Prescription methodology integrated with equipment designed for customising racing wheelchair.

BACKGROUND: Wheelchair racing is a traditional modality of Paralympic athletics. In general, racing wheelchairs are customized according to the athletes' anthropometric conditions, based on pre-established dimensions according to the manufacturer's manual. Usually, athletes choose the dimensions for their new sports wheelchairs, and when they are delivered for use, they often have problems due to incorrect body adjustments. PURPOSE: To develop a new customization methodology that is made possible through a new multi-adjustable racing wheelchair prescription equipment (RWPE) for athletics. This equipment performs several measurements and adjustments according to the athlete's anthropometric characteristics, evaluating the best-fit athlete to obtain better performance in the personalized wheelchair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Customizing racing wheelchairs is based on anthropometric measurements of the individual and specific ergonomic adjustments for better performance and safety. The RWPE is a multi-adjustment device composed of modules that use measuring instruments to guarantee maximum precision and accuracy of the assessments. This project's innovation is associated with the multi-regulation equipment itself and a conventional process of manufacturing a racing wheelchair through an online form. The RWPE has a robust and rigid structure for conducting race-track experimental tests. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The experimental tests allowed the equipment to be validated regarding safety, comfort, and prescription methodology. A high-performance athlete validated the equipment and prescription methodology, and as a result, a new version of a parameterized wheelchair was also developed using the prescription methodology. A comparison between prescription tests showed better athlete performance regarding estimated average power, considering dimensions optimized through RWPE.

Sport provides many benefits to people with disabilities, including physical and emotional benefits during rehabilitation. Therefore, this work provides a better adaptation of the athletes to their racing wheelchair, benefiting these athletes with better conditions to practice the sport and a smoother rehabilitation with less stress.When a racing wheelchair is prescribed for an athlete it needs to be suited to the individual's posture. Incorrectly prescribed racing wheelchairs can cause serious damage to the athlete's health. In this way, this work encourages better collaboration with practitioners of the sport during prescription of their racing wheelchair.In addition to being used for prescription racing wheelchairs, the presented equipment can also be used for training, physical conditioning and rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

The Dose-Response Relationship of an Exercise-Based Injury Prevention Program: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial on Athletics (Track-and-Field) Athletes Over a 39-Week Follow-Up.

Despite exercise-based injury prevention programs (EIPPs) being widely researched and used, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have failed to show their protective effect on injury risk. This is potentially due to underappreciating the EIPP dose-response relationship, by not controlling the analysis for the injuries sustained during the early EIPP implementation period, before the EIPP becomes efficacious. To determine the dose-response relationship of EIPP by controlling for the effects of injuries sustained before it became efficacious. We conducted a secondary analysis of an RCT analyzing the EIPP efficacy in athletics over a 39-week follow-up on 840 athletes, by including only those with 100% response rate. We controlled the statistical analyses for a range of lengths of early EIPP implementation period by either excluding the athletes with early injuries (i.e., exclusion approach) or adjusting for the early injuries' effects (i.e., inclusion approach). We estimated the EIPP's dose-response relationship by measuring the EIPP's effect at each length of the controlled period. When we considered no early controlled period, the EIPP showed no effect (OR = 0.85 [95% CI: 0.67-1.09]; p = 0.209). However, both exclusion and inclusion approaches showed that the EIPP effect increased significantly after 5-6 weeks of controlled period. This relationship plateaued at 7-12 weeks of controlled period, peaking at 10 weeks with the exclusion approach (OR = 0.28 [95% CI: 0.16-0.48]; p < 0.001), and 7 weeks with the inclusion approach (OR = 0.37 [95% CI: 0.25-0.55]; p < 0.001). Acknowledging the dose-response relationship of EIPPs could help researchers to design and analyze RCTs and practitioners to plan EIPP implementation timely. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03307434.

Concussion acutely disrupts auditory processing in division I football student-athletes.

