A mathematical model for decision-making in the classification of para-footballers with different severity of coordination impairments

Classification is a defining feature of Para-sport, and sports-specific classification systems determined through multidisciplinary scientific research are required, i.e., evidence-based and focused on the relationship between the impairment and the key performance determinants. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied as a classification tool using a directional distance function (DDF) model. The aim of the study was to test the DEA as a possible classification tool in cerebral palsy football. We analyse the performance of 56 international para-footballers with hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis, who completed a 20-test battery with DEA models. Five of the tests are included in the model (change of direction: Illinois agility test; jumping: standing broad jump, four bounds for distance, and triple hop with the non-dominant leg; 10-m sprint/acceleration; and ball dribbling, both in a straight line and following a trajectory), showing that players with less impairment exhibit the highest efficiency. This outcome suggests that DEA models might be feasible for detecting and discriminating the performance and magnitude of impairment in cerebral palsy football, with an objective ranking of the athletes in relation to different physical performance tests. This study also provides reference scores for decision-making during classification and guidance for further research in team Paralympic sports.     

Combined effects of exposure to hypoxia and cool on walking economy and muscle oxygenation profiles at tibialis anterior

We investigated combined effects of ambient temperature (23°C or 13°C) and fraction of inspired oxygen (21%O₂ or 13%O₂) on energy cost of walking (C_w: J·kg^?1·km^?1) and economical speed (ES). Eighteen healthy young adults (11 males, seven females) walked at seven speeds from 0.67 to 1.67 m s^?1 (four min per stage). Environmental conditions were set; thermoneutral (N: 23°C) with normoxia (N: 21%O₂) = NN; 23°C (N) with hypoxia (H: 13%O₂) = NH; cool (C: 13°C) with 21%O₂ (N) = CN, and 13°C (C) with 13%O₂ (H) = CH. Muscle deoxygenation (HHb) and tissue O₂ saturation (StO₂) were measured at tibialis anterior. We found a significantly slower ES in NH (1.289 ± 0.091 m s^?1) and CH (1.275 ± 0.099 m s^?1) than in NN (1.334 ± 0.112 m s^?1) and CN (1.332 ± 0.104 m s^?1). Changes in HHb and StO₂ were related to the ES. These results suggested that the combined effects (exposure to hypoxia and cool) is nearly equal to exposure to hypoxia and cool individually. Specifically, acute moderate hypoxia slowed the ES by approx. 4%, but acute cool environment did not affect the ES. Further, HHb and StO₂ may partly account for an individual ES.     

Coaches as sport workers: professional agency within the employment context of elite European basketball

Increased activity of multiple stakeholders (e.g. agents and owners) have created new challenges for some coaches working in professional sports clubs. The purpose of this project was to draw attention to the normative or accepted practices inherent in sport work, some of the day-to-day realities of some coaches working in this context, and to understand how coaches’ perceptions of other stakeholders come to bear on their individual circumstances, career expectations/objectives and professional agency. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews with seven professional basketball coaches who worked in top-level European clubs. The analysis reveals the coach’s relationships between some owners and agents differed with respect to exercising professional agency, and, coach’s decisions and actions were tied to their professional ideals as well as understandings of what they need to undertake their work effectively and negotiation and/or adjustment strategies. Occasionally coach’s work practices could be viewed as antithetical to employment security, however, the presence of insecurity was at times embraced and used strategically to affect workers’ career decisions. Amid contemporary regional geo-political shifts, this work aids examinations of global sport settings, structures and issues that may contour sporting professionals’ lives.     

Interorganisational conflict between national and provincial sport organisations within China’s elite sport system: Perspectives from national organisations

In this article, the authors examine interorganisational conflict between provincial and national sport organisations in China. The authors theoretically ground the research in work related to interorganisational relationships and interorganisational conflict. The three case studies are artistic gymnastics, swimming, and cycling, and the authors conducted interviews with 11 staff from the relevant national-level sport organisations. Secondary data was sourced from official publications, websites, and influential domestic media. The key finding is that, whilst famed for its top-down bureaucratic system, there is considerable interorganisational conflict within the Chinese sport system. The extent and characteristics of the national-provincial conflict vary between sports. But there is also some consistency regarding the causes of the conflict and the measures adopted to mitigate the tension. Interorganisational conflict provides a useful heuristic for articulating and understanding the interorganisational relationships within the Chinese elite sport system and hence advances elite sport management research.     

