27 January 2010

Customised sports diploma offered to Singapore Sports School students

Customised sports diploma offered to Singapore Sports School students@CNA

SINGAPORE : Students at the Singapore Sports School (SSP) will soon be able to take up a customised Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management.

The diploma is being offered by Republic Polytechnic, in collaboration with SSP.

The target is to have a minimum of 18 to 20 students for the first intake in 2011.

Students will be admitted based on their sporting achievements and academic results at the Sports School.

Deborah Tan, principal, Singapore Sports School, said: "We are really responding to the need for us to consider our graduates who are in the post-secondary pathway in our school, to really get into an industry, the sports and leisure industry."

The diploma prepares students for work in the sports and leisure industry in areas such as sports facilities management and programming.

Dr Michael Koh, director, School of Sports, Health and Leisure, Republic Polytechnic, said: "We have customised it to enable the developmental athletes in the Sports School to both balance academic pursuits and sporting pursuit...the main difference is in the time table planning; it allows them the flexibility to go for competitions and meet their training requirements."

The Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management is offered to students who have enrolled under the SSP's six-year through train programme.

25 January 2010

YOG scholarship to train and study in Singapore

Six scholarships for world's young athletes to train & study in S'pore@CNA

SINGAPORE : Organisers of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on Sunday revealed details of a sports scholarship programme for the world's young athletes.

The six scholarships are for study and training at the Singapore Sports School.

They will be awarded at every YOG to a deserving young athlete, aged between 13 and 15, from Singapore and each of the five continents.

The first batch of six scholarships will be awarded during the first YOG, which will be held from August 14-26.

They are fully funded by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and targeted at seven Olympic sports - aquatics, athletics, badminton, football, golf, sailing and table tennis.

Ng Ser Miang, chairman of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee and vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said the first batch of successful applicants is scheduled to begin their four-year term at the Sports School in January next year.

He said it will include another two years of the school's International Baccalaureate programme for those who can go further.

Mr Ng was speaking to journalists at the Singapore Cadet Fencing World Cup 2010, which is part of the on-going Friendship Games, at the Suntec International Convention Centre.

"This is going to be one of the legacies of the games in Singapore," said Mr Ng. "The YOG is about sports, culture and education, and it is something Singapore believes in.

"So the scholarships will continue to link Singapore to the Olympic movement and the youth of the world by bringing them here to learn, train and to take part in sports."

The scholarships will cover the athletes' school fees, accommodation, training and airfare to their home countries after the first two years.

Applications, which are not restricted to YOG athletes, opened on Sunday and will close on April 16.

24 January 2010

Aerobic exercise triggers new brain cell growth

Start running and watch your brain grow, say scientists@Guardian

Neuroscientists at Cambridge University have shown that running stimulates the brain to grow fresh grey matter and it has a big impact on mental ability.

A few days of running led to the growth of hundreds of thousands of new brain cells that improved the ability to recall memories without confusing them, a skill that is crucial for learning and other cognitive tasks, researchers said.

The new brain cells appeared in a region that is linked to the formation and recollection of memories. The work reveals why jogging and other aerobic exercise can improve memory and learning, and potentially slow down the deterioration of mental ability that happens with old age.

Scientists are unsure why exercise triggers the growth of grey matter, but it may be linked to increased blood flow or higher levels of hormones that are released while exercising. Exercise might also reduce stress, which inhibits new brain cells through a hormone called cortisol.

10 January 2010

Singapore's Asian Games target

S'pore aiming for 11 gold medals at 2010 Asian Games@CNA

The 2001 Committee on Sporting Singapore blueprint set many targets - including becoming a Top 10 sporting nation in Asia by 2010.

The benchmark is the Asian Games.

In Doha 2006, Singapore finished in 12th spot - with 27 medals, eight of them gold.

For November's Asian Games in China, the target is 11 gold medals.

Low Teo Ping, Chef de Mission, Team Singapore, 2010 Asian Games, said: "We have already begun identifying 12 sports and we have classified them under what we call the M12, that will deliver the medals. We then would identify five, six, which we will call the G5 or G6, and these will be the five or six sports that will deliver the gold medals."