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis, assessment, and management of sports-related concussion require a multi-modal approach. Yet, currently, an objective assessment of auditory processing is not included. The auditory system is uniquely complex, relying on exquisite temporal precision to integrate signals across many synapses, connected by long axons. Given this complexity and precision, together with the fact that axons are highly susceptible to damage from mechanical force, we hypothesize that auditory processing is susceptible to concussive injury. METHODS: We measured the frequency-following response (FFR), a scalp-recorded evoked potential that assesses processing of complex sound features, including pitch and phonetic identity. FFRs were obtained on male Division I Collegiate football players prior to contact practice to determine a pre-season baseline of auditory processing abilities, and again after sustaining a sports-related concussion. We predicted that concussion would decrease pitch and phonetic processing relative to the student-athlete's preseason baseline. RESULTS: We found that pitch and phonetic encoding was smaller post-concussion. Student-athletes who sustained a second concussion showed similar declines after each injury. CONCLUSIONS: Auditory processing should be included in the multimodal assessment of sports-related concussion. Future studies that extend this work to other sports, other injuries (e.g. blast exposure), and to female athletes are needed.

Self-perceived middle-distance race pace is faster in advanced footwear technology spikes.

BACKGROUND: Quantifying the potential benefits of advanced footwear technology (AFT) track shoes (i.e., "spikes") in middle-distance events is challenging, because repeated maximal effort trials (as in sprinting) or aerobic running economy trials (as in long-distance running) are not feasible. METHODS: We introduce a novel approach to assess the benefits of AFT spikes, consisting of a series of 200-m runs at self-perceived middle-distance race pace with 10 min recovery, and conduct 4 experiments to evaluate its validity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and utility. RESULTS: In Experiment 1, participants ran 1.2% slower in spikes with 200 g added mass vs. control spikes, which is exactly equal to the known effects of shoe mass on running performance. In Experiment 2, participants ran significantly faster in AFT prototype spikes vs. traditional spikes. In Experiment 3, we compared 2 other AFT prototype spikes against traditional spikes on 3 separate days. Group-level results were consistent across days, but our data indicates that at least 2 separate sessions are needed to evaluate individual responses. In Experiment 4, participants ran significantly faster in 2 AFT spike models vs. traditional spikes (2.1% and 1.6%). Speed was similar between a third AFT spike model and the traditional spikes. These speed results were mirrored by changes in step length as participants took significantly longer steps in the 2 faster AFT spike models (2.3% and 1.9%), while step length was similar between the other spikes. CONCLUSION: Our novel, interval-based approach is a valid and reliable method for quantifying differences between spikes at middle-distance running intensity.

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis and track and field jump performance across different specialties: Sex differences and electrode configuration.

The assessment of athletic performance using non-invasive methods has been a significant focus in research aimed at measuring physiological parameters. This study explores the application of bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) among track and field athletes, with a focus on sex differences, electrode configuration, and the correlation between BIVA parameters and jump performances. This cross-sectional study involved 61 Italian track and field athletes: 31 females and 30 males (age: 21.4 ± 3.8; 21.1 ± 2.6 years; stature: 166.1 ± 6.1; 180.1 ± 5.0 cm; body mass: 57.4 ± 9.7; 72.5 ± 10.5 kg, respectively). Anthropometric measurements, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and athletic jump performance were conducted. The RXc graph, two-sample Hotelling's T2 test for BIVA, and one-way ANOVA for specialty comparisons were employed. Pearson and Spearman's tests evaluated the correlations between BIVA parameters and jump performance. Differences in bioimpedance values were observed between athlete groups. Lateral asymmetries were more pronounced in females. Correlations between BIVA and jump performance also varied by sex and electrode configuration, ranging from r = -0.072, p = 0.699-r = 0.555, p = 0.001 in females, and from r = 0.204, p = 0.281-r = 0.691, p = 0.001 in males. This study highlights the utility of BIVA in providing rapid and non-invasive assessments of body composition and its relationship with jump performance, considering variations in athlete sex and electrode configuration.

