Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre
The Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, SWRC, is one of the world’s leading laboratories for winter sports research and development. The centre focuses on innovation, user-driven research and technology and has rapidly become an international ‘melting-pot’ for researchers from all over the world, thanks to its unique high-tech facilities and the opportunities it offers.
“Close links between leading researchers, coaches and elite athletes, particularly in the field of integrative physiology and biomechanics, combined with cooperation with performance technicians, has proven to be an efficient model for moving from idea to product,” explains HC Holmberg, Professor and Head of R&D at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre.
In this process, the daily training environment becomes a ‘working laboratory’ in which ideas for improvement can be scientifically tested and new training methods can be validated against performance measures, using ‘improved performance’ as the central motivator for research and development. The research centre has been credited as a key factor behind the success of the Swedish cross-country ski team at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.
At the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre there is also comprehensive development of technical sporting equipment. This includes work by Craft which, in partnership with the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre and Ski Team Sweden, has designed a new race suit in muscle-assisting material. Sture Espwall, research administrator at the centre, is very positive about this partnership:
“We have a great number of active sportspeople and the facilities are such good quality that companies see great value in being here. We have increasing collaboration with companies that want to develop their sports products.”
SWRC is also one of two Olympic test centres associated with the Swedish Olympic Committee.