08 January 2010

YOG Friendship Games

YOG using Friendship Games to try out processes and facilities@CNA

SINGAPORE: Preparations for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are intensifying as they are just seven months away.

As part of the preparations, the Friendship Games will see 600 athletes from 20 National Olympic Committees compete in Singapore from January 7 to 28.

The 2010 Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships will be one of six events that form part of the Friendship Games.

Five other sports - Taekwondo, Boxing, Judo, Fencing and Handball - will also be staged this month at the Suntec International Convention Centre.

The venues used to host the Friendship Games will also be used for YOG in August. And so this is a good opportunity for the organisers to test out the systems and improve on any shortcomings.

03 January 2010

NZ Coach Accelerator development programme

Coach Accelerator development programme@SPARC

The aim of Coach Accelerator is to provide new skills and challenge them further to ensure they are capable of producing World, Olympic or Paralymic champions

The three-year Coach Accelerator initiative provides financial support and professional development training. Over the three years, the participants receive individually-tailored professional development, attend residential camps, and get sport-specific and generic coach training.

26 December 2009

26 November 2009

sleep to train motor learning

Sleep success: How to make ZZZs = memory@new scientist

Catherine Siengsukon of the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City reviewed the evidence for "offline practice" – practising skills during sleep – earlier this year. She reckons that motor learning – training brain areas that control muscles - during sleep could help rehabilitate young, brain-damaged patients.

EM sleep seems to be important for perceptual memory, "like when you're learning to play darts", while the consolidation of "declarative" memories – facts and events – happens during deep slow-wave sleep.

25 November 2009

MOU between Loughborough University and Waseda University in Japan

Loughborough joins Japan in global $14m sports science programme@Loughborough University

Loughborough University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Waseda University in Japan as part of a global $14m programme designed to increase collaborative research in sport sciences and physical activity.

An initial three areas of research have been identified between the two Universities: the use of physical activity to prevent chronic disease, muscle physiology and sport performance, and the role sport plays in a socio-cultural context.

24 November 2009

Singapore's Foreign Sports Talent Scheme

Foreign athletes welcomed if they raise standard of Singapore sports@CNA

Singapore will continue to embrace talented foreign athletes who want to represent the country, as long as they raise the standard of sports here, according to Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.

Dr Balakrishnan revealed that the Foreign Sports Talent (FST) Schemes currently make up 4.6 per cent of the total number of athletes among the development and national squads of the seven key sports in the country.

There are currently 19 FSTs out of 97 badminton players, and 11 FSTs out of 85 table tennis players.

Dr Balakrishnan also laid down the three principles that guide the FST policy: openness to global talent, fairness in treatment of FSTs and local-born athletes, and ensuring the integration of the foreign-born athletes into society.

Singapore athletes preparation for YOG

S$2.6m disbursed to prepare Singapore athletes for YOG@CNA

S$2.6 million out of over S$6 million set aside for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games has already been disbursed to prepare Singapore athletes. The remaining amount will be given out over the next few months.

The 26 National Sports Associations (NSAs) whose sports will be competing in the Games were also given more details about the qualification criteria.

Singapore can send up to 130 athletes – both individual and teams – for the Games, but not all sports will have automatic qualifications.

17 November 2009

3D swim modeling to enhance performance

Maths to speed swimmers@CSIRO

CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) are creating computer models of swimmers that can swim through virtual water.

The goal is to help individual swimmers find their ideal stroke techinique.

Once the virtual model is created, its performance will be compared to the real person, to make sure it matches reality.

AUS talent 'hot spots' study

Sports talent 'hot spots' being studied@SMH

Queensland's Griffith University is leading research into identifying potential elite athletes, which could be the key to improving Australia's international sporting success.

Rather than the standard biophysical measures, the university hopes to uncover reasons why some towns and regions like Wagga, which they call "hot-spots", produce more elite athletes than others.

The university is working with the Australian Sports Commission, Australian Institute of Sport, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia and the Australian Football League following a $300,000 grant last month from the Australian Research Council.

