Sports_Eng_course_outline_5sept2023

McPhee Page |1

Course Outline for BME 550: Sports Engineering, Fall 2023

Instructor’s name, office location, contact:

Professor John McPhee, e3-4114, [email protected]
TA’s name, office, contact:

Adam Turner, cph-2398, [email protected]
Lecture times, building and room number:
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30-2:50, e5-6003/6004. Prof. McPhee is available for
consultation immediately after the Thursday lectures, and by email appointment.
• Tutorials/labs in person on Thursdays, 3:30-4:20, e5-6006. The labs will be held
elsewhere on campus (e.g. in GolfTeRF golf simulator).
Course description:
This course is focused on the application of engineering principles to the analysis of sports
equipment and their effect on athletic performance. Principles of mechanics are used to
understand the motion and forces arising in sports equipment, and their interaction with the
musculoskeletal dynamics of athletes. Materials science and energy principles are used to study
upper limits on performances in different sports, as well as the endurance and muscle fatigue
arising in athletes. Computer models and simulations are developed to gain insights to sports
equipment and athletic performance; applications are taken from a wide variety of sports,
including hockey, golf, baseball, tennis, bicycling, track and field, automotive racing, and
gymnastics. The lecture material is supplemented by physical prototypes, high-speed imaging,
guest lectures from sports industries, and a project on the analysis of sporting events.
Course objectives:
At the end of the course you should be able to:
• Use scientific principles to explain natural phenomena and athletic performance in

sporting events, including Olympic and Paralympic sports;
• Develop mathematical models and computer simulations of the movements of athletes
and their equipment;
• Measure the dynamic phenomena associated with different sporting activities;
• Analyse existing sports equipment and develop designs and prototypes for new
equipment.
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Required text: No one text; instead, the lecture material will be supplemented by a variety of
reference sources including:
1. Undergraduate textbooks in:

• Dynamics (e.g. Hibbeler, Beer and Johnston, Meriam, …)
• Mechanics of deformable solids
• Fluid mechanics
• Biomechanics (e.g. Delp and Uchida)
2. International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA):
• Web page (http://www.sportsengineering.co.uk/) with links to publications, programs,
student competitions (win $), researchers, and jobs.
• Publisher of Sports Engineering journal
3. International Society for Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS):
• Web page (http://www.isbs.org/) provides more details.
• Publisher of Sport Biomechanics journal
4. U.K. Institution of Mechanical Engineers:
• Publisher of Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology
5. The Physics of Ball Games, by C.B. Daish, English University Press, 1972.
6. The Dynamics of Sports, 3rd ed., by D.F. Griffing, The Dalog Company, 1984.
7. The Physics of Sports, edited by A. Armenti Jr., American Institute of Physics, 1992.
8. Newton at the Bat, edited by W. Schrier and W. Allman, Scribners, 1987.
9. Sport Science, by P. Brancazio, Simon and Schuster, 1984.
10. Basic Sport Science, by Klausen, Hemmingsen, and Rasmussen, Mouvement Publications,
1982.
11. The Physics of Baseball, R. Adair, HarperPerennial, 1990.
12. The Physics of Golf, T. Jorgensen, AIP Press, 1994.
13. The Physics of Hockey, A. Haché, Johns Hopkins, 2002.
14. The Search for the Perfect Swing, by Cochran and Stobbs, Lippincott, 1968.
15. The Science of the Perfect Swing, by P. Dewhurst, Oxford University Press, 2015.
16. Sport Mechanics for Coaches, 2nd ed, G. Carr, Human Kinetics, 2004.
17. High Tech Hot Shots: Careers in Sports Engineering, C. Baine, National Society of Professional
Engineers, 2004.
18. Routledge Handbook of Sports Technology and Engineering, F. Fuss, A. Subic, M. Strangwood,
and R. Mehta, eds, 2013.
19. Superbodies: Peak Performance Secrets from the World’s Best Athletes, G. Wells, Collins,
2012.
20. Computer-Aided Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanical System, E.J. Haug, Allyn and Bacon,
1989.
21. Dynamic Modeling of Musculoskeletal Motion, G.T. Yamaguchi, Springer, 2006.
22. Resources for Sports Engineering Education, T. Allen and J. Goff, Sports Eng, v21, 2018.
In addition, Guest Speakers will be invited from a variety of sporting organizations, such as
Trajekt Sports, Sportlogiq, Canadian Sports Institute, Cleveland Golf, Curling Canada, Golf Digest,
Rowing Canada, Canadian Tire Innovation, aboutGolf, Bladetech, and Cycling Canada.
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Tentative list of lecture topics and schedule 1:

