Physical demands of elite basketball during an official U18 international tournament

ABSTRACT

The aims of this study were (a) to compare players’ physical demands between different playing positions in elite U18 basketball games and (b) to identify different clusters of performance. Data were collected from 94 male subjects (age: 17.4 ± 0.7 years), competing in a Euroleague Basketball Tournament. Guards covered a greater relative distance than centres and forwards (small to moderate effect). Forwards and guards had more peak accelerations, high accelerations and high decelerations than centres (moderate to large effects). A cluster analysis allowed to classify all cases into three different groups (Lower, Medium and Higher activity demands), containing 37.4%, 52.8% and 9.8% of the cases, respectively. The high accelerations, high decelerations, peak accelerations and total distance covered were the variables that most contributed to classify the players into the new groups. The percentage of cases distributed in the clusters according to playing position, game type (worst vs worst, mixed opposition, best vs best) and team were different. Centres have lower physical demands specially related with the number of accelerations and decelerations at high intensity and the peak acceleration when compared with guards. Each team has a different activity profile, that does not seem to influence the tournament outcome.     

Motivation and Exercise Dependence

The objective of this study was to use self-determination theory to analyze the relationships of several motivational variables with exercise dependence. The study involved 531 exercisers, ranging in age from 16 to 60 years old, who responded to different questionnaires assessing perception of motivational climate, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, motivation types, and exercise dependence. The results of multiple mediation analysis revealed that ego-involving climate and perceived competence positively predicted exercise dependence in a directed and mediated manner through introjected and external regulation. Gender and age did not moderate the analyzed relationships. These results allow us to better understand the motivational process explaining exercise dependence, demonstrating the negative influence of the ego-involving climate in the context of exercise.     

Physical Fatigue and Motor Learning

Abstract

In an attempt to investigate the effects of physical fatigue upon the learning of a motor skill, 75 college women were assigned in systematic rotation to either a control group or to one of two experimental groups (N = 25 in each group). All subjects were given a total of 50 trials on the pursuit rotor: 25 trials on Day 1, the practice session; and 25 trials on Day 2, the test session. One of the experimental groups was fatigued early in the practice session while the other was fatigued late in the practice session. Fatigue interpolated early and late was detrimental to subsequent performance improvements but had no effect upon the amount learned.     

Boycott,Exclusion or Non-participation? Hungary in the Years of the 1920 and 1984 Olympic Games

Sport is a double-edged sword: it has the potential to bring nations together but it can also demonstrate and exacerbate the political tensions and conflicts of the world. Sporting events, especially the Olympic Games, can increase understanding, celebrate commonalities, facilitate cooperation and bridge differences but they can also provide a stage for political rivalries and struggles. This article critically compares the backgrounds of Hungary's non-participation in the 1920 Antwerp and the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, given the label ‘boycott’ by the international community.

The unique international political circumstances and Hungary's dependent position restricted the role, strength and efficacy of the contemporary Hungarian sport diplomacy to decide freely. The research implicitly describes the objectives and targets of the actual international alignments, the policy of the Hungarian regime and the processes which resulted in the involuntary non-participation.     

The Changing Role of Sports in Urban Development: A Case Study of Debrecen (Hungary)

In the last few decades, researchers are paying more and more attention to study the connections between sports and urban development. The main purpose of this study is to examine the changing role of sports in urban development through the example of Debrecen and to present the differences between the various historical periods. As a result, it can be concluded that on the one hand, in the inter-war years and in the period after 2000, the broader influence of sports was recognised, and local government made special efforts to use sports for the development of local economy, as well as for the improvement of the image of the city. By contrast, in the period between 1945 and 1990, the main approach used was from the side of mass sports, with satisfying the needs of workers and the general population deemed as the most important. On the other hand, from the early 1930s, i.e. from the beginning of urban planning (with the exception of the period during World War II and the 1950s), the leaders of the city paid special attention to ensure that sports facilities be included in the local development plans of Debrecen.     

Comparison of different theoretical models estimating peak power output and maximal oxygen uptake in trained and elite triathletes and endurance cyclists in the velodrome

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to examine the relationship between heart rate intensity and pedometer step counts in adolescents. To determine cardiorespiratory fitness, 106 participants (47 boys, 59 girls, mean age 14.2 years, s = 0.8) completed the Queen's College Step Test and were classified as having low, moderate or high cardiorespiratory fitness. Adolescents also completed a 10-min treadmill trial while wearing a pedometer and heart rate monitor. The participants were instructed to maintain their heart rate between 65 and 75% of their maximum heart rate while running or walking on a treadmill. A heart rate of 65–75% maximum was associated with 146 steps per minute (s = 22) in boys and 137 steps per minute (s = 22) in girls. Results of analysis of variance indicated that there was a main effect for level of fitness (F _2,102 = 9.36, P < 0.001). The correlation between mean steps per minute and estimated maximum oxygen consumption was statistically significant (r = 0.44, P < 0.001). The results from this study suggest that a step rate of 130 steps per minute is equal to 65–75% maximum heart rate in low-fit adolescents and achieving 130 steps per minute could be used as an initial goal to improve fitness.     

