Frontiers in Sports and Active Living最新文献

Introduction: Fitness testing is widely used in school physical education (PE) yet is often criticised for demotivating students and being misaligned with educative aims. This study investigates its enactment in a "critical case": a high socioeconomic status (SES), independent boys' school with extensive resources and a strong sporting culture. Theoretically, if the dominant performance-oriented testing model were to succeed anywhere, it should be in this "ideal" context.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with PE teachers (n = 7) and focus groups with Year 8 students (n = 11) were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a sensitising lens.

Results: Three themes emerged: (1) a Curriculum-to-Practice Disconnect, driven by a "hidden curriculum" of Talent Identification that displaced educative aims; (2) Emotional Dimensions, where public testing necessitated teacher "buffering" to mitigate shame; and (3) a Motivational Gap, where administrative pressures transformed teachers into auditors, providing data without actionable feedback.

Discussion: The study demonstrates that "active demotivation" is a structural defect of fitness testing that persists even in resource-rich environments. We argue that adding resources without changing the pedagogical model merely shifts pressure from equipment scarcity to time scarcity. To address this, we propose a set of Refined Design Principles, mapping need-thwarting practices to evidence-based alternatives to support a shift from Performance-Oriented Testing to Process-Oriented Fitness Education.

Introduction: Daily physical activity (PA) impacts blood glucose (BG) in individuals with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), with effects varying by intensity, duration, and timing. Predicting BG changes during free-living activity remains challenging but may help prevent hypoglycaemia. Previous studies have focused on the impact of PA on BG levels, but only during exercise sessions, not throughout the entire day.

Methods: Using retrospective data from eight individuals with T1DM (mean age 67 years; 3 female, 5 male), we analysed whether non-standard PA, defined as activity exceeding the individual's mean habitual level in a preceding interval, was associated with steeper downward trends in BG. PA was quantified using wrist-worn accelerometry, and BG responses were analysed using gradient-based methods across 20, 40, and 60 min time windows.

Results: Two hypotheses were evaluated. Hypothesis 1 assessed whether BG decline intensified during existing downward trends and achieved an accuracy above 83.33%, with F1-scores exceeding 0.83 at shorter intervals. Hypothesis 2 examined BG declines following prior increases and showed greater variability; accuracy ranged from 73.53% to 88.33%, with the lowest F1-score of 0.75 at the 60 min window.

Conclusion: We have found a reliable correlation between increased levels of PA and BG levels under free-living conditions. These findings establish a foundation for future work aimed at quantifying BG responses to PA and developing personalised decision-support tools for insulin or carbohydrate adjustment.

Exercise reshapes cellular function and intercellular communication through dynamic post-translational modifications (PTMs) that fine-tune protein activity and inter-organ signaling. However, the traditional aerobic-anaerobic dichotomy does not fully capture PTM-driven regulatory logic across exercise modes. This review centers on the muscle-brain and muscle-liver axes and proposes an operational concept of exercise-specific PTM signatures, emphasizing acetylation, ubiquitination, and lactylation as core PTMs implicated in metabolic memory and adaptive remodeling. To connect exercise intensity with metabolic improvement, we introduce the PTM threshold theory and outline how integrated exercise-PTM-disease target databases, coupled with machine-learning approaches, can support personalized exercise prescription and translation toward exercise pharmacology and rare-disease rehabilitation. Overall, PTM-centered regulatory networks provide a unifying and actionable framework for decoding exercise adaptation and prioritizing therapeutic strategies.

In the second part of this study (Part II), the purpose was to investigate the influence of suit size on ski jump performance during field experiments. Eight elite ski jumpers from three different nations participated by jumping in training sessions. Three different suits were made for each athlete: Suit 1 was a reference suit with current regulations, i.e., $+$ 4 cm larger than the circumference of the body, and the two other suits were respectively 2 cm larger and 2 cm smaller with respect to Suit 1. A total of 133 ski jumps were collected, with the main analysis consisting of 109 jumps as wind measurements were missing for 24 jumps. Suit size had a large influence on performance, with $+$ 11.5 pt per suit size ( $p<0.001$ ), or 3.2 m per cm increase in the circumference of the suit. Wind conditions did not influence the outcome and the results were in line with Part I. It was indicated that the higher level athlete could benefit more from a larger suit after analyzing video of one of the ski jumpers. Inertial measurement unit measurements showed how similar length and even longer jumps could be achieved with lower speeds during the glide by utilizing a larger suit. This indicates that a larger suit could increase safety in ski jumping. However, this needs to be considered in the light of fairness, as a larger suit is more difficult to control, thus a compromise has to be made.

