Frontiers in Sports and Active Living最新文献

Introduction: The number of elite female athletes combining athletic careers with mothering has increased during the last decades. Many mother-athletes return to an equal or an even better level of performance postpartum. Despite numerous success stories across a variety of sports, there are currently no mother-athletes in Swedish elite ice hockey. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore how Swedish elite female ice hockey players perceive challenges associated with initiating and maintaining the mother-athlete role.

Methods: Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 7 elite female ice hockey players (5 prepregnancy and 2 mothers/former athletes) and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Thematic analysis revealed three main challenges facing elite female ice hockey players: (a) Making ends meet, (b) A leap in the dark and (c) You can't be what you can't see. Due to these challenges, the participants perceived combining elite ice hockey and mothering as unrealistic. Consequently, they felt forced to either retire from elite sports early or postpone mothering to post career.

Discussion: Continued work with improving the financial support and developing clear maternity policies is essential to prevent early dropouts before elite female ice hockey players have reached peak performance. Enabling more players to prolong their athletic careers during pregnancy and postpartum will likely produce more positive mother-athlete role models. Further, keeping more players in the sport for a longer period could help women's ice hockey to develop to its highest optimal quality (e.g., level and competition).

Objective: This study evaluated the one-year impact of a 12-week school-based physical activity (PA) intervention, which added one extra hour of structured PA per week, on children's movement behaviors, aerobic fitness, and motor competence (MC).

Methods: A longitudinal comparison between an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG) was conducted at baseline (PRE), mid-intervention (DUR), post-intervention (POST), and one-year follow-up (FUP). The study was conducted in a single school without randomization. Movement behaviors (accelerometry), aerobic fitness (YYIR1C), and MC (MCA battery) were assessed. Due to school changes and parental noncompliance, the sample decreased from 38 to 23 participants (EG; n = 13; CG; n = 10), a 39% dropout rate.

Results: One year post-intervention, the EG spent more time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA; + 41 min/day), less time in SED (-234 min/day), slept longer (+103 min/night), covered greater distances in the YYIR1C (+174 m), and achieved higher MC scores (+19% on the MCA battery test) compared to the CG. Although no significant differences in body weight were observed, the EG showed improved body mass index (BMI; -5 kg/m²) and a lower body fat percentage (-10%) when compared to the CG.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that the benefits of a 3-month school-based PA intervention, which included an additional hour of physical education per week, can have sustained benefits for movement behaviors, physical fitness, and MC in children one year post-intervention. However, the small sample size and lack of randomization limit the generalizability of the results. Future research should employ larger, randomized trials to better assess the long-term impact of PA interventions on children's health and fitness outcomes.

Introduction: The contribution of volunteers to the success of mega sport events is very valuable, as they dedicate their time and skills without financial compensation. Despite the undiminished enthusiasm for volunteering at events, grassroots sport in Europe faces increasing challenges in retaining long-term volunteers in sports clubs. This study aims to contribute to existing research by examining the characteristics and motivations of volunteers at mega sport events, with a particular focus on the Special Olympics World Games 2023 (SOWG 23). Furthermore, it seeks to identify factors that influence long-term engagement, ultimately promoting a sustainable volunteering legacy.

Methods: A quantitative methodology was employed, utilizing a structured questionnaire survey conducted in the context of the SOWG 23 in Berlin. The questionnaire addressed various domains, including satisfaction, expectations, volunteering history, future volunteering intentions, perceptions of sport event characteristics, and socio-demographic variables. Additionally, an extended version of the VMS-ISE scale was employed in order to ascertain the motives of the surveyed volunteers. Following verification, 512 validated responses were subjected to analysis employing descriptive and inferential statistical methods and techniques.

Results: The results demonstrate that most respondents were female, married or in life partnerships, without children, of advanced age, highly educated, and with prior volunteering experience despite no parental history of volunteering. Intrinsic motivations were pivotal for volunteer engagement at the SOWG 23, while extrinsic rewards had a lesser influence. The group-specific analysis, based on individual volunteering history, identified key factors that distinguished those who became active as a result of the event from those who did not. The binomial logistic regression model developed was statistically significant [χ ²(18) = 48.01, p < .001] and explained a large proportion of the variance (R ² = .51).

Discussion/conclusion: This study enhances the understanding of the characteristics and motivations of volunteers engaged in the Special Olympics context, and identifies specific factors that facilitate long-term engagement. Furthermore, the findings offer invaluable insights that have informed the development of recruitment strategies aimed at fostering a volunteer legacy in both the sports and non-sports sectors.

