Shosholoza crew takes ice-baths to minimise swelling, inflammation and muscle fatigue

Post race ice-bathing has been introduced as a recovery method for muscle fatigued Team Shosholoza crew who are racing eight hours a day, for ten consecutive days, in America’s Cup precursor events like the current Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts.

“Ice-bathing athletes is very normal practise. We use it in many sports and are now using it in sailing as well. The crew have a very long and hard physical day out on the water and the ice bath successfully helps to minimise swelling and inflammation of the muscles and enhances muscle recovery. It is a very well known technique in all contact and endurance sports”, explains Shosholoza biokineticist, Julian Calefato. In typical South African improvisation Calefato uses a standard black dustbin as a make-shift ice box for the arms and a garbage skip for submerging the body from the waist down.

“We believe some of the top America’s Cup teams use ice jackets for recovery purposes. But we don’t know of any others using ice baths. They might not need to as they have bigger sailing squads. Some have A and B teams and in the case of Alinghi two full sailing teams. This gives them the advantage of being able to rotate and rest fatigued crew and rely on a natural recovery period,” says Calefato who has been seconded full time to the team by the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town.

Shosholoza grinder Johan Spilhaus takes an ice-bath after the end of Louis Vuitton Act 10. Valencia, 17 May 2006

“We need to speed up the recovery during these 10 day racing periods during the Acts and I believe it will be an especially useful technique during the Louis Vuitton Cup next year when we will be racing every day for almost a month. These guys are on the water for eight hours a day when they are racing and it is pretty tough out there. It will also be refreshing during the Valencian summer when the temperatures top 40 degrees.” Calefato says the ice bath has also become a great team builder. “It’s very icy and the guys have to psyche each other up to remain in there for the required five minutes. Sometimes it separates the men from the boys!”

The crew is content with this new recovery method: “It’s really helped reduce stiffness and pain in my elbows and wrists. It’s not my favourite five minutes of the day but something I realise I need to do,” says grinder Shaun Pammenter. Mast man Charles Nankin founds it has definitely made a difference for him: “We have had no serious injuries this regatta whereas we have always had problems in the past. It is internationally recognised recovery treatment in physically demanding sports. The proof is in the pudding.” And mid-bowman Golden Mgedeza has already experienced that the ice bath has worked wonders for his back and legs.