Australian rowers use ergometer machine

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32966, 12 July 1972, Page 14

Australian rowers use ergometer machine

An item of equipment which has proved to be invaluable in training Australia’s rowing eight for the 01ym p i c Games in Munich was invented, designed and produced in Australia and interest abroad has been growing during the last two or three years. ,

Basically, the equipment is a rowing machine, in which athletes simulate exactly the motions of rowing as well as duplicating the energy output of oarsmen in a racing shell. The ergometer, an integral part of the equipment, measures a man’s energy output. Coaches, medical staff and athletes themselves are thus able to obtain a precise picture of the individual's progress in a tram-

ing programme. Areas where further physical training might be required are also revealed. The ergometer rowing machine was designed originally by the late Professor F. Cotton, who was an experienced oarsman In 1956 the first of the machines was completed, for the Mosman Rowing Club in Sydney. Professor Cotton’s basic idea was developed by Dr J. Harrison, a former Olympic oarsman, and was built by E. R. Curtain Pty, Ltd. boilermakers, in the Sydney district of Revesby. ' The principal of this firm, Mr E. Curtain, also an experienced oarsman, was able to appreciate the applications of Professor Cotton’s original concepts to training programmes for rowing crews. Since then he ha- built a number of the machines. By last year the United States

alone had bought. 16 for use in colleges and rowing clubs. The first ergometer rowing machine in America, went to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Recently, there have also been inquiries from Germany. and an invitation to Mr Curtain to send one of the machines for exhibition in Munich during the Olympic Games. In London, a hospital has expressed interest in the machine as a possible aid for heart patients. A double machine, in which two athletes can exercise simultaneously, costs S4OOO. Says Mr Curtain: "The ergometer rowing machine is still the only machine of its kind in the world. Professor Cotton was 40 years or more ahead of his time when he came up with the original idea for it.''