The Relationship between Take-Off Parameters and Relative Vertical Momentum of Free Limbs at the Take-Off in Hurdle Clearance.

This study aimed to clarify the kinetics of the relative vertical momentum to the proximal joint of each free limb and their contribution to the increase in the centre of mass height at the take-off of hurdle clearance, as well as their relationship with take-off variables. Thirteen male hurdlers cleared one hurdle at the height of their centre of mass, and their attempts were filmed using six high-speed cameras. The hurdle height was 96.54 ± 2.63 cm (55.35 ± 0.29% of body height). The approach distance was set at 15 m and adjusted by each hurdler in the range of 10-50 cm so as not to involve any noticeable step length adjustment before the take-off. The combined free limb relative vertical momentum tended to increase until mid-support and was maintained until the toe off. The smaller the whole-body vertical momentum at the toe off and the increase in relative vertical momentum of the lead leg during the take-off, the higher the take-off velocity, the shorter the support time, and the smaller the deceleration. The higher the relative vertical momentum of the forward swing arm during touchdown and the smaller the relative vertical momentum increase of the combined free limb and the forward swing arm during the take-off, the smaller the deceleration. In conclusion, hurdlers should reduce the increase in whole-body vertical momentum at the take-off by suppressing the increase in relative vertical momentum of the lead leg and the forward swing arm.

Preventing Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries in High School Sports Participants: An Executive Summary of the Inaugural Meeting of the National ACL Injury Coalition.

To address the increasing rates of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury among young sports participants, the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and the Aspen Institute convened a meeting of a new national coalition to make ACL injury prevention a fundamental aspect of youth sports. This executive summary outlines the National ACL Injury Coalition's goals as defined at its inaugural meeting held at HSS on March 27, 2023. Using a theory of change called "collective impact" designed to support collaboration and drive systems-level change, the coalition focused on 4 strategic priorities intended to reduce ACL injury rates in high school sports participants: widespread implementation of interventions (ensuring that student athletes are adequately trained), high-quality education (raising awareness among many stakeholders), equitable access (ensuring that all high school sports participants, regardless of the resources available at their schools, have access to injury prevention resources), and aligning stakeholders (uniting disparate entities-schools, sports clubs, parents, coaches, and others in these efforts). The group outlined short-range, medium-range, and long-range goals over a 3-year period, including the launch of an ACL injury prevention toolkit for use by adolescent sports participants and teams, athletic trainers, coaches, and other key stakeholders.

Valid and accurate simple equation to predict 3,000-m steeplechase performance.

Introduction: Predict running performances is very important for athletes and trainers. Sport researchers have therefore developed certain tools to predict running performances, but only in non-obstacle races. This study aimed to develop and test the validity and accuracy of an equation for predicting 3,000-m steeplechase performance (PerfSteeple ). Methods: The official rankings of French runners for the 3,000-m track-running (Perf3000 ) and 3,000-m steeplechase events were examined. Age, height and body mass were collected. From 146 included athletes, two groups were randomly composed: one comprising 80% of the sample (n = 117) to develop a simple equation to predict PerfSteeple (i.e., development group) and the other comprising the remaining 20% (n = 29) to test the validity and accuracy of the developed prediction equation (i.e., cross-validation group). Results: The simple prediction equation included Perf3000 and age: P e r f S t e e p l e = - 57 , 165 + 1 , 147 × P e r f 3000 + 0 , 955 × a g e . No significant difference was noted between the actual and predicted performances. Predicted performances were significantly correlated with the actual ones, with a very high correlation coefficient (p < 0.001; r = 0.929). Bias and 95% limits of agreement were -5 ± 24 s, i.e., -0.8 ± 7.6%. In 95 of 100 new predictions, the difference between actual and predicted performance would be less or equal to-5 ± 24 s. Discussion: The study confirms the validity and accuracy of the equation for predicting PerfSteeple . Predictions using this simple equation may be used in training and competitions for athletes and coaches. PerfSteeple = -57,165 + 1,147 X Perf3000 + 0,955 X age.