Sport as medicine: How F3 is building healthier men and communities

Given sport has been largely absent from U.S. public health policies and discourse, the author suggests ways that sport can be better managed to promote health. Using a critical perspective and grounded theory approach, the author examined the experiences of 14 men in the grassroots recreational program, F3. Data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews. Based on the results, a conceptual model that suggests how sport should be managed to address illnesses related to physical inactivity is put forth. The resulting Sport as Medicine model indicates that Creating a Team Structure, Providing a Place to Be Accountable, and Ensuring No One is Left Out, led to meaningful Health Outcomes, including Physical Health, Mental Toughness, and Social Connections. As the distinctiveness of sport continues to emerge, the author provides a framework to consider how sport can be part of public health efforts to address physical inactivity. Thus, this work positions sport as medicine by pinpointing how sport can be managed so that holistic health outcomes are more likely achieved.     

The ‘aggressive style’: genesis of an ambiguous resource for Swiss hockey and football players

In this study, we investigated what drives players to endorse an aggressive style in Swiss ice hockey and football. We selected a sample of 16 players on the basis of their penalty statistics. We used semi-directed retrospective interviews to collect players’; biographic narratives. The results show a socialization process into an aggressive style, supported by the dominant gender and socialization norms of the sport, which is under the influence of the structure of the sports organization. However, there are large differences between players, with only some of them adopting an aggressive style. Although many studies have underlined the influence of moral disengagement, the present results suggest that time also matters and that the diversity of career paths may explain the diversity in attitudes. Socialization differences in the sports field, bodily capital, a career path marked by thwarted reputation are the key factors that drive players to adopt an aggressive style.     

我国公共体育服务研究的计量学分析*

以中文社会科学引文索引CSSCI成立至今所收录的研究主题为公共体育和体育公共服务的246篇文献为数据来源,并结合CNKI对246篇文献进行检索下载,采用CiteSpaceⅤ进行可视化处理与计量学分析。运用知识图谱的方式对公共体育和体育公共服务研究领域文献的年度数量、机构分布、作者团队、期刊来源、热点共现及演进过程进行探测。研究表明,公共体育和体育公共服务研究文献数量逐年上升,研究多分布于江浙沪地区与长江流域;研究形成了以不同机构为单位的研究团队并掌握着这一科学领域的研究方向;收录期刊来源中,体育类期刊占绝对优势,其中上海体育学院学报载文最多;研究热点前沿与演进围绕着公共体育和体育公共服务的构建与完善展开,由公共体育和体育公共服务的理论研究逐渐过渡到应用研究,从公共体育和体育公共服务的纯理论概念研究向着服务体系、服务均等化、服务供给等应用型研究发展,并形成了以政府购买公共体育和体育公共服务与政府管理为代表的研究实践。     

我国校园足球可持续发展的若干问题研究

发展校园足球是推进我国校园体育活动的重要力量,亦是提升我国足球运动水平的必然选择。虽然在相关政策的支持下,我国校园足球发展迅速,但依然面临经费短缺、师资不足、发展不均衡、学训矛盾突出、体制机制不完善、社会认可度不高、医疗保障体系不健全等问题。指出,学校应密切联系俱乐部、企业,多渠道获取发展资源;从内部培养与外部引进两方面充实师资力量;坚持全面发展原则,妥善解决学训矛盾,提升学生综合素质;加强足球文化建设,营造良好氛围,提升足球参与者的荣誉感;强化校园足球风险防范意识,加强风险管理。旨在促进我国校园足球健康可持续发展。     

登上领奖台：加拿大冬奥备战的治理经验及其启示

为备战2010年温哥华冬奥会,加拿大联邦政府设计了“登上领奖台”战略,委托OTP组织负责财政援助的划拨和绩效管理。OTP组织采用“决策层—执行层”的双层治理架构,以“奖牌至上”为原则,创建了由“项目文化”“以往成绩”“夺牌潜力”“领先优势的可持续性”4个一级指标的协会分层分类资助制度,邀请国家奥委会和残奥委、国家运动项目协会、体育科研院所等利益相关者组成协同治理网络。通过梳理加拿大治理经验,建议我国当前的备战2022年北京冬奥工作,应重视“一臂之距”理念,明确政府在冬奥备战中的职责;尊重专业自治准则,锻炼社会力量成为竞技体育治理主体;改进绩效管理模式,优化冬奥备战财政资金的申请和使用程序;重视科学创新,促进体育智库组织网络化。     

让旱冰运动走进大学校园

旱冰运动是一项融娱乐、竞技、休闲、技巧、惊险为一体的体育运动，一直受到广大青少年学生的喜爱。这项运动在我国只有极少数大专院校开展了旱冰教学，但在大多数院校里普及看来也很艰难，还需要各方面的努力和宣传。本文就是通过对旱冰运动和基本技术的介绍，让旱冰运动走进大学校园。