Fans of figure skating may admire the grace and beauty the athletes display on the ice, but behind the scenes, science and technology are hard at work, analyzing and enhancing every move a competitive skater makes.

A premier site for that kind of work is the University's Ice Skating Science Development Center, where experts in biomechanics are using high-speed cameras and computer analysis to change the way skaters approach everything from practice to Olympic competition.

"We look at the mechanics of the jump," Jim Richards, Distinguished Professor of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences and director of the biomechanics lab, says. "We measure how fast the skaters rotate and how high they jump."

Jumps have taken on increased importance in recent years, as competitive figure skaters add more, and more difficult, movements to their repertoires. Quadruple jumps, requiring a skater to jump high enough and spin fast enough to rotate four times in the air before landing, have become more common in Olympic competitions.

In Richards' lab, software developed at UD is used to pinpoint each movement a skater makes in attempting such a jump. Reflective markers are placed on 25 locations on the skater's body, and video cameras record his jump. The software then analyzes the recording, frame by frame, to determine the most effective body position, rotational energy and jump height for the athlete to accomplish the jump.

A three-dimensional image on a computer screen shows all stages of the jump, accompanied by a constantly changing yellow and green ellipse that assigns a numerical value to the skater's body position at various points in time.

"Our job here is to help coaches and skaters see what each part of the body is doing," Richards says. "Then, we help them to figure out what they need to do to achieve maximum potential."

Coaches and athletes are sent to the Ice Skating Science Development Center by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which co-sponsors the program with UD and the camera manufacturer, Motor Analysis Co.