School of Sport and Recreation
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The School of Sport and Recreation has groups of academic researchers who conduct research in sport and activity-related areas. Research areas are:
- Co-operative education
- Outdoor education
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- ItemIs Bodybuilding a Sport?(Informa UK Limited, 2023-07-23) Kind, Adrian; Helms, Eric RSince its beginnings, modern bodybuilding has been accompanied by the background issue of whether it should be considered a sport. The problem, culminating in its provisional acceptance as a sport by the International Olympic Committee, was later retracted. The uncertainty of whether bodybuilding is a sport or not seems to linger. Addressing this issue, Aranyosi (2018) provided an account to determine the status of bodybuilding as a sport that arrives at the negative answer: bodybuilding is not a sport but rather a form of artistic presentation. In this paper, we disagree with Aranyosi. We argue that by the standards he presents in his first argument, bodybuilding should be considered a sport. Further, we argue that his alternative approach on how to evaluate a discipline as more sport- or art-like on a spectrum, is not a valid basis to make such a judgment regarding bodybuilding. Further, even if his spectrum was modified to enable such a judgment, again it would result in bodybuilding being evaluated as a sport. Therefore, we conclude that everyone who accepts Aranyosi´s (or any less restrictive) requirements to decide whether bodybuilding is a sport, has to consider bodybuilding as a sport or refrain from making claims about its status.
- ItemSkeletal Muscle Proteins Involved in Fatty Acid Transport Influence Fatty Acid Oxidation Rates Observed During Exercise(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-07-14) Maunder, Ed; Rothschild, Jeffrey A; Fritzen, Andreas M; Jordy, Andreas B; Kiens, Bente; Brick, Matthew J; Leigh, Warren B; Chang, Wee-Leong; Kilding, Andrew ESeveral proteins are implicated in transmembrane fatty acid transport. The purpose of this study was to quantify the variation in fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise explained by skeletal muscle proteins involved in fatty acid transport. Seventeen endurance-trained males underwent a (i) fasted, incremental cycling test to estimate peak whole-body fatty acid oxidation rate (PFO), (ii) resting vastus lateralis microbiopsy, and (iii) 2 h of fed-state, moderate-intensity cycling to estimate whole-body fatty acid oxidation during fed-state exercise (FO). Bivariate correlations and stepwise linear regression models of PFO and FO during 0-30 min (early FO) and 90-120 min (late FO) of continuous cycling were constructed using muscle data. To assess the causal role of transmembrane fatty acid transport in fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise, we measured fatty acid oxidation during in vivo exercise and ex vivo contractions in wild-type and CD36 knock-out mice. We observed a novel, positive association between vastus lateralis FATP1 and PFO and replicated work reporting a positive association between FABPpm and PFO. The stepwise linear regression model of PFO retained CD36, FATP1, FATP4, and FABPpm, explaining ~87% of the variation. Models of early and late FO explained ~61 and ~65% of the variation, respectively. FATP1 and FATP4 emerged as contributors to models of PFO and FO. Mice lacking CD36 had impaired whole-body and muscle fatty acid oxidation during exercise and muscle contractions, respectively. These data suggest that substantial variation in fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise can be explained by skeletal muscle proteins involved in fatty acid transport.
- ItemDoes Lateral Banking and Radius Affect Well-Trained Sprinters and Team-Sports Players During Bend Sprinting?(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-06-17) White, Jonathan; Wilson, Cassie; von Lieres Und Wilkau, Hans; Wyatt, Hannah; Weir, Gillian; Hamill, Joseph; Irwin, Gareth; Exell, Timothy AThis study investigated the short-term responses of step characteristics in sprinters and team-sports players under different bend conditions. Eight participants from each group completed 80 m sprints in four conditions: banked and flat, in lanes two and four (L2B, L4B, L2F, L4F). Groups showed similar changes in step velocity (SV) across conditions and limbs. However, sprinters produced significantly shorter ground contact times (GCT) than team sports players in L2B and L4B for both left (0.123 s vs 0.145 s and 0.123 s vs 0.140 s) and right steps (0.115 s vs 0.136 s and 0.120 s vs 0.141 s) (p > 0.001-0.029; ES = 1.15-1.37). Across both groups, SV was generally lower in flat conditions compared to banked (Left: 7.21 m/s vs 6.82 m/s and Right: 7.31 m/s vs 7.09 m/s in lane two), occurring due to reduced step length (SL) rather than step frequency (SF), suggesting that banking improves SV via increased SL. Sprinters produced significantly shorter GCT in banked conditions that led to non-significant increases in SF and SV, highlighting the importance of bend sprinting specific conditioning and training environments representative of indoor competition for sprint athletes.
- ItemCarbohydrate, but Not Fat, Oxidation is Reduced During Moderate-Intensity Exercise Performed in 33 vs. 18 °C at Matched Heart Rates(Springer, 2023-05-18) Charoensap, Thanchanok; Kilding, Andrew E; Maunder, EdPURPOSE: Exposure to environmental heat stress increases carbohydrate oxidation and extracellular heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) concentrations during endurance exercise at matched absolute, external work rates. However, a reduction in absolute work rate typically occurs when unacclimated endurance athletes train and/or compete in hot environments. We sought to determine the effect of environmental heat stress on carbohydrate oxidation rates and plasma HSP70 expression during exercise at matched heart rates (HR). METHODS: Ten endurance-trained, male cyclists performed two experimental trials in an acute, randomised, counterbalanced cross-over design. Each trial involved a 90-min bout of cycling exercise at 95% of the HR associated with the first ventilatory threshold in either 18 (TEMP) or 33 °C (HEAT), with ~ 60% relative humidity. RESULTS: Mean power output (17 ± 11%, P < 0.001) and whole-body energy expenditure (14 ± 8%, P < 0.001) were significantly lower in HEAT. Whole-body carbohydrate oxidation rates were significantly lower in HEAT (19 ± 11%, P = 0.002), while fat oxidation rates were not different between-trials. The heat stress-induced reduction in carbohydrate oxidation was associated with the observed reduction in power output (r = 0.64, 95% CI, 0.01, 0.91, P = 0.05) and augmented sweat rates (r = 0.85, 95% CI, 0.49, 0.96, P = 0.002). Plasma HSP70 and adrenaline concentrations were not increased with exercise in either environment. CONCLUSION: These data contribute to our understanding of how moderate environmental heat stress is likely to influence substrate oxidation and plasma HSP70 expression in an ecologically-valid model of endurance exercise.
- ItemSport Policy in Pakistan(Informa UK Limited, 2023-06-12) Ali, Hafsa; Wright, Richard; Dickson, GeoffThis paper critically examines Pakistan’s sports policy, from the design, development and delivery phases through to its public evaluation. In doing so, we identify and address the emerging trends and associated challenges facing sports organisations in a large politically unstable developing nation. Ten interviews and an analysis of over 15 policy documents, including annual reports, were conducted over the three-year period 2019–2021. This critical case study documents the sport-politics nexus in Pakistan, including the ongoing impact of the 2011 18th constitutional amendment on sport. The key conclusions from this study are that the development and delivery of sport policy, at both a domestic and international level, was negatively affected by administrative inefficiencies in organisational structures and the devolution of the Pakistan Sports Board. A lack of public and private sector investment and an unjust distribution of funds were also found to have hindered the nation’s ability to use sport as a vehicle for socio-economic development and soft power projection. In sum, Pakistan’s sports policy and underlying structures fall short of modern international sports requirements, and reform is strongly recommended.