Improvement of Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue Symptoms and Their Association with Prior International Travel Experience in Junior Athletes.

Jet lag and travel fatigue can occur after crossing multiple time zones in a short period of time, possibly affecting various aspects of an athlete's behavior. However, there are few studies regarding this issue, particularly considering junior athletes. This study aimed to investigate and quantify the symptoms of jet lag and travel fatigue and the factors impacting these conditions. A survey was completed by 41 Japanese junior athletes (21 men and 20 women), competing at an international game in Finland, to assess their performance, sleeping habits, digestion, fatigue, and jet lag on the first day of arrival and on the opening day of the competition. Although athletes awoke less often during sleep on the opening day of the competition compared with the first day, sleep time, ease of falling asleep, and sleep quality decreased significantly. Prior experience traveling abroad for international competitions was positively associated with improvements regarding ease of falling asleep (coefficient = 2.22, p = 0.01), quality of sleep (coefficient = 2.16, p = 0.02), and alertness after waking up (coefficient = 1.85, p = 0.05) by the opening day of the competition when compared with the results for athletes who had no such prior experiences. Junior athletes experience symptoms of jet lag and travel fatigue that may persist until the day of competition, and prior experience traveling abroad may help in alleviating their symptoms.

Parental influence and perceptions on youth single sport specialization: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of parental influence on youth SSS and to characterize parental perceptions of SSS. DATA SOURCES: Embase.com, Ovid-Medline All, CINAHL Plus, APA PsycInfo, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed Central (PMC) since database inception. STUDY SELECTION: Primary studies that assessed reasons for youth SSS that included parental influence as a factor and/or studies that investigated the nature or extent of parental influence on SSS were included. DATA EXTRACTION: A single author extracted data, focusing on definitions and measures of SSS and parental influence, findings concerning primary reasons for SSS, any quantitative or qualitative findings on the extent of parental influence on SSS, and findings concerning various associations between parental influence, SSS, and other themes. DATA SYNTHESIS: 61 articles were assessed in total, with 23 meeting criteria for inclusion. Parental influence plays a limited direct role in SSS, accounting for approximately 10.6% of the overall influence. Athlete self-influence or self-enjoyment of sport was found to be the predominant reason to pursue SSS, accounting for 82.3% of the overall influence. However, parents indirectly influence SSS by modulating athlete motivation and providing financial, practical, and emotional support. CONCLUSIONS: Athlete self-motivation primarily drives SSS directly, while parents indirectly influence SSS by modulating athlete self-motivation and offering financial, practical, and emotional support. Misconceptions persist regarding parental perceptions of SSS-related injury risks, scholarship attainment, and athletic development. Communication with parents regarding the risks associated with SSS and their role in monitoring their children's sports participation is crucial for mitigating adverse outcomes in youth athletes.

Web-based survey on injuries among ultimate frisbee athletes in Japanese college sports: sex differences in injury location and onset.

BACKGROUND: Ultimate Frisbee (Ultimate) has gained significant popularity. However, a comprehensive understanding of injury characteristics, including sex differences in injury location and onset, remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the injury profile of male and female athletes using data from the Japanese University Athletic Association survey. METHODS: Data were collected through a web-based survey conducted between June and October 2022, focusing on injuries sustained within the past year. Athletes provided detailed information, including injury location, severity, and onset pattern. This study utilized data collected through the UNIVAS survey, offering insights into the injury landscape among female Ultimate athletes. The study examined factors influencing lower limb injuries, including training days and the nature of contact during play. RESULTS: A total of 116 athletes participated in the survey with 57 (49.1%) reporting injuries, of which 42 injuries involved the lower limbs. Lower-extremity injuries exhibited a higher likelihood of occurrence in female compared to male athletes (p = 0.05, φ = 0.18). Athletes with lower limb injuries demonstrated significantly more training days (p = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.76). Non-contact injuries were more prevalent than contact injuries (p < 0.01, φ = 0.53), with non-contact injuries often causing prolonged interruptions in competition. CONCLUSIONS: Female Ultimate athletes experienced a high frequency of severe lower extremity injuries, particularly those stemming from non-contact incidents. More training days were an independent factor associated with these outcomes.