Over recent decades, interest in the relationship between sleep and athletic performance has grown substantially. Sleep is particularly crucial in soccer, where it significantly impacts recovery and performance, warranting careful consideration. Soccer players face several sport-specific challenges to optimal sleep, including frequent travel, competitive pressures, high training demands, late-night matches, exposure to artificial bright light, and early-morning training sessions. This narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the literature on sleep's influence on recovery, performance, health, and physical condition in soccer players, aiming to translate these findings into actionable, real-world strategies. Adequate sleep is a fundamental component of athletic performance and recovery. To address common sleep challenges in soccer, such as irregular competition schedules and frequent travel, it is essential to implement (i) systematic sleep monitoring and (ii) evidence-based interventions. Monitoring sleep presents challenges because it requires balancing practical feasibility with the level of detail needed to obtain meaningful insights into athletes' sleep pattern. Effective intervention strategies include maintaining a consistent bedtime, strategically incorporating short naps, minimizing electronic device use before sleep, and adopting nutrition approaches that support recovery. By integrating these practices, coaches, players, and scientific staff can optimize both physical and mental readiness, ultimately enhancing performance and overall well-being.

Effective communication between a coach and athlete is fundamental in sports, influencing the athlete's physical and psychological well-being, performance, and long-term development. Key principles of effective coach-athlete (Co-At) interaction include optimized communication skills, empathic resonance, mirroring, and syntonization, which enhance understanding and relational attunement. This study aimed to deepen our understanding of these dynamics by investigating Interpersonal Neural Synchrony (INS) using a naturalistic EEG hyperscanning paradigm in tennis. Namely, starting from field recording of naturalistic feedback exchanges in 11 Co-At dyads, we computed Dyadic Dissimilarity Metrics (DDM) in structured (i.e., interactive review sessions) and unstructured (i.e., interactions during a match) settings. Findings highlighted four key points. Structured compared to unstructured interactions were generally perceived as more effective, as well as - by athletes - more affectively engaging. Lower DDM values, indicating greater INS, were generally observed during structured feedback. Significant neural alignment was noted in the right prefrontal, bilateral centro-temporal, and left parieto-occipital regions during structured interactions. And, finally, regional differences in DDM emerged, with the right prefrontal region showing the highest INS in structured settings and left centro-temporal regions showing the lowest in unstructured ones. These findings underscore the importance of structured communication for fostering neural patterns similarity and optimizing coaching feedback.

Background: This study investigated the relationship between sacrum acceleration (ACC_IMU) measured using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and ground reaction force (GRF) measured using force plates during 180° change of direction (COD) maneuvers in elite female basketball players.

Methods: Fourteen Japanese national female basketball players performed two types of 180° COD tasks (lateral shuffle and 180° turn maneuvers) on force plates while wearing a sacrum-mounted IMU, completing two trials in each direction (left and right). The peak horizontal GRF during plant foot contact was normalized to body weight (GRF_rel), whereas peak horizontal and resultant ACC_IMU were expressed relative to gravitational acceleration, allowing direct comparison between dimensionless quantities.

Results: Reliability across the two trials was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC_2,2) and coefficients of variation (CV), and was acceptable for most variables (ICC_2,2 = 0.67-0.95; CV% = 3.85-12.74%). Paired t-tests revealed that peak horizontal ACC_IMU was significantly greater than peak horizontal GRF_rel across all conditions (p < 0.001, d = 0.56-1.06). Pearson correlation and ordinary least products regression analyses demonstrated a significant association between peak horizontal ACC_IMU and peak horizontal GRF_rel during the lateral shuffle (r = 0.55-0.69, p < 0.05), with the ACC_IMU increasing proportionally to the GRF_rel (slope = 4.55-5.23), but not during the 180° turn (r = 0.33-0.49, p > 0.05). Peak resultant ACC_IMU was significantly correlated with peak horizontal GRF_rel (r = 0.64-0.72, p < 0.05) and exhibited proportional bias (slope = 2.61-4.70).