Over the next three years researchers would study factors such as the family support for elite athletes, whether there was a strong club system, socio-cultural factors, psychological factors, how recruiters perceived talent, home-town advantage and whether the hot-spots have strong socio-capital.

no funding boost for AUS

No funding boost for sport: review@Brisbane Times

The federal government-commissioned report has dismissed the AOC's calls for an extra $100 million a year for 10 years for elite sports, saying that money would be better spent elsewhere.

It also takes issue with the AOC's quest to reclaim "top five" status on the medal table at the 2012 London Olympics and future Games, saying that target is not sensible and not an appropriate measure of Australian performance.

16 November 2009

NZ budget for 2010

SPARC ramps up high performance investment to new level@SPARC

SPARC is investing a record $6.3 million in 19 national sport organisations’ high performance programmes and projects following the 2010 contestable investment round.

In addition to the contestable high performance programme investment, $816,500 is being provided to national sport organisations for 2010 in service credits. Service credits cover the cost of sports medicine, sports science and athlete development services provided through the New Zealand Academy of Sport.

13 November 2009

ASC online tools and resources for coaches

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has produced eight new coaching and officiating videos which are now available on the ASC website ranging from mentoring, coaching juniors and intermediate coaching general principles.

http://www.ausport.gov.au/participating/coaches/videos

Also few factsheets available.

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/psychology/brainwaves

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/strength_and_conditioning/factsheetss

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/attr/fact_sheets

UK sport biosensor project

New Technology Will Help Improve Athletes’ Performance@EPSRC

EPSRC funded scientists are developing a range of miniaturised wearable and track-side sensors, computer modelling tools and smart training devices to help British athletes improve their performance.

The Elite Sport Performance Research in Training with Pervasive Sensing (ESPRIT) has received £6 million from EPSRC and £2 million from UK Sport for a five year project. The research is being led by Imperial College London and supported by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and Loughborough University.

11 November 2009

Sports Sci J@Sep-Oct 09

This is the latest sports science journal update.

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Sep-Oct 09


Coaching

Game-Based Training for Improving Skill and Physical Fitness in Team Sport Athletes. IJSSC



An Integrative Definition of Coaching Effectiveness and Expertise. IJSSC



High-Intensity Training in Football. IJSPP



Do footedness and strength asymmetry relate to the dominant stance in swimming track start? JSS



Effect of Plyometric Training on Swimming Block Start Performance in Adolescents. JSCR



Fitness Profiling in Soccer: Physical and Physiologic Characteristics of Elite Players. JSCR



Strength & Conditioning

The Association Between Motor Skill Competence and Physical Fitness in Young Adults. RQES



Correcting the Use of the Term "Power" in the Strength and Conditioning Literature. JSCR


Negative effect of static stretching restored when combined with a sport specific warm-up component. JSMS



Effects of Sit-up Training versus Core Stabilization Exercises on Sit-up Performance. MSSE



A Comparison of Successful and Unsuccessful Attempts in Maximal Bench Pressing. MSSE



Relationships Among Jumping Performances and Sprint Parameters During Maximum Speed Phase in Sprinters. JSCR



Neuromuscular Adaptations to Training, Injury and Passive Interventions: Implications for Running Economy. SM



Physiology

The Analysis and Utilization of Cycling Training Data. SM



Test Validation in Sport Physiology: Lessons Learned From Clinimetrics. IJSPP



Computer Simulations Assessing the Potential Performance Benefit of a Final Increase in Training During Pre-Event Taper. JSCR



Reliability and Generality of Measures of Acceleration, Planned Agility, and Reactive Agility. IJSPP



Relation between Individualized Training Impulses and Performance in Distance Runners. MSSE



Improving the prediction of sweat losses during exercise. JAP



Cold Fluids Improve Exercise Performance in the Heat By Slowing the Rate of Heat Gain. MSSE



Evidence against a 40°C core temperature threshold for fatigue in humans. JAP



Comparison of Progressive Maximal Swimming Tests in Elite Female Water Polo Players. IJSPP



Effects of Ramadan fasting on physical performance and metabolic, hormonal, and inflammatory parameters in middle-distance runners. APNM



