Does the sport of rowing struggle with innovation?
It’s a question that has swept through our community on several occasions, not least when comparing ourselves with other sports that focus on physical prowess; cycling, running, athletics. All of the aforementioned seem ahead of rowing, both in terms of the technology developed and the broad accessibility of that speed-enabling expertise.
Power Ten Metrics was born to fill the void. Their aim is simple—to enhance the sport of rowing, however and whenever they can. The brainchild of Joseph Keogh, who realised whilst rowing for the University of Virginia that the entire squad lacked a systematic and simple way to track performance and keep a log of data, Power Ten Metrics is now rapidly expanding to accommodate the growing demand for faster, smarter technology in rowing.
Team management is at the core of their first offering, a rowing performance metric log. Via the Power Ten Metrics ios App, you can access rowing performance metrics anytime, anywhere and leverage real-time data visualisation and performance trend analysis to help make data-driven training decisions.
Co-Founder Caden Kowalski – who got involved with the business about a year ago – is another athlete from the University of Virginia with the ambition to change how rowing operates. “I remember he (Joseph) came to the boathouse one day with this little device that you could plug into the back of an ergo. It would then grab all the data from your strokes and upload them to this website he was working on,” he said. “It was eye-opening as a potential for data management, team management, and roster management. It provided a straightforward way to extract and view data, whether by a coach in the room or someone else not present but plugged into what is happening.”
Caden was convinced and approached Joseph, offering to build the app based on his prior experience in the space and spotting the opportunity to leverage his major in Computer Science. “We got the app launched last summer, and we’re now at around 8,000 users across the product,”said Caden. “Right now, we’re primarily a logging system, but the plan is absolutely to transition into team management software, designed with programmes and their needs in mind.”
With two rowers at the company’s helm, the product offering is far more likely to be impactful and helpful for the community that they serve and are an active part of. “It’s very clear what the day-to-day benefits could be for Power Ten Metrics,” explained Caden. “I want this to be a tool that I could personally use, so that’s driven some of the passion for development.”
Although the app is fledgling, the team management and technology market in rowing is growing month by month. “Currently, you can upload pictures, set goals, record scores, and share visibility with others in your programme. You can view analytics, things applicable to a small mobile phone that you can have while you’re erging,” explained Caden. “The plan for Power Ten Metrics is to venture into team management software, where you can take all the aspects of the logger that we have on the mobile app, but then just add that to a team management service where a coach can pull up the website on the computer or a version of the app for the PC. From there, they can track everything in real-time, watch how athletes are performing, how that performance varies from moment to moment and inform decisions.”
For the Power Ten Metrics team, the possibilities are limitless. The excitement of working on a new project, the ever-unfurling blank canvas in front of you, and working tirelessly towards enhancing a sport that means so much. “It’s very exciting for me to develop the company, “ said Caden. “I enjoy doing it but also seeing where it could go. As a rower myself, I can understand and appreciate the benefits. Being part of a fast-growing company is another aspect that keeps me involved and enthused.”
As rowing evolves, Power Ten Metrics plan to not only be at the heart of that change but, to some extent, help to dictate it. The sport needs change-makers and Joseph, Caden and the team are determined to bring the best of innovation to their community.