Habituation Does Not Change Running Economy in Advanced Footwear Technology.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare running economy across habituated and nonhabituated advanced footwear technology (AFT) in trained long-distance runners. METHODS: A total of 16 participants completed up to six 5-minute trials in 1 to 3 pairs of their own habituated shoes and 3 different and standardized AFTs at individual marathon pace. We measured oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production and expressed running economy as oxygen uptake (in milliliters oxygen per kilogram per minute), oxygen cost of transport (oxygen per kilogram per minute), energetic cost (in watts per kilogram), and energetic cost of transport (in joules per kilogram per kilometer). We used linear mixed-effect models to evaluate differences. Relative shoe weight and shoe mileage (distance worn during running) were covariates. RESULTS: Forty-eight standardized and 29 individual AFT conditions were measured (mileage 117.0 [128.8] km, range 0-522 km; 25 habituated 135.7 [129.2] km, range 20-522 km; 4 nonhabituated 0 [0] km, range 0-0 km). Rating of perceived exertion, blood [La], and respiratory exchange ratio ranged from 9 to 15, 1.11 to 4.54 mmol/L, and 0.76 to 1.01. There was no effect for habituation on energetic cost of transport (thabituation = -.232, P = .409, b = -0.006; 95% CI, -0.058 to 0.046) or other running economy metrics. Neither shoe weight nor shoe mileage had an effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that habituation to AFTs does not result in greater benefits in the use of AFTs. This means that implementation in training may not be needed, even if we cannot rule out any other possible benefits of habituation at this stage, such as adaptation of the musculoskeletal system.

Making the Invisible, Visible: An Exploration of Track-and-Field Coaches' Perspectives of Their Planning Processes.

PURPOSE: The traditional understanding of how coaches plan for sporting performance is rooted in the assumption that coaches create periodized plans underpinned by physiological principles, thereby providing scientific credibility to their work. In contrast, there remains a paucity of literature exploring how coaches understand or think about their planning practices. The purpose of this study was to generate new knowledge regarding what information coaches actually consider within their planning processes and how they actually approach the task of planning. METHOD: Using rigorous, in-depth interviews, this study examined athletics coaches' understandings of their everyday planning practices, in an attempt to contribute to narrowing the gap between academic research and real-world application. Twenty-eight highly experienced, high-performance track-and-field coaches based in England (female, n = 1; male, n = 27) were recruited. The coaches were from the throwing disciplines (n = 10) and endurance running (n = 18). Coaches were interviewed about their planning process, using a maximum of 3 semistructured interviews per coach, spaced across a full athletics season. In total, this generated 68 hours of data. RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that, while the participant coaches utilized the principles of periodization, their planning activities were not limited to this issue. The findings highlighted how the coaches conceptualized successful athletic performance in a holistic way; that is, planning is multifaceted in nature. CONCLUSION: This study presents a holistic picture of the complexity of coaches' planning, detailing the considerable time and attention given to planning for athletes' psychological, personal, and social development, to enhance athlete performance and development.

Optimization of Sprint Training Among European Coaches: Quality Over Quantity.

PURPOSE: To describe how high-level European sprint coaches (from 100 to 400 m) work to improve important factors associated with the quality of the holistic training process and the quality of the specific training session. METHODS: A descriptive analysis was conducted using questionnaires from 31 European elite sprint coaches (ie, training athletes defined as tiers 3, 4, and 5) who participated voluntarily. RESULTS: The coaches used traditional periodization (45%) with a 10- to 15-day tapering phase (48%) that includes a reduction in volume, maintenance of intensity, and focus on correct technical execution. In the 3 mesophases, coaches prioritized the basic development of strength and sprint work in the first phases of the season and emphasized more sprint-specific work in the competitive phase. Before sessions, adjustments were made based on factors such as psychological (77%), technical (48%), and physical (39%) parameters. In-session load management relies on a combination of objective and subjective measures (55%), in which the dialogue with athletes (65%) was regarded as the main resource. Feedback during and after sessions covers technical (54%), psychological (48%), and physical (35%) aspects. Recovery protocols after sessions mainly involve rest and professional guidance (42%). For performance assessment and testing, coaches utilize countermovement jump (52%), force-velocity profile (45%), and 30-m flying (61%) as main tools. CONCLUSIONS: European sprint coaches demonstrated a comprehensive approach to planning and management, shedding light on the multifaceted nature of their training methodologies and the diverse tools employed for athlete testing and monitoring.

