Sporting Goods for Women

The Wall Street Journal picks up on the theme of a post from late last season, on the value of sex-specific sporting goods.

In “A Tennis Racket of Their Own,” Carmen Fleetwood says that “Sporting-goods makers target women with gear designed specifically for female physiques.”

Tennis rackets, for example, may now accommodate for the fact that on average, a woman will have less upper-body strength (not good) but more flexible joints (presumably good). The difference? The weight is distributed more equally throughout the racket, leaving less (proportionately) at the head. By taking some of the weight off the point furthest away from the player’s hand, the racket becomes easier to use by someone with less strength. Or at least that’s the theory.

Why do these design differences matter?

Comfort. Performance. Less risk of injury. Heavier rackets for women may increase the number of injuries to the shoulder’s rotator cuff.

The WSJ says that there may be a bright future for products of these sorts, especially with an aging cohort of baby boomers.

Sounds like a winner to me. As a society and economy we are advancing in our knowledge of medicine and engineering. Why not take advantage of that knowledge? I’ve been a big fan of Flow bindings, for example, since they seem to require less stretching and bending than many strap bindings–good things for an older body.