METHODS article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Women in Sport
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1619283
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen at the Olympics and Paralympics: Past, Present, and FutureView all 4 articles
Paddle-to-Podium: A Four-Phased Applied Research Model, Translating Research into Practice for Female Surfers
Provisionally accepted
- 1Griffith Health, Griffith University, Southport, Australia
- 2Surfing Australia, Casuarina, Australia
- 3Sport Performance Innovation and Knowledge Excellence, Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane, Australia
- 4Female Performance and Health Initiative, Australian Institute of Sport., Canberra, Australia
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The announcement of Teahupo'o, Tahiti as the location for surfing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games prompted a focus on performance research specific to female surfers.Following a 14-year absence of competitive female surfing at Teahupo'o, athletes and coaches expressed concerns about safety and wellbeing due to the physical and technical demands of sprint-paddling into such challenging and dangerous waves. This paper presents a methodological research approach designed to address these critical performance challenges in the lead up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The 'Paddle-to-Podium' project aimed to enhance sprint-paddling performance in elite Australian female surfers, with the dual objectives of improving wave-riding performance and ensuring athlete safety during the event.A collaborative partnership was formed between Surfing Australia, Griffith University, the Queensland Academy of Sport, and the Australian Institute of Sport to establish a multidisciplinary team committed to supporting Australia's Olympic success in elite female surfing. The team implemented a four-phase applied research model to bridge the gap between scientific insights and practical application within the daily training environment, ensuring timely and impactful high-performance outcomes. The four phases were: (1) Explore current perceptions of sprint-paddling performance among elite female surfers, (2) Examine key stroke characteristics that contribute to superior sprint-paddling velocity, (3) Execute a tailored technique intervention to optimize sprint-paddling performance, and (4) Sustain research practices to provide a legacy for elite female surfing in Australia.
Keywords: Olympics, sports science, high-performance teams, Female athlete, performance
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Parsonage, MacDonald, Shephard, Gosney, Deny and Minahan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Joanna Parsonage, Griffith Health, Griffith University, Southport, Australia
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