Description:
This study investigated diving skill maintenance over an eight-month retention period following an intervention program. Thirty-four recreational swimmers with poor diving skills were measured before and immediately after a diving skills intervention program. Twenty-two returned for follow-up evaluation. Treadwater, Deck and Block dives were video-recorded, and maximum depth, distance, velocity, entry angle and flight distance were compared. Underwater hand and arm positions were examined. Pre-intervention, a breaststroke arm action before maximum depth occurred in 18% of all dives and 38% of Treadwater dives. This was eliminated post-intervention, improving head protection. The Treadwater dive elicited the greatest mean maximum depth, and ANOVA showed depth for this entry decreased (improved) following intervention and remained shallower at follow-up. Deck and Block dives also became shallower following intervention. As seven 10-minute skills sessions resulted in shallower dives with safer hand and arm positions, including safe diving skills in learn-to-swim programs can provide a diving spinal cord injury prevention strategy.
Description:
This study investigated diving skill maintenance over an eight-month retention period following an intervention program. Thirty-four recreational swimmers with poor diving skills were measured before and immediately after a diving skills intervention program. Twenty-two returned for follow-up evaluation. Treadwater, Deck and Block dives were video-recorded, and maximum depth, distance, velocity, entry angle and flight distance were compared. Underwater hand and arm positions were examined. Pre-intervention, a breaststroke arm action before maximum depth occurred in 18% of all dives and 38% of Treadwater dives. This was eliminated post-intervention, improving head protection. The Treadwater dive elicited the greatest mean maximum depth, and ANOVA showed depth for this entry decreased (improved) following intervention and remained shallower at follow-up. Deck and Block dives also became shallower following intervention. As seven 10-minute skills sessions resulted in shallower dives with safer hand and arm positions, including safe diving skills in learn-to-swim programs can provide a diving spinal cord injury prevention strategy.
Description:
Risk management strategies have been used in a wide range of sports. Many issues involved in the implementation of risk management models in sport have not been investigated especially the sport specific and location specific nature of such models. The aim of th1s study was to ascertain the usefulness of Occupational Health & Safety risk management (RM) models in a mainly voluntary sporting organisation and to investigate the requirements of a netball population in developing "user friendly" risk management plans. The industry RM plans were trialled in a rural setting at various netball associations over a six week period. After these trials focus groups and interviews were conducted and the trials evaluated. The requirements of the netball population for a RM plan were investigated using focus groups from regional and rural areas. The industry RM models presented were not generally accepted by the trial participants. They found that the level of expertise required did not exist in netball at the club/team level. The focus groups on the needs of netball for a user friendly model brought out a number of issues including the specifjc needs of rural football/netball leagues. the need to develop strategies for all levels of netball (coach. player. umpire. administrator). Barriers to the uptake of risk 'management models were discussed. An effective RM plan can b~ .developed for voluntary sports associations but they must be specific to the sport and flexible. The RM plan must also take into accoWlt the barriers to implementation fof each sporting culture.
Description:
The aim of this study was to establish the effectiveness of a resistance training programme, designed to improve vertical jumping ability, on the grab, swing and rear-weighted track starts in swimming. Twenty-three female non-competitive swimmers participated (age 19.9±2.4 years; mean±s). The diving techniques were practised weekly for 8 weeks. The participants were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 11) or a resistance-training group (n = 12), which trained three times a week for 9 weeks. The tests before and after the training programme involved performing each dive technique and six dry-land tests: two countermovement jumps (with and without arms), two isokinetic squats (bar speeds of 0.44 and 0.70 rad.s-1) and two overhead throws (with and without back extension). A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to show that resistance training improved performance in the dry-land tests (P < 0.0001). No significant improvements due to training were found for any temporal, kinematic or kinetic variables within the grab or swing starts. Significant improvements (P < 0.05) were found for the track start for take-off velocity, take-off angle and horizontal impulse. The results suggest that the improved skill of vertical jumping was not transferred directly to the start, particularly in the grab technique. Non-significant trends towards improvement were observed within all starts for vertical force components, suggesting the need to practise the dives to retrain the changed neuromuscular properties.