A comparison of foot and ankle biomechanics during running drills and distance running.

The aim of this study was to compare the foot-ankle joint mechanics of running drills and running. Seventeen long-distance runners performed five popular running drills (A-skip, B-skip, Bounding, Heel flicks, Straight leg running) and a run at 3.88 m/s. Kinematics, kinetics and power values were calculated for the ankle, midtarsal (MT) and metatarsophalangeal (MP) joints. Electromyographic activity was recorded for the soleus, gastrocnemius medialis, lateralis and abductor hallucis muscle. The A-skip, the B-skip and the Heel flicks induced a smaller ankle (p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.41), MT (p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.43) and MP (p < 0.001, ŋ2 = 0.47) dorsiflexion peak than running. No difference was found between the running drills and running for ankle, MT and MP moment. The Bounding induces a higher positive ankle power than running (diff: 5.5 ± 7.5 J/kg, p = 0.014, d = 1.05). The A-skip (diff: 2.8 ± 2.9 J/kg, p < 0.001, d = 1.5) and the B-skip (diff: 2.7 ± 2.1 J/kg, p < 0.001, d = 1.4) induce a smaller MT positive power than running. This study offers an analysis of the mechanical behaviour of the foot-ankle complex to help track and field coaches select their running drills in an evidence-based manner.

Assessment of Sports Concussion in Female Athletes: A Role for Neuroinformatics?

Over the past decade, the intricacies of sports-related concussions among female athletes have become readily apparent. Traditional clinical methods for diagnosing concussions suffer limitations when applied to female athletes, often failing to capture subtle changes in brain structure and function. Advanced neuroinformatics techniques and machine learning models have become invaluable assets in this endeavor. While these technologies have been extensively employed in understanding concussion in male athletes, there remains a significant gap in our comprehension of their effectiveness for female athletes. With its remarkable data analysis capacity, machine learning offers a promising avenue to bridge this deficit. By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers can link observed phenotypic neuroimaging data to sex-specific biological mechanisms, unraveling the mysteries of concussions in female athletes. Furthermore, embedding methods within machine learning enable examining brain architecture and its alterations beyond the conventional anatomical reference frame. In turn, allows researchers to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of concussions, treatment responses, and recovery processes. This paper endeavors to address the crucial issue of sex differences in multimodal neuroimaging experimental design and machine learning approaches within female athlete populations, ultimately ensuring that they receive the tailored care they require when facing the challenges of concussions. Through better data integration, feature identification, knowledge representation, validation, etc., neuroinformaticists, are ideally suited to bring clarity, context, and explainabilty to the study of sports-related head injuries in males and in females, and helping to define recovery.

Clustering technical approaches of elite and world-class pole vaulters based on 10 years of measurement during competitions.

Recently, a variety of technical approaches in world-class pole-vaulters' behaviour have been observed. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of subgroups using different technical approaches and to compare biomechanical performance differences. Biomechanical analysis of performances over 5.00 metres from 99 athletes were clustered with K-means methodology based on the relative position of the top hand at take-off and the direction of the top of the pole from take-off to the maximal pole bending. Analysis revealed four subgroups that were distinguished by higher and lower direction angle and relative position values. Despite differences in technique, the analysis did not reveal significant differences between these four groups in performance, take-off speed, or athlete anthropometrics. Nevertheless, these clusters showcased variations in pole-athlete interactions and pole bending, suggesting different strategies and physical requirements associated with each approach. Cluster 2 characterised the classical technique with a high direction angle and a take-off position close to the vertical plane. Cluster 4 displayed a technique with a low take-off angle, suggesting the influence of athletes like Lavillenie, in deviating from the conventional model. Understanding and categorising athletes based on their preferred technique can aid coaches in providing tailored instructions, leading to performance improvements.

