his co-authors. James R. Forsyth Julie R. Steele 26 August 2020 26 August 2020 iv Acknowledgements Julie Steele, I have said this before and I must say it again – I have never met someone with as much passion as you. I feel incredibly fortunate to have met you and had you guide me along this journey. There aren’t many supervisors like you and I am acutely aware of how much you’ve done for me, and for what you seemingly choose to continue to do for me. Jeremy Sheppard, you once said to me that you didn’t think you did enough for me within the scope of this thesis, to which I must disagree entirely. Your input from start to finish has been invaluable, providing that extra context from a practitioner’s point of view. Although I didn’t get to work as closely with you as I would have liked, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that you have provided me. Diane Riddiford- Harland, you have been the steadying hand along the way. You’ve always been there to help out and have always had a positive attitude. I am extremely thankful for all your considered feedback and direction throughout this thesis. John Whitting, your enthusiasm about this project is contagious, and your input has always been outstanding. You’ve helped me out with a lot of conceptual issues and the strength of many of the papers in this thesis are perfect examples of that. Chris Richards and Ming-Chang Tsai, both of you have been a great help with specific aspects of this thesis and I hope I have been able to convey my great appreciation to you both. You have each helped me to get the most value out of the data I have and helped convey the unique nature of this project in a clear and impactful way. Everyone in the Biomechanics Research Laboratory who have been along for the ride, it has been great to have you around for support, technical assistance and just a laugh or a distraction. You all banded together to help me when I needed it and I am forever grateful for that. Greg, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Nan and Pop – thank you for your constant love and support over the years. You’ve all been there to help when I needed it and have always shown so much interest in my research. v Camilla, I honestly do not think I could have got through this without you. You have been there to support me, day-in and day-out, helping me keep up consistent work and bringing me up when I am down. I hope that I can (and do) provide the same support for you as you finish your thesis, and that my gratitude for your support is as clear to you as it is to me. vi Abstract Background: Surfing manoeuvres such as aerials have emerged as an impactful way for competitive surfers to significantly change the outcome of a heat, providing them with a competitive advantage when performed successfully. Although these manoeuvres have drawn some attention from the scientific community, no research has been undertaken to comprehensively evaluate the performance of aerials and to identify how they can be trained for. Research Question: The overall aim of this thesis was to systematically evaluate the performance of aerial manoeuvres in surfing in order to develop evidence-based recommendations, which could be used to improve aerial performance and training in skilled surfers. Methods: A series of studies were conducted in three parts to achieve this overall thesis aim. Firstly, Part I explored the current state of wave-riding performance (Chapter 2), as well as establishing the value of wave-riding manoeuvres to scoring a surfer’s performance during elite surfing competitions (Chapter 3).