Conclusion: These results indicate that, despite potential software-related errors and estimation uncertainties, ACC_IMU monitoring represents a promising method for estimating peak horizontal GRF_rel demands during task-specific 180° COD maneuvers in real-world settings.

Introduction: Sponsorship is an essential element of the sports ecosystem, enabling powerful and authentic engagement between brands, athletes, and teams. While sponsorship has been widely researched in the context of high-profile mainstream sports and global sporting events, the unique challenges, nuances, and best practices of Paralympic sponsorship remain significantly underexplored. The institutional framework of Paralympic Sponsorship in Spain launched in 2005 has enabled the development of remarkable partnerships between the Spanish Paralympic Committee and the corporate sponsors. Sanitas, a Spanish health insurance company and part of the BUPA Group, has transformed the format of Paralympic sponsorship into a holistic inclusive sports ecosystem.

Methods: This case study aimed at systematizing the innovative sponsorship approach of Sanitas, adopts an exploratory, interpretive research approach, drawing on multiple sources: desk research of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, Sanitas Foundation and BUPA; semi-structured interview with the Sanitas Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer and General Manager of Sanitas Foundation; as well as the insider research perspective of two authors, who are professionally engaged in the activities of the case under study. The second author has been leading the corporate communications area of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (SPC) since 2005. The third author has been leading the Sanitas Foundation Chair for Inclusive Sports Studies since 2017.

Results: The review of Sanitas' long-term partnership with the SPC illustrates a consistent, strategically grounded approach to Paralympic sponsorship, while also provides actionable insights for brand managers, Paralympic teams, and athletes navigating this promising but complex sponsorship landscape. The historical evolution of Sanitas' involvement with the SPC shows a transformative journey from an initial focus on financial and healthcare support, to the creation of multi-stakeholder alliances, academic research and the development of initiatives to promote an inclusive social mindset.

Discussion: While the Paralympic movement, and Paralympic sponsorship in particular, still face persistent challenges, including structural power imbalances and the lack of objective representation of athletes with disabilities, innovative and disruptive Paralympic sponsorship strategies may challenge the traditional divide between athletes with and without disabilities, redefine the meaning of inclusion in sport, and act as powerful drivers of social transformation.

Despite the growing recognition of 3-point proficiency as a defining element of modern basketball success, relatively few studies using markerless motion capture technology have examined the biomechanical characteristics that influence long-distance shooting effectiveness. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate differences in biomechanical characteristics between proficient and non-proficient 3-point shooters during both the preparatory and release phases of the shooting motion. Twenty-four male basketball players participated in this study, of which eleven were classified as proficient (≥50%) and thirteen as non-proficient shooters (<50%). Following a standardized warm-up, each participant attempted ten non-consecutive 3-point shots (6.75 m) from the top of the key. Biomechanical data were collected using a three-dimensional markerless motion capture system operating at 120 Hz. Between-group differences were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests and independent t-tests, depending on weather the variable violated or met the assumption of normality (p < 0.05). Proficient shooters exhibited greater hip, knee, and ankle flexion (g > 1.694), resulting in a lower center of mass, as well as higher peak (r = 0.585) and mean hip angular velocities (g = 1.146) compared to their non-proficient counterparts during the preparatory phase of the shooting motion (large effect sizes). They also initiated the 3-point shooting motion with a wider stance, suggesting a more stable base, although stance alignment did not differ significantly between groups. No significant differences were observed in kinematic variables at the time point of the ball release, as both groups displayed similar values (e.g., jump height, release height). Collectively, these findings suggest that the success of a 3-point shot is primarily determined by biomechanical adjustments made during the preparatory phase, which provide the foundation for effective shot execution.