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Fred Cheney
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Despite spending more than three years engineering and creating new crash pads for the speed skating events at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Professor Sean Maw, PhD, would be very happy if they never got used.
“Even though we put our blood, sweat and tears into the pads, ideally no one falls,” says the Faculty of Science and Technology associate professor who is also a member of the Board of Directors for Speed Skating Canada.
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Professor Sean Maw hopes his expertise doesn't come into play. |
“Yeah, it would be anti-climatic if no skaters fall, but that’s what everyone would like — I’d be just as happy if that happened.”
It is not a lack of confidence in the crash pads that he and Clifton Johnston designed for the Olympics that leads him to hope no skaters crash — he just wants the skaters to skate at their best.
“The pads have tested well. But the bottom line is no matter how good the pads are, someone can still get hurt. There is no perfect system.
“Athletes have their own stress about performing well and we have ours,” says Maw.
“I’ll be more excited after the Olympics.”
In Vancouver, Maw will not only be monitoring the performance of the new pads, he will also be hosting events for Speed Skating Canada and writing a blog.
Of course, he will also be cheering on Canada’s speed skating team.
“It’s going to be lots of fun and I think Canada will do well. Canada’s team is one of the best we’ve had,” says Maw.
Even the jokes by TV personality Steven Colbert that escalated the rivalry between the Canadian and U.S. teams don't dampen Maw’s excitement.
“It’s good that Colbert stepped in to help the U.S. speed skating team,” says Maw about the Colbert Nation sponsorship. “His involvement has helped raise the profile of speed skating.”
And a higher profile for speed skating can only help Maw’s profile in the classroom where he can share his hands-on experience with his engineering students.
“Students are interested in sports engineering and it is a growing industry.
“They also like seeing that the faculty is doing something outside of the classroom,” adds Maw.
The new crash pads are already being used in several countries and Maw hopes they will also be asked to do the ones for the next Winter Olympics in Russia.
Check out the original story Crash Test Smarty, Oct. 2008.
— Anika Van Wyk, Feb. 11, 2010
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