Abstract

A sports implement including an electroactive element, such as a piezoceramic sheet attached to the implement and a circuit attached to the electroactive element. The circuit may be a shunt, or may include processing such as amplification and phase control to apply a driving signal which may compensate for strain sensed in the implement, or may simply alter the stiffness to affect performance. In a ski, the electroactive element is located near to the root in a region of high strain to apply damping, and the element captures between about one and five percent of the strain energy of the ski. The region of high strain may be found by modeling mechanics of the sports implement, or may be located by empirically mapping the strain distribution which occurs during use of the implement. In other embodiments, the electroactive elements may remove resonances, adapt performance to different situations, or enhance handling or comfort of the implement. Other embodiments include striking implements intended to hit a ball or object in play, such as golf clubs and tennis racquets, wherein the strain elements may alter the performance, feel or comfort of the implement.