Description:
Background. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between leg muscle power and sprinting speed with changes of direction. Methods. Experimental design: the study was designed to describe relationships between physical qualities and a component of sports performance: Setting: testing was conducted in an indoor sports hall and a biomechanics laboratory. Participants: 15 male participants were required to be free of injury and have recent experience competing in sports involving sprints with changes of direction. Measures: subjects were timed in 8 m sprints in a straight line and with various changes of direction. They were also tested for bilateral and unilateral leg extensor muscle concentric power output by an isokinetic squat and reactive strength by a drop jump. Results. The correlations between concentric power and straight sprinting speed were non-significant whereas the relationships between reactive strength and straight speed were statistically significant. Correlations between muscle power and speed while changing direction were generally low and non-significant for concentric leg power with some moderate and significant (p<0.05) coefficients found for reactive strength. The participants who turned faster to one side tended to have a reactive strength dominance in the leg responsible for the push-off action. Conclusions. The relationships between leg muscle power and change-of-direction speed were not consistent. Reactive strength as measured by the drop jump appears to have some importance for lateral change-of-direction speed, possibly because of similar push-off actions. It was concluded that reactive strength of the leg extensor muscles has some importance in change-of-direction performance but the other technical and perceptual factors than influence agility performance should also be considered.
Description:
The purpose of this investigation was to examine power performance in jump squats when using the complex and contrast training methods. Eleven (n = 11) women participated in a familiarization session and in three randomly ordered testing sessions. One session involved completing sets of power exercises (jump squats) before sets of half squats (traditional method). The second session involved sets of half squats before sets of jump squats (complex method). A third session involved the alternation of sets of half squats and jump squats (contrast method). No significant difference in jump squat performance between each of the training methods was found. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the first set of each session, with the complex method having a significantly lower peak power. Further, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in performance changes between the higher and lower strength groups, with the higher strength group having a greater improvement in performance using the contrast training method compared with the traditional method. It was concluded that contrast training is advantageous for increasing power output but only for athletes with relatively high strength levels.
Description:
The study aimed to determine prospectively a basketball injury profile, including severity of injury, and to compare the injury profile by gender and standard of competition. Trained observers viewed basketball games, noting the occurrence of injuries, and confirmed injuries by questioning all players on site after the game. Injured players completed a questionnaire and the progress of their injury was monitored by telephone interview. A total of 10,393 basketball participations were observed. An overall injury rate was documented of 18.3 per 1,000 participations (24.7 per 1,000 playing hours), and was comparable by gender and standard of competition. Serious injuries (missing one or more weeks of play) occurred at a rate of 2.89/1,000 participations; with the ankle joint the most common serious injury (1.25/1,000 participations), followed by the calf/anterior leg (0.48/1,000 participations) and knee joint (0.29/1,000 participations). The severity of the injury was significantly associated with the body region injured, with more serious injuries incurred to the lower limb than other body regions (p <.05). The severity of the injury incurred was not related to the standard of competition, gender, age, height, number of games played per week, amount of training undertaken, type of injury, or the mechanism of injury (p> .05).
Description:
Objectives-To determine the rate of ankle injury and examine risk factors of ankle injuries in mainly recreational basketball players. Methods-Injury observers sat courtside to determine the occurrence of ankle injuries in basketball. Ankle injured players and a group of non-injured basketball players completed a questionnaire. Results-A total of 10 393 basketball participations were observed and 40 ankle injuries documented. A group of noninjured players formed the control group (n = 360). The rate of ankle injury was 3.85 per 1000 participations, with almost half (45.9%) missing one week or more of competition and the most common mechanism being landing (45%). Over half (56.8%) of the ankle injured basketball players did not seek professional treatment. Three risk factors for ankle injury were identified: (1) players with a history of ankle injury were almost five times more likely to sustain an ankle injury (odds ratio (OR) 4.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.95 to 12.48); (2) players wearing shoes with air cells in the heel were 4.3 times more likely to injure an ankle than those wearing shoes without air cells (OR 4.34, 95% CI 1.51 to 12.40); (3) players who did not stretch before the game were 2.6 times more likely to injure an ankle than players who did (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.01 to 6.34). There was also a trend toward ankle tape decreasing the risk of ankle injury in players with a history of ankle injury (p = 0.06). Conclusions-Ankle injuries occurred at a rate of 3.85 per 1000 participations. The three identified risk factors, and landing, should all be considered when preventive strategies for ankle injuries in basketball are being formulated.
