30 May 2010

Singapore satellite centres for sports development

Govt spending S$2.5m on sports satellite centres for youths@CNA

The government is spending S$2.5 million on new satellite centres for sports development, especially for sports featured in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in August.

The YOG will be held over two weeks, but organisers hope it will leave a lasting legacy.

So the authorities are establishing satellite centres that will feature sports from the YOG.

Teo Ser Luck, co-chairman, Singapore Youth Sports Development Committee, said: "These satellite centres will be able to give a chance to all the young people to learn the different sports of their interests, of their passion.

"It does not matter if they are not in the school team today; they will still get a chance to play and to learn the sport and they will do it regularly."

The centres will be introduced in phases.

The first four - for sailing, wrestling, badminton and basketball - will start operations next month.

For more information on programmes offered at the Satellite Centres for Sports Development, visit http://www.singaporesports.sg/SCSD.

The others may be opened by the end of next year.

Singapore PE and sports development framework

An Inclusive Approach to Physical Education and Sports Development@MOE

The Framework highlights MOE’s inclusive approach to PE and sports development — to develop opportunities for all students to develop their potential to the fullest; to engender a vibrant sports culture and develop talent for the nation. The three-prongs of the framework are as follows:

“Mass Participation Programmes” aim to inculcate in students the knowledge, skills and attitudes for games and sports to enable them to lead a healthy lifestyle even after they leave school. These include the PE programme, individual school programmes and the Sports Education Programme (SEP) co-funded by MOE and the Singapore Sports Council (SSC), which are conducted at the school level.

“Specialised Sports Programmes” aim to develop advocates, leaders and organisers of sports. Students who have benefited from these programmes would have sufficient exposure to develop an interest in becoming teachers-in-charge of Sports CCAs, PE teachers, coaches, sports administrators, lecturers, sports scientists and sports patrons. The programmes include sports co-curricular activities (CCA), intra- and inter-school competitions at the school level as well as zonal programmes organised by Centres of Excellence (COEs) for the respective sports.

“Talent Development Programmes” strive to develop young sports talents and create a pipeline of athletes to represent the nation. Students in these programmes have the potential to be national and/ or professional athletes, coaches, PE teachers, sports administrators, lecturers or sports scientists in the future. Currently, talented student athletes are selected for training in Junior Sports Academies, Youth Sports Academies and the Singapore Schools Sports Teams squads, which are run with coaching input from the National Sports Associations.

3Underpinning PE and Sports development in schools are these beliefs:

PE and sports contribute towards developing psychomotor skills, health and fitness, as well as a lifelong orientation towards managing one’s health and well-being.

25 May 2010

BOA Athlete Career Programme

BOA LAUNCHES ATHLETE CAREER PROGRAMME@BOA

The programme will be delivered in cooperation with the established networks of Performance Lifestyle in the Home Country Sports Institutes (HCSIs), and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust (DKH Legacy Trust), which focus on giving athletes the skills and training needed to allow them to take up the employment opportunities available through the networks.


The BOA Athlete Career Programme will:

• Provide placement support for athletes, through the extensive network of the Adecco group in the UK. A pilot has been started, and a number of athletes have been successfully placed.

• For example - Craig Figes, GB Men’s Water Polo Captain: Late last year, Craig Figes was contemplating whether he could afford to stay on the GB Water Polo programme. He was working part-time as a geography teacher at Manchester Grammar School and, with no Lottery Award at that time, was struggling to make ends meet. Craig worked closely with David Platt, his Performance Lifestyle Adviser, to try and identify other employment opportunities in Manchester that might fit in with his training and teaching schedule. The pilot scheme with Adecco came at the perfect time and the proactive work by the Manchester Adecco branch led to Craig joining the Environmental Division of Bruntwood in less than six weeks. Craig commented that “all in all, the experience has been a very positive one. Adecco helped immensely and the placement with Bruntwood has enabled me to get through a tough financial period and, most-importantly, stay on the GB Water Polo team and continue to pursue my Olympic dream.”

• Following the London 2012 Olympic Games, a series of workshops and an Athlete Career Fair will be provided to enable those retiring following London 2012 to focus on competing until the Games, and be properly supported afterwards in their transition.

• Provide access to the Adecco suite of over 6,000 online training courses, on topics such as presentation skills, project management and computer software programmes. Career workshops will also be run to help athletes start planning for their career after sport.

• Give athletes needing to train abroad access to the international support network of the IOC Athlete Career Programme provided by Adecco, through the BOA Passport Scheme.

14 May 2010

Sports Sci J@Mar-May10

This is the latest sports science journal update.

