Announcement from American Trail Running Association corporate member BOA® Technology.
Second white paper publishes detailed data on how athlete performance is improved with the BOA Fit System.
BOA® Technology announces the publication of a second peer-reviewed white paper by Footwear Science that further validates improvements in athletic performance through biomechanical changes directly related to BOA Fit System-equipped footwear. BOA, in partnership with the University of Denver, set out to measure the biomechanical impact of its fit solutions and the latest publication marks another milestone in its mission to scientifically demonstrate the performance benefits of the BOA Fit System.
The second technical report breaks down how the performance improvements came about, specifically by quantifying the biomechanical mechanisms responsible for the observed performance improvements. Researchers analyzed how ankle, knee, and hip motion and forces changed during specific movements relative to agility and speed.
“Using data from our study subjects, we measured three key variables: joint range of motion, joint moments, and joint powers, one hundred times per second,” says Dan Feeney, Ph.D., BOA’s manager of biomechanics research and Performance Fit Lab. “In specific BOA configurations that we now call PerformFit Wrap, we saw that athletes could change direction more quickly during vertical and lateral drills. Athletes were also able to optimize velocity and force in the direction they intended to move, while minimizing motion in other directions. This is an important consideration as excessive motion in unintended directions is undesirable and can be associated with wasted energy and potentially injury risk.”
The team reported that BOA’s PerformFit™ Wrap upper design, specifically the tri-panel and y-wrap configurations, reduced motion in those undesired planes and increased range of motion and moments in the desired planes for each motion. Researchers also saw that these configurations produced greater rates of force development and resulted in less work for athletes.
ATRA founder Nancy Hobbs at BOA’s HQ in Denver, Colorado.
The study calculated variables through markers on the body paired to motion capture cameras, in combination with force plates embedded in the floor. By creating a geometric model, researchers were able to estimate variables during athlete movements.
Footwear Science’s second BOA paper expands on the original study’s findings that the high performing BOA configurations resulted in a 3-9% improvement in agility and speed, and a reduction in energy required to perform a movement over the same shoe model with traditional laces.
“BOA’s mission is to deliver scientifically measurable performance improvements through the innovative applications of the BOA Fit System,” says Shawn Neville, CEO at BOA Technology. “Our Performance Fit Lab and the University of Denver have done an excellent job with the first two white papers and are already working on future validation studies to continue to push the limits of human performance through superior fit.”
A summary of the latest published paper validating performance benefits of the BOA Fit System can be viewed at BOAFit.com. Additional validation studies are underway to evaluate the performance benefits of BOA in the categories of health and endurance, and power and precision.
The new La Sportiva Cyklon trail running shoe, set to launch in the coming weeks, along with the current Saucony Switchback 2, both integrate the high performing BOA tri-panel configuration. Future developments with top running and outdoor brands are also set to leverage these findings in forthcoming product.
About BOA Technology:
BOA® Technology Inc., creators of the revolutionary, award-winning, patented BOA Fit System, is celebrating 20 years of innovation. BOA partners with market-leading brands to make the best gear even better, delivering fit solutions purpose-built for performance in products across snow sports, cycling, hiking/trekking, golf, running, court sports, workwear, medical bracing, and prosthetics. The system consists of three integral parts: a micro-adjustable dial, super-strong lightweight laces, and low friction lace guides. Each unique configuration is engineered for fast, effortless, precision fit, and is backed by The BOA Guarantee. BOA Technology Inc. is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with offices in Austria, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, and Japan. For more information, visit BOAFit.com.