The ‘So What’ Factor: Statistical versus Cinical Significance. IJSM



Nutrition

BJSM reviews: A–Z of supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 1. BJSM



BJSM reviews: A–Z of supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance Part 2. BJSM



Evaluation of Nutritional Intake in Canadian High-Performance Athletes. CJSM



Development and Validation of a Food Pyramid for Swiss Athletes. IJSNEM



Caffeine and Anaerobic Performance: Ergogenic Value and Mechanisms of Action. SM



Biomechanics and technology development

Ubiquitous computing in sports: A review and analysis. JSS



A Comparison of Video and Accelerometer Based Approaches Applied to Performance Monitoring in Swimming. IJSSC



Sports Medicine

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus Statement on periodic health evaluation of elite athletes March 2009. BJSM



Sports Injuries During the Summer Olympic Games 2008. AJSM



Illness Monitoring in Team Sports Using a Web-Based Training Diary. CJSM



Preparticipation cardiovascular screening in young athletes. BJSM



Incidence and aetiology of sudden cardiac death in young athletes: an international perspective. BJSM



Return to play? Practical considerations for young athletes with cardiovascular disease. BJSM



Popular drugs in sport: descriptive analysis of the enquiries made via the Drug Information Database (DID). BJSM



Psychology and motor control

The role of confidence in world-class sport performance. JSS



Emotional Intelligence Scores Predict Team Sports Performance in a National Cricket Competition. IJSSC



Talent ID and development

Relationships among birth-month distribution, skeletal age and anthropometric characteristics in adolescent elite soccer players. JSS



The relative age effect in a professional football club setting. JSS



Genetic research and testing in sport and exercise science: A review of the issues. JSS

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09 November 2009

Learning points from Coach Education Conference 09

3rd Annual Evolution of the Athlete: Coach Education Conference (2-3 Nov 2009@Brisbane, Australia)

Keynote

"Leadership in elite sport" Craig Bellamy (Head Coach, Melbourne Storm, NRL team)

- Leadership = to know the role and to do the best you can
- Positive thinking + realistic thinking
- Importance of off field activities










"Managing individuals in winning teams" John Fitzgerald (Optus Davis Cup Captain, Tennis Australia)

- 6C = communication, clarification, character, compassion, confidence, commitment
- Expectation = to play at best effort possible










"Developing the learning environment in sport" Glenn Stewart (High Performance Manager, West Coast Eagles)

- Leaning environment = to change actions, you need data to convince
- Team learning environment = vision → assess → FB → Info transmit (eg VARK, drills) → FB from players → re-assess
- Personal practical knowledge (PPK) = can learn 90% when you share info to others (x reading only 10%)









Concurrent session

"Quantification of training load" David Martin (Senior Sport Physiologist, Australian Institute of Sport)

- Simplify the relationship between training and performance
- What is the difference between good and bad forms?
- Daily log is insurance




"Gold medal programming" Chris O'Brien (Head Rowing Coach, Victorian Institute of Sport)

- Humanistic approach: focus on individual
- Back to the basics and repeat it!

"Designing practice" Megan Rendell (Sports Scientist - Skill Acquisition, QLD Academy of Sport)

- Adaptable, transfer, confidence, pressure, persistent, decision making
- Less is best (eg use analogy and questions)
- Block practice → random practice

"The TID coach" Juanita Weissensteiner (Research Coordinator, National Talent Identification & Development, Australian Sports Commission)

- TID and development as one package
- Biological and cognitive maturity.

06 November 2009

Eco-friendly YOG

YOG athletes to get involved in environmental initiatives@CNA

Members of the public pledged their commitment towards cultivating environmentally-friendly habits, by leaving their footprints on clay to form an art piece.

The art piece will be on display during the 2010 YOG, and is part of a programme to encourage athletes to learn about environmental sustainability.

The organising committee is partnering with HortPark to promote
environmentally-friendly practices among athletes taking part in the Games.

This is part of its Culture and Education Programme, and will see athletes exploring HortPark's gardens to learn more about human impact on the ecosystem.