Description:
Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to profile the aerobic and anaerobic energy system contribution during high-speed treadmill exercise that simulated 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m track running events. Methods: Twenty highly trained athletes (Australian National Standard) participated in the study, specializing in either the 200-m (N = 3), 400-m (N = 6), 800-m (N = 5), or 1500-m (N = 6) event (mean VO2 peak [mL·kg-l-min-1] ± SD = 56 ± 2, 59 ± 1, 67 ± 1, and 72 ± 2, respectively). The relative aerobic and anaerobic energy system contribution was calculated using the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) method. Results: The relative contribution of the aerobic energy system to the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m events was 29 ± 4, 43 ± 1, 66 ± 2, and 84 ± 1% ± SD, respectively. The size of the AOD increased with event duration during the 200-, 400-, and 800-m events (30.4 ± 2.3, 41.3 ± 1.0, and 48.1 ± 4.5 mL·kg-1, respectively), but no further increase was seen in the 1500-m event (47.1 ± 3.8 mL·kg-1). The crossover to predominantly aerobic energy system supply occurred between 15 and 30 s for the 400-, 800-, and 1500-m events. Conclusions: These results suggest that the relative contribution of the aerobic energy system during track running events is considerable and greater than traditionally thought.
Description:
The purpose of this study was to determine if straight sprint training transferred to agility performance tests that involved various change-of-direction complexities and if agility training transferred to straight sprinting speed. Thirty-six males were tested on a 30-m straight sprint and 6 agility tests with 2-5 changes of direction at various angles. The subjects participated in 2 training sessions per week for 6 weeks using 20-40-m straight sprints (speed) or 20-40-m change-of-direction sprints (3-5 changes of 100°) (agility). After the training period, the subjects were retested, and the speed training resulted in significant improvements (p < 0.05) in straight sprinting speed but limited gains in the agility tests. Generally, the more complex the agility task, the less the transfer from the speed training to the agility task. Conversely, the agility training resulted in significant improvements in the change-of-direction tests (p < 0.05) but no significant improvement (p > 0.05) in straight sprint performance. We concluded that straight speed and agility training methods are specific and produce limited transfer to the other. These findings have implications for the design of speed and agility training and testing protocols.
Description:
The purpose of this study was to determine if straight sprint training transferred to agility performance tests that involved various change-of-direction complexities and if agility training transferred to straight sprinting speed. Thirty-six males were tested on a 30-m straight sprint and 6 agility tests with 2-5 changes of direction at various angles. The subjects participated in 2 training sessions per week for 6 weeks using 20-40-m straight sprints (speed) or 20-40-m change-of-direction sprints (3-5 changes of 100°) (agility). After the training period, the subjects were retested, and the speed training resulted in significant improvements (p < 0.05) in straight sprinting speed but limited gains in the agility tests. Generally, the more complex the agility task, the less the transfer from the speed training to the agility task. Conversely, the agility training resulted in significant improvements in the change-of-direction tests (p < 0.05) but no significant improvement (p > 0.05) in straight sprint performance. We concluded that straight speed and agility training methods are specific and produce limited transfer to the other. These findings have implications for the design of speed and agility training and testing protocols.
Description:
The purpose of this research was to determine if 5 weeks of resistance training for the shoulder and hip flexor muscles produces improvements in vertical jumping (VJ) performance. Twenty-eight men were assessed on tests of shoulder power, leg extensor muscle function, and VJ performance using jumps performed from a standing position, a 3-stride run-up, and double- and single-leg takeoffs. A shoulder and hip flexor training group (n = 14) improved significantly more than a nontraining control group (n = 12) in shoulder power and 2 VJ performance tests, but not in the tests of leg extensor muscle function. It was concluded that the arm swing and free-leg drive significantly influence VJ performance and, therefore, VJ tests are not valid for assessment of leg extensor muscle function.
Description:
The first iteration of the Sport and Recreation Spatial web-portal (released December 2012) contains data from the following sources: Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS)-Australian Sports Commission (ACS) Census population data- ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) -ABS Sport and Recreation Facility and Infrastructure data - Victoria -Sport and Recreation Victoria Victorian State Sporting Association Participation data. This data is being mapped at a Victorian state level. Where available the particpant, coach and umpire data includes information on individuals' sport identification codes, date of birth, sex, resident postcode, club name, and sport participation program or level of coach and umpire accreditation.