Week Topic Applications
1 Intro to Sports Eng Golf, hockey, bowling, cycling, wheelchair

curling, fencing, and basketball
2 Particle and rigid body Usain Bolt, tennis, golf
kinematics
3 Dynamics; energy; moments of Many, including tennis, high jumpers, roller
inertia; impulse-momentum coasters, golf swing, figure skating, cycling
4 Impacts Golf, batting, kicking, curling, billiards,
Assignment 1 helmets, concussions
5 Friction Tennis, golf, shoe-turf interactions
Quiz 1
6 Reading Week
7 Materials and stresses Carbon composites, light-weighting, golf

Lab 1 report shaft, bicycle frame, shoe design, FEM
8 Drag forces and reduction; Cycling, race cars, archery, golf, swimming,
lift and Magnus forces baseball, soccer, golf, football, CFD
Assignment 2
9 Project proposals presented in Short presentations of project proposals by
class groups for discussion with entire class.
10 Sport kinematics; 3D rotations, Euler angles, angular
athlete + equipment velocities, quaternions, inertial
Lab 2 report measurement units (IMUs)
11 Sport biomechanics Muscles, ligaments, tendons, muscle torque
Assignment 3 generators, biceps curl
(guest speaker)
12 Sport dynamics; athlete + Inverse and forward dynamics, optimal
equipment control of movement, golf, wheelchair
propulsion
13 IT meets sports; wearable Data analytics
technologies (guest speaker)
Quiz 2
14 Project presentations 3-minute in-class presentations
(project report due later)
1
Lecture notes and recorded material are property of and copyrighted by John McPhee, 2023
McPhee Page |4
Evaluation:
The course grade will be based on assignments, quizzes, labs, and a project in which the students
carry out a detailed literature review and technical analysis of sporting equipment or movement.
The breakdown is as follows:
Assignments (3) 15%
Quizzes (2) 20%
Labs (2) 25%
Project 35%
Class participation 5%
Note that assignments, quizzes, and labs are to be done individually. The project can be done in
a group of 1-3 students. Quizzes are in person; assignments and labs are submitted on Learn.
Regarding the Use of Generative AI:
This course includes the independent development and practice of specific skills, such as dynamic
analysis, simulation, and experimentation. Therefore, the use of Generative artificial intelligence
(GenAI) trained using large language models (LLM) or other methods to produce text, images,
music, or code, like Chat GPT, DALL-E, or GitHub CoPilot, is not permitted in this class.
Unauthorized use in this course, such as running course materials through GenAI or using GenAI
to complete a course assessment or project is considered a violation of Policy 71 (plagiarism or
unauthorized aids or assistance). Work produced with the assistance of AI tools does not
represent the author’s original work and is therefore in violation of the fundamental values of
academic integrity including honesty, trust, respect, fairness, responsibility and courage (ICAI).
You should be prepared to show your work. To demonstrate your learning, you should keep your
rough notes, including research notes, brainstorming, and drafting notes. You may be asked to
submit these notes along with earlier drafts of their work, either through saved drafts or saved
versions of a document. If the use of GenAI is suspected where not permitted, you may be asked
to meet with your instructor or TA to provide explanations to support the submitted material as
being your original work. Through this process, if you have not sufficiently supported your work,
academic misconduct allegations may be brought to the Associate Dean.
In addition, you should be aware that the legal/copyright status of generative AI inputs and
outputs is unclear. More information is available from the Copyright Advisory Committee:
https://uwaterloo.ca/copyright-at-waterloo/teaching/generative-artificial-intelligence
Students are encouraged to reach out to campus supports if they need help with their
coursework including:
• Student Success Office for help with skills like notetaking and time management
• Writing and Communication Centre for assignments with writing or presentations
• AccessAbility Services for documented accommodations
• Library for research-based assignments
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Academic integrity, grievance, discipline, appeals and note for students with disabilities:
[The following statements MUST be included in all course outlines and/or websites.]
Academic integrity: To maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of

Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and
responsibility. [Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.]
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life
has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70,
Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the
department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid

committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. [Check the Office
of Academic Integrity for more information.] A student who is unsure whether an action
constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism,
cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course
instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories
of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For
typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and
Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a
ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72,
Student Appeals.
Note for students with disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, Room 1401,
collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students
with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require
academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with
AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.
Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this
course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented.
Students' submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an
alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about
their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term
and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the
use of Turnitin in this course.
It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at
the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit alternate assignment.

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McPhee Page |1

Course Outline for BME 550: Sports Engineering, Fall 2023

Instructor’s name, office location, contact:

TA’s name, office, contact:

At the end of the course you should be able to:

• Use scientific principles to explain natural phenomena and athletic performance in

1. Undergraduate textbooks in:

Tentative list of lecture topics and schedule 1:

1 Intro to Sports Eng Golf, hockey, bowling, cycling, wheelchair

7 Materials and stresses Carbon composites, light-weighting, golf

Regarding the Use of Generative AI:

Academic integrity: To maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid

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