Effect of target change during the simple attack in fencing

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the effect that changing targets during a simple long lunge attack in fencing exerts on the temporal parameters of the reaction response, the execution speed, and the precision and the coordination of the movement pattern. Thirty fencers with more than 10 years of experience participated in this study. Two force platforms were used to record the horizontal components of the reaction forces and thereby to determine the beginning of the movement. A three-dimensional (3D) system recorded the spatial positions of the 9 markers situated on the fencer plus the epee, while a moving target was projected on a screen, enabling the control of the target change. The results indicated that when a target change is provoked the reaction time (RT), movement time (MT), and the time used in the acceleration phase of the centre of mass (CM) increases significantly with respect to the attack executed with a straight thrust. The speed and horizontal distance reached by the CM at the end of the acceleration phase (V_X(CM) and S_X(CM), respectively) significantly decreased, while the errors increased. However, the temporal sequence of the movement pattern did not appreciably change.     

The effect of adolescents' sports clubs participation on self-reported mental and physical conditions and future expectations

Abstract

Sports clubs create conditions for people of all ages to pursue a healthy lifestyle through exercise in sports and attend to constructive pedagogical work which creates much value for society. This study investigates the relationship between adolescents' sports clubs participation and self-reported mental and physical conditions and future expectations. The participants were 10,987 pupils in the final three years of their compulsory education in Iceland (aged 14–16 years). The participants completed questionnaires administered to students in the classroom relating to health and behaviour. The results indicate that participation in sports clubs influences adolescents positively; adolescents who work hard at sport not only believe they are in better mental and physical condition, they also believe they can succeed in other areas such as their studies. Sports clubs promote positive influence on adolescents' mental and physical conditions and their future expectations toward work and happiness. It can be concluded that participation in organised sports clubs affects the participants in a positive way.     

Psychological Mood Profiles of Sighted and Unsighted Beep Baseball Players

Purpose: Decline of motor performance in older individuals affects their quality of life. Understanding the contribution of sport-related training in advanced ages might help to attenuate motor performance decay as one gets older. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the extent to which long-lasting training in running or sport-specific skills during old age preserves motor performance in different motor tasks. Method: Older runners and tennis players with at least 10 years of training were assessed as were age-matched and young exercisers. Performance was evaluated for 6 motor tasks requiring different functions of sensorimotor control expected to decline with aging. Results: Analysis revealed that runners had increased aerobic fitness in comparison with the other older participants and that they presented similar performance to older exercisers in the motor tasks. Tennis players outperformed the other groups of older participants on coincident timing and simple reaction time and achieved similar performance to the young group on the timing task. Conclusions: These results suggest selective maintenance of task-specific processing through extensive practice of tennis-related motor skills in older adults.     

Optimized versus corrected peak power during friction-braked cycle ergometry in males and females

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare optimization and correction procedures for the determination of peak power output during friction-loaded cycle ergometry. Ten male and 10 female sports students each performed five 10-s sprints from a stationary start on a Monark 864 basket-loaded ergometer. Resistive loads of 5.0, 6.5, 8.0, 9.5, and 11.0% body weight were administered in a counterbalanced order, with a recovery period of 10 min between sprints. Peak power was greater and occurred earlier, with less work having been done before the attainment of peak power, when the data were corrected to account for the inertial and frictional characteristics of the ergometer. Corrected peak power was independent of resistive load (P > 0.05), whereas uncorrected peak power varied as a quadratic function of load (P < 0.001). For males and females, optimized peak power (971 ± 122 and 668 ± 37 W) was lower (P < 0.01) than either the highest (1074 ± 111 and 754 ± 56 W respectively) or the mean (1007 ± 125 and 701 ± 45 W respectively) of the five values for corrected peak power. Optimized and mean corrected peak power were highly correlated both in males (r = 0.97, P < 0.001) and females (r = 0.96, P < 0.001). The difference between optimized and mean corrected peak power was 37 ± 30 W in males and 33 ± 14 W in females, of which approximately 15 W was due to the correction for frictional losses. We conclude that corrected peak power is independent of resistive load in males and females.