The indirect effects of perfectionism on athletes' self-views through maladaptive emotion regulation.

Introduction: In general, increased levels of perfectionism have been associated with increased levels of burnout, heightened levels of depression and anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and poorer overall performance, yet perfectionistic strivings within athletes have also been associated with lower burnout and better performance in some contexts. Methods: The current study investigated whether emotion regulation strategies would indirectly link perfectionism with self-esteem in young adults who had participated in competitive athletics. Two hundred and fifty-three primarily white (60.0 %), female (83.0 %) undergraduate students who had participated in competitive athletics completed a series of questionnaires including: the Self-liking and Self-Competence Scale - Revised, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the short form of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Results: The PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to examine the indirect association between perfectionism and self-esteem through emotion regulation. Higher self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism were both indirectly associated with lower self-liking and self-competence through greater catastrophizing and self-blame. Discussion: For individuals like athletes, who experience internal and external pressures, increased perfectionism may lead to negative self-views through maladaptive emotion regulation. However, longitudinal and experimental work is needed to establish this proposed pattern of relationships.

Jumping with control: the interplay between psychological constructs and run-up variability in elite jumpers.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological aspects (emotional regulation, self-control, mood states, and perceived stress) and components of run-up variability in horizontal jumps and to conduct comparisons based on sex, events (long jump and triple jump), and contextual situations (training versus competition). Methods: A total of 10 elite-level athletes (five males and five females) with a mean age of 27.14 (±4.25) years were recruited for the study. All participants had competed nationally or internationally and had 13.10 (±3.48) years of athletic experience. Data were collected during competitions and training sessions for 5 weeks. The participants completed the Brunel Mood Scale, Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, Brief Self-Control Scale, and Visual Analogical Scale of Perceived Stress before each session. The components of run-up variability of successful and failed attempts were measured using video analysis. Data were analyzed using a t-test, Pearson's correlation, and Cohen's d. Results: Athletes specializing in long jump and triple jump displayed similar psychological and run-up variability characteristics. However, females showed higher values for tension and depression, whereas males had higher run-up speeds and vigor. In competitions, athletes tended to have higher vigor, lower fatigue and confusion, an earlier beginning of the adjustment phase, fewer failed attempts, and higher run-up speed than during training. Emotional regulation is inversely related to depression in women during competitions, whereas higher self-control is associated with fewer failed jumps. Conclusion: Athletes competing in the long jump and the triple jump do not differ in psychological traits and run-up characteristics, which suggests that similar training strategies can be used in both events. However, different solutions should be used considering the sex of athletes, with a particular focus on utilizing emotion regulation tools to modulate depression in female jumpers. It is recommended to include training sessions that simulate competition demands, primarily to ensure the early onset of the run-up adjustment phase.

True inclusion: evaluation protocol for an approach to increase meaningful participation of children with disability in athletics.

Children with disability face many barriers to participating in community sports. Little Athletics Australia aims to increase fair and meaningful inclusion via a new structure which will enable all children to take part in the same contest by competing for their 'personal best' score. Named the True Inclusion Method (TIM), this new structure will be piloted in 13 sites across six states. Formative evaluation of this pilot will critique TIM and its implementation using observations of events, and interviews and surveys with child athletes with and without disability, their parents/carers and Little Athletics volunteers. Implementation outcomes are acceptability, appropriateness, adoption, feasibility and fidelity. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically. TIM is designed to encourage inclusive participation by children with disability in sporting events, and to improve the competitive experience for all children by celebrating personal achievement and fostering fun.