What is GatorTracker?

The GatorTracker is a personal GPS unit that the athletes wear on their body which records their speeds, distances covered, heart rate in real time and relays this back to the Channel 9 Cricket Broadcast and then back to you in the comfort of your own living room.

These units are housed in a Bro, or half singlet, at the base of the neck on the back, whilst the athlete is also wearing a heart rate strap just below their chest. Through independent testing, these GPS units are the most accurate GPS units around.

Jock Campbell has introduced this technology into this seasons cricket coverage after successful use on TV in India and is now the Channel 9 Cricket Broadcast's High Performance Director. The following tables highlight the GPS results Jock has collated so far this season, as tested on Australian, Pakistan and West Indian Cricketers during the summer.

Stay tuned for more information more information on the GatorTracker and about next season.

Heart Rate   

Essentially, heart rate is the amount of times the heart beats per minute - it can also be termed pulse rate.

What is the heart and what does the heart do?

The heart is basically our motor, which pumps oxygenated blood around the body to sustain life to the vital organs and, for the importance of sport and athletic ability, to the working muscles.

As the body works harder, such as running after the ball in the field or running between wickets, the heart rate elevates to match the increased work rate of the body and the increased need for oxygen. Extreme increases in the human body's activity like sprinting in and bowling a cricket ball as fast as humanly possible (when bowling like Brett Lee and Kemar Roach (199 beats per minute)) takes the heart rate to near maximal levels.

Maximum Heart Rate?

Maximum heart rate is commonly estimated to be the number 220 minus your age. Therefore, Kemar Roach @ 20 years of age, should have an approximate maximum heart rate of 220 - 20 = 200 Beats per minute.

I have highlighted that this is an estimation, reasonably accurate, but the human body doesn't always conform, so there are definite natural variations to the rule. The only real way to know is by doing a VO2Max test, where the athlete is taken to absolute exhaustion, which will show their true maximum heart rate. Please don't try this at home, as this is only applicable to well trained, healthy, young individuals and is must be supervised by experienced trainers.

Resting Heart Rate?

This is the amount of times the heart beats per minute at total rest. This is commonly defined as upon waking in the morning or after at least 10 mins lying down resting with no distractions. Good luck remembering taking your pulse rate in the morning upon waking!

The average healthy individual has a resting heart rate of between 60-70 beats per minute.

Fit athletes often have a resting heart rate much lower than this. The great Lance Armstrong is reported to have a resting heart rate of 32 beats per minute when he was in Australia early 2010, and our own Greg Welsh (the first Australian winner of the Hawaiian Ironman) was supposed to be in the high 20s. Whilst these two are at the extremes, a fit athlete like Michael Clarke or Shane Watson would be somewhere in the 40s for beats per minute.

What does resting heart rate mean?

Resting heart rate is basically determined by how much blood per beat your heart can pump around the body; this is called your heart's stroke volume. The fitter the person, particularly cardiovascular fitness, the stronger the heart and the more blood it pumps around with each beat, therefore the less it has to beat per minute to get enough blood to the required areas. This is the very reason why Pharlap had such a big heart.

 The Stats - Season Summary

Jock's Season Summary

• The players and team management of all three teams have been superb in allowing access to players wearing the GPSports devices during international cricket matches.
• After both Ricky and Pup batted in the GatorTracker, Ricky being dismissed for a duck and Michael Clarke not much more, I expected to get a bat wrapped around my head when I entered the dressing room. Quite the opposite - Ricky said he had better field in it after doing nothing while he batted and Pup only threatened to use his bat on me.
• Having worked with many of these cricketers I wanted to show what great athletes they are and how hard cricket is physically at the highest level, which the results from this season have clearly shown!
• Next year we will show so much more, including the fastest man in cricket!
• Thanks to Heals for volunteering to demonstrate and next year he's agreed to bat against Mitchell Johnson in the nets with it on. Mitchell's quote upon hearing this was: "He's going to be in pain!" Good luck Heals.

For more info on the GatorTracker contact us at info@jockathletic.com