---
Mar-May10

Long term athlete development
Expert Performance in Sport and the Dynamics of Talent Development. SM

Talent Development in Adolescent Team Sports: A Review. IJSPP

The Role of Psychological Characteristics in Facilitating the Pathway to Elite Performance. Part 1. SP. Part 2. SP

Developmental changes in cognitive reaction time of children aged 6–12 years. EJSS

Gender Differences in Motor Skill Proficiency From Childhood to Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study. RQES

Continuous vs. Interval Aerobic Training in 8- to 11-Year-Old Children. JSCR

Soccer Endurance Development in Professionals. IJSM

Motor fitness in Dutch youth: Differences over a 26-year period (1980–2006). JSMS

Correspondences between continuous and intermittent exercises intensities in healthy prepubescent children. EJAP

Influence of birth quarter on the rate of physical activities and sports participation. JSS

Elite Athletes: Are the Genes the Champions? IJSPP

Advances in Exercise, Fitness, and Performance Genomics. MSSE

Maturity Status and Injury Risk in Youth Soccer Players. CJSM

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. JSS (book review)

Performance enhancement
New Horizons for the Methodology and Physiology of Training Periodization. SM

A Biomechanical Evaluation of Resistance: Fundamental Concepts for Training and Sports Performance. SM

On the role of imagery modalities on motor learning. JSS

Kinematic and Kinetic Comparisons of Elite and Well-Trained Sprinters During Sprint Start. JSCR

Body roll in swimming: A review. JSS

Does Breathing Disturb Coordination in Butterfly? IJSM

Characterising the slope of the distance–time relationship in swimming. JSMS

Energetics and biomechanics as determining factors of swimming performance: Updating the state of the art. JSMS

An analysis of practice activities and instructional behaviours used by youth soccer coaches during practice: Exploring the link between science and application. JSS

Effect of playing tactics on goal scoring in Norwegian professional soccer. JSS

Match-to-Match Variability of High-Speed Activities in Premier League Soccer. IJSM

Activity Profile in Elite Italian Soccer Team. IJSM

Physiological Responses and Characteristics of Table Tennis Matches Determined in Official Tournaments. JSCR

The importance of being elastic: Deflection of a badminton racket during a stroke. JSS

Automated processes in tennis: Do left-handed players benefit from the tactical preferences of their opponents? JSS

Combining Hypoxic Methods for Peak Performance. SM

Sleep quality in athletes under normobaric hypoxia equivalent to 1500 m altitude: A polysomnographic study. EJSS

Ice Slurry Ingestion Increases Core Temperature Capacity and Running Time in the Heat. MSSE

Influence of Mouth Rinsing a Carbohydrate Solution on 1-h Running Performance. MSSE

Guidelines for Glycerol Use in Hyperhydration and Rehydration Associated with Exercise. SM

Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic Load and Exercise Performance. SM

Glycemic Index and Endurance Performance. IJSNEM

BJSM reviews: A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 6. BJSM Part 7. BJSM

Nutritional supplementation habits and perceptions of elite athletes within a state-based sporting institute. JSMS

Human Hydration Indices: Acute and Longitudinal Reference Value. IJSNEM

Influence of Beverage Temperature on Exercise Performance in the Heat: A Systematic Review. IJSNEM

Effects of Post-Exercise Recovery Interventions on Physiological, Psychological, and Performance Parameters. IJSM

What is the biochemical and physiological rationale for using cold-water immersion in sports recovery? A systematic review. BJSM

The Effect of Prior Endurance Training on Nap Sleep Patterns. IJSPP

Fitness and Exercise as Correlates of Sleep Complaints: Is It All in Our Minds? MSSE

The Effects of Precompetition Massage on the Kinematic Parameters of 20-m Sprint Performance. JSCR

Effects of a Whole Body Compression Garment on Markers of Recovery After a Heavy Resistance Workout in Men and Women. JSCR

Mental toughness profiles and their relations with achievement goals and sport motivation in adolescent Australian footballers. JSS

Analysis of a reactive agility field test. JSMS

Being an Elite Sports Scientist: A Balancing Act? IJSPP

Injury prevention and management
Neuromuscular Training for Sports Injury Prevention: A Systematic Review. MSSE

To stretch or not to stretch: the role of stretching in injury prevention and performance. SJMSS

Does motor imagery enhance stretching and flexibility? JSS

Pilates for Improvement of Muscle Endurance, Flexibility, Balance, and Posture. JSCR

Altered oxidative stress in overtrained athletes. JSS

Low vagal tone is associated with impaired post stress recovery of cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune markers. EJAP

Match Injuries in Professional Soccer: Inter-Seasonal Variation and Effects of Competition Type, Match Congestion and Positional Role. IJSM

The effects of an exercise intervention on forward head and rounded shoulder postures in elite swimmers. BJSM

Funky treatments in elite sports people: do they just buy rehabilitation time? BJSM

Technology development
GPS Analysis of Elite Women's Field Hockey Training and Competition. JSCR

The validity and reliability of a global positioning satellite system device to assess speed and repeated sprint ability (RSA) in athletes. JSMS

Kinanthropometry and body composition: A natural home for three-dimensional photonic scanning. JSS

Polar Activity Watch 200: a new device to accurately assess energy expenditure. BJSM

---

12 May 2010

AUS pathway to success

Australian Sport: The Pathway to Success@AUS Health Gov

On 11 May 2010, the Government released its new sport policy paper entitled Australian Sport: The pathway to success, which includes its response to the Independent Sport Panel Report.

The policy seeks to deliver on three key goals for the Australian sport system: increasing participation numbers, strengthening sporting pathways and striving for success.

AUS budget 2010

Coates welcomes funding boost but warns, work smarter@AOC

AOC President John Coates has welcomed the allocation of $195m to sport in the Federal Budget and has urged the Olympic sports to work together to save costs as they plan for the London Olympics in 2012.

Coates also backed the Government initiative to provide more money for talent identification.