Can Coastal Rowing Be Made Safer Through Auxetics-Inspired Personal Protective Equipment?

We report the results of a survey aimed at assessing how beach sprint coastal rowers perceive their sport in terms of injury likelihood and overall risk, their willingness to use personal protective equipment (PPE) and the factors that discourage PPE adoption. Building on these findings, this study demonstrates how auxetics can be exploited in the design of next-generation PPE for use in this new Olympic discipline. By examining well-known auxetic motifs based on the rotating squares/triangles mechanisms, we explore how that PPE can be engineered to provide improved conformal fit enabling the equipment to adapt dynamically to body contours during movement without imposing significant restrictions on mobility. This and other attributes such as enhanced breathability and visual appeal directly address the factors influencing beach sprint coastal rowers’ decisions regarding the use of PPE.