Fremantle Swan Dragon Boat Club
費曼爾圖天鵝龍舟俱樂部
When Teams Don't Pull Their Weight
Dragon boat racing is a sport that epitomizes teamwork. Twenty paddlers, a drummer, and a steerperson all working in perfect synchronicity to propel a 40-foot boat across the water.
The ideal scenario suggests that if one paddler can generate 'X' amount of force, then twenty paddlers should generate '20X'. However, scientific observation, specifically the Ringelmann Effect, tells a different story.
What is the Ringelmann effect?
The Ringelmann Effect, first observed by French agricultural engineer Maximilien Ringelmann in 1913, describes the phenomenon where individual members of a group tend to become less productive as the size of the group increases. Ringelmann's experiments, initially involving men pulling on a rope, showed that while total group output increased with more people, the average individual contribution decreased.
What Ringelmann measured was the following:
-
One person: Pulls 100% of their individual maximum.
-
Two people: Pull 93% of their individual maximum each.
-
Three people: Pull 85% of their individual maximum each.
-
Eight people: Pull only 49% of their individual maximum each.
Eight people, he found, only pull marginally more than four individuals.
That's an astonishing loss of potential.
This reduction in individual effort within a group is often referred to as social loafing.
This effect is not unique to sports, its a phenemenon you can observe in the performance of any team.
The Ringelmann effect in Dragon Boat racing.
How does this translate to a dragon boat, where every stroke counts? Imagine a full boat of 20 paddlers. While the collective power is immense, the Ringelmann Effect suggests that each paddler might not be giving their absolute 100%.
Here’s why it happens in a dragon boat context:
Diffusion of Responsibility:
In a large boat, it's easy for individual paddlers to feel less personally accountable for the overall outcome. "Surely someone else will pick up the slack," or "My single stroke won't make that much difference," might be subconscious thoughts.
Reduced Identifiability:
In a crew of twenty, individual effort can be harder to discern compared to, say, a two-person canoe. A paddler might feel their effort is less visible or less measurable, leading to a natural decrease in output.
Coordination Losses:
Beyond just individual effort, the complexity of coordinating twenty paddles simultaneously introduces inherent losses. Even with a good drummer, perfect synchronization is incredibly difficult, and small timing discrepancies can reduce the efficiency of the collective force.
Motivation and Equity:
If paddlers perceive that others in the boat are not pulling their weight, they may unconsciously reduce their own effort to maintain a sense of fairness. "Why should I work harder if others aren't?"
The Ringelmann Effect is a natural human tendency, not a sign of malice. By understanding its underlying causes, dragon boat teams can implement strategies to ensure that every paddler feels motivated, accountable, and recognizes their indispensable role in propelling the boat to victory.
A true champion dragon boat crew is one where the collective power approaches the sum of its individual parts, defying the pull of social loafing.