Risk evaluation in professional football

Risk management is composed of three major elements viz., hazard identification, risk estimation and risk evaluation. The aim of hazard identification and risk estimation is to identify the outcomes from risk, the magnitude of the associated con&quences from risk, and the estimation of the probabilities of these outcomes. Previous work focused on hazard identification and risk estimation and identified the relatively high risks associated with playing professional football. By adhering to the risk management process, the aim of this thesis was to determine the significance of these high risks to football clubs and their players. A theoretical framework was designed to evaluate the influence of player injury on the financial and playing performance of professional football clubs. This framework was also used to assess, through use of cost benefit analysis, the practicalities of investing in suitable injury prevention strategies, to reduce the risks to football clubs and their players. Former professional footballers were surveyed to investigate the long-term medical and socioeconomic consequences associated with the high risks of playing professional football. The results identified the high financial costs associated with player injury on professional football clubs. Although the high risks of player injury have a relatively minor effect on teamperformance of the Premier League clubs, this effect still has a relatively major influence on the financial performance of the club. In contrast, the influence of player injury to teamperformance was relatively major for Division I and Division 2 clubs, but this had a relatively minor effect on financial performance. The application of cost benefit analysis to the investment of specialist personnel to reduce the risks of injury demonstrated that the proposals were practicable for Premier League and Division I clubs only. In addition, it was also demonstrated that the high risks associated with playing professional football have a significant influence on the long-term well-being of foriner players. One-third of former players had been medically diagnosed osteoarthritic in a lower limb joint. The majority of players also perceived that injury had a negative influence on their present and future welfare. The results demonstrate that the consequences associated with the relatively high acute injury risk also have a significant effect on the financial and playing performance of football clubs and the future welfare of their players

Geodesic motion around a supersymmetric AdS5 black hole

In this article the geodesic motion of test particles in the spacetime of a supersymmetric AdS$_5$ black hole is studied. The equations of motion are derived and solved in terms of the Weierstrass $\wp$, $\sigma$ and $\zeta$ functions. Effective potentials and parametric diagrams are used to analyze and characterize timelike, lightlike and spacelike particle motion and a list of possible orbit types is given. Furthermore, various plots of orbits are presented.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure

Ketone monoester ingestion alters metabolism and simulated rugby performance in professional players:Ketones, metabolism and elite rugby performance

Ketone ingestion can alter metabolism but effects on exercise performance are unclear, particularly with regard to the impact on intermittent-intensity exercise and team-sport performance. Nine professional male rugby union players each completed two trials in a double-blind, randomized, crossover design. Participants ingested either 90 ± 9 g carbohydrate (CHO; 9% solution) or an energy matched solution containing 20 ± 2 g CHO (3% solution) and 590 mg/kg body mass β-hydroxybutyrate monoester (CHO + BHB-ME) before and during a simulated rugby union-specific match-play protocol, including repeated high-intensity, sprint and power-based performance tests. Mean time to complete the sustained high-intensity performance tests was reduced by 0.33 ± 0.41 s (2.1%) with CHO + BHB-ME (15.53 ± 0.52 s) compared with CHO (15.86 ± 0.80 s) placebo (p = .04). Mean time to complete the sprint and power-based performance tests were not different between trials. CHO + BHB-ME resulted in blood BHB concentrations that remained &gt;2 mmol/L during exercise (p &lt; .001). Serum lactate and glycerol concentrations were lower after CHO + BHB-ME than CHO (p &lt; .05). Coingestion of a BHB-ME with CHO can alter fuel metabolism (attenuate circulating lactate and glycerol concentrations) and may improve high-intensity running performance during a simulated rugby match-play protocol, without improving shorter duration sprint and power-based efforts.</p

Ketone monoester ingestion alters metabolism and simulated rugby performance in professional players:Ketones, metabolism and elite rugby performance

Ketone ingestion can alter metabolism but effects on exercise performance are unclear, particularly with regard to the impact on intermittent-intensity exercise and team-sport performance. Nine professional male rugby union players each completed two trials in a double-blind, randomized, crossover design. Participants ingested either 90 ± 9 g carbohydrate (CHO; 9% solution) or an energy matched solution containing 20 ± 2 g CHO (3% solution) and 590 mg/kg body mass β-hydroxybutyrate monoester (CHO + BHB-ME) before and during a simulated rugby union-specific match-play protocol, including repeated high-intensity, sprint and power-based performance tests. Mean time to complete the sustained high-intensity performance tests was reduced by 0.33 ± 0.41 s (2.1%) with CHO + BHB-ME (15.53 ± 0.52 s) compared with CHO (15.86 ± 0.80 s) placebo (p = .04). Mean time to complete the sprint and power-based performance tