Customised training method for elevated sport pistol shooting accuracy and efficiency, provided by SportTrooper.
In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, a groundbreaking project headed by former French pistol shooting champ Hélène Jacolin and top athletes is underway. This pioneering endeavor, known as SportTrooper, is the brainchild of CREPS Bordeaux, onepoint, and Immersion, and aims to revolutionize training methods for pistol shooters.
France's elite pistol team is about to take a monumental leap in their training, with SportTrooper set to join their routine in the coming months. SportTrooper offers a personalized, immersive training experience that puts shooters right in the thick of competition, helping them navigate the stress that plagues high-pressure situations.
The system, born from France's SportTech initiative, is a collaboration between local sports bodies and digital players. With the goal of promoting innovative digital projects that positively impact sports performance, SportTech is backing this venture to help athletes achieve new heights.
Hélène Jacolin, a pistol champion and digital applications analyst for onepoint, has witnessed firsthand the toll stress takes on a shooter's performance. In an average year, she participates in 15 competitions, but due to the stress of competing under pressure, she only manages to reach the finals in two. This highlights the need for regular, immersive training under conditions that mimic real competition settings.
Walter Lapeyre, coach of the French pistol team at CREPS Bordeaux, concurs with Jacolin's observations. He's seen the negative impact of stress on his team's performance during major competitions. Striking the right balance between stress and relaxation is key to success, and SportTrooper is designed to help athletes find that balance.
The personalized training solution comprises a web app, an immersive device, and a stress measurement system. Wearing body sensors like heart rate monitors, sweat rate sensors, and SCATT optical systems during aim and discharge, shooters delve deep into simulation sessions. These sessions are designed to generate lifelike experiences, allowing athletes to learn more about themselves, manage stress, and optimize their performance.
The French pistol team gets to create and use their own video footage, gathered with a 360-degree camera during competition visits, to enrich their training sessions easily and efficiently. Leading the way in the use of technology to streamline homework, SportTrooper is truly a trailblazer in its field.
Julien Castet, Head of Research at Immersion, explains the decision to employ this solution: "We determined an approach that took into account the needs of our clients for a lifelike experience and the preparation and modeling of simulation scenarios. This is why we rejected virtual reality headsets and traditional immersive environments, which were either too intrusive or too far removed from real-life conditions. Instead, we favored a hybrid device that would cater perfectly to high-level athletes, as they can use their own weapons during practice."
The collected physiological and psychological data are analyzed to find correlations between the shooter's state and shot quality. Coaches and sport psychologists then compare the results of this analysis with those of standard training sessions to determine the source of stress. Armed with this knowledge, they create tailor-made training sessions, inserting various visual or audio elements at specific moments to either increase or decrease the effects of stress on the athlete.
SportTrooper serves not only to battle competition jitters but also to enhance mental preparation sessions. These sessions help athletes adjust their breathing, relaxation, mental imagery, behavior, and goal-setting techniques, thereby ensuring optimal performance. As a result, SportTrooper should help manage competition stress, with the potential to even boost performance in the long run.
Onepoint's R&D team is integral to the project, working tirelessly to provide scientific evidence regarding SportTrooper's benefits and to advance research in this area. By merging the expertise of a pistol shooting champion with that of a cognitive science and ergonomics specialist, they contribute invaluable knowledge to the understanding of the psychology of pistol shooting sports.
Co-authors of this buzzworthy article include Alexandra Delmas, a researcher in cognitive science and onepoint associate, who focuses on the effects of stress to improve athletes' mental preparation; Cyril Faucher, a former top epee fencer who manages the top performance support program run by CREPS Bordeaux; and Julien Castet, Head of Research at Immersion.
The SportTrooper project demonstrates a truly collaborative effort between sports organizations and technology companies. CREPS Bordeaux provides the institutional support needed for top athletes to thrive, onepoint brings its scientific and technical expertise, and Immersion designs the immersive solution, ensuring a perfect marriage of technology and sport.
The future of precision sports training is here, and it's called SportTrooper. As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games draw closer, it will be fascinating to see the impact this innovative solution has on the medal count. Will SportTrooper propel France's pistol team to the promised land? Only time will tell.
- SportTrooper, a collaboration between French sports bodies and digital players, is revolutionizing the training methods for pistol shooters.
- The personalized training solution includes a web app, an immersive device, and a stress measurement system.
- Shooters wear body sensors to gather physiological data and delve into simulation sessions that mimic real competition settings.
- The collected data is analyzed to find correlations between the shooter's state and shot quality.
- This helps coaches and sport psychologists create tailor-made training sessions, improving athletes' performance.
- SportTrooper is not limited to combat competition jitters, but also enhances mental preparation sessions.
- Onepoint's R&D team is contributing to the project, providing scientific evidence and advancing research in this area.
- Top athletes, such as Helène Jacolin and Walter Lapeyre, have highlighted the need for regular, immersive training under conditions that mimic real competition settings.
- SportTrooper's success could have implications beyond pistol shooting, potentially impacting other sports and competition performances.
- The project demonstrates a cooperation between sports organizations and technology companies, with CREPS Bordeaux, onepoint, and Immersion forming the core team.
- As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approach, it will be intriguing to witness SportTrooper's impact on the medal count for France's pistol team.
- This innovative technology could also have an impact on the lifestyle, career development, and personal growth of the athletes involved.
- In the broader context, SportTrooper represents a bridge between technology, artificial intelligence, and sports analysis, potentially revolutionizing the way sports are trained and played.
- The role of technology in various aspects of life, including fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, gadgets, data-and-cloud-computing, relationships, pets, travel, cars, education-and-self-development, and sports-betting, is becoming increasingly important, as demonstrated by the SportTrooper project.