Introduction: This systematic review aimed to investigate differences in match-play data according to the five playing categories in badminton.

Materials and methods: The systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches were conducted on ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies assessing technical-tactical actions, activity profiles, or external and internal loads as match-play outcome measures according to the five playing categories in badminton were deemed eligible. Quality assessment was performed using a modified version of the AMSTAR-2 checklist to compare the outcome measures, effect sizes (ES) and associated 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results: Of the 12,967 studies that were identified, 34 met the eligibility criteria. Among these, 29 and five were rated as excellent and good quality, respectively. Some individual ESs of activity profiles showed up to large differences (ES ≤ 4.52) favouring the men's compared with the women's singles category. Some individual ESs of activity profiles showed up to large differences (ES ≤ -2.72) favouring the women's doubles category compared with other doubles categories. The overall ESs for the activity profiles were large (ES = -0.76 to -0.90), favouring the doubles over the singles categories in both sexes.

Discussion: There are up to large differences in match-play data according to the five playing categories in badminton, each category placing specific demands on the players. Thus, each category requires specific training and testing procedures, what should be considered by scientists and coaches.

Introduction: Hormone levels fluctuate significantly throughout the menstrual cycle (MC), potentially impacting physical performance during training. However, the number of studies examining women's experiences during strength training throughout the MC is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore women's perceptions of strength training during different MC phases.

Methods: In this study, a qualitative study design was used where five women (24-32 years) with recreational experience in strength training kept an exercise diary during a MC. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative conventional content analysis, with an inductive approach.

Results: From the analysis, three overarching themes describing the content of the interviews emerged: "Biopsychosocial Dynamics and Individual Variability in the Early Follicular Phase", "From Peak to Breaking Point: Performance Dynamics from Late Follicular Phase to Ovulation" and "Diversity in Mental and Physical Well-Being During the Luteal Phase". From women's perspectives, strength training performance seems to fluctuate across the different phases of the MC, influenced by both physiological and psychological challenges, though with individual variation.

Discussion: The findings highlight the need for a holistic approach to managing the physiological and psychological challenges that may arise during each phase of the MC, along with the importance of social support. The results also stress that performance fluctuations across the MC are unique, further emphasizing the inability to recommend general phase-based exercise protocols.

Introduction: Artistic swimming is a highly technical sport that requires a large volume of training and forced positions that generate a high risk of injury.

Objective: to compile scientific evidence on the incidence of injuries in artistic swimming. Literature study: PubMed, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus databases were used to search for studies that analysed the epidemiology of injuries in artistic swimmers of any age and gender until June 2024. Methodology: the methodological quality of the studies was analysed with the Strengthening the Reporting Scale of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA) were followed. Synthesis: eleven studies met the inclusion criteria showing a clear trend of joint-ligament or muscle-tendon injuries in the shoulders, back, and knees.

Conclusions: despite the publication of an injury surveillance document and a consensus on data collection and injury surveillance, there are methodological limitations that do not allow firm conclusions to be drawn. More epidemiological studies that follow data collection and injury surveillance guidelines are needed to establish differences by gender, age groups, and test.

Introduction: The holistic development of elite athletes is a priority within European sports policies, necessitating a coordinated approach to dual career support. This study evaluated the perspectives of both university experts and student-athletes (S-As) on various dual career aspects, aiming to provide actionable insights for improving policies within European higher education institutions (HEIs).

Materials and methods: Data was collected through an online survey tailored for HEI experts and S-As across multiple countries. A total of 46 HEI experts and 321 S-As responded to the survey. The role of the country of origin on each dual career aspect for S-As was investigated using a MANOVA, followed by an ANOVA and post hoc analyses using Tukey's test when an effect emerged. The data from HEI experts and comparisons between S-As and HEI experts were handled descriptively due to the violation of assumptions of homogeneity of variances and sufficient sample size.

Results: The study revealed significant trends and disparities in the availability and quality of support services. In particular, logistic, and financial support, and other support/policies areas showed a significant effect for S-As countries of origin, with Romanian and Serbian S-As generally reporting better scores and Italian and Spanish worse. In general, HEI experts rated dual career provision areas more favorably than S-As.

Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of integrating both HEI expert and S-As' perspectives to develop effective dual career policies. Tailored interventions and enhanced communication about available resources are crucial for improving the dual career experiences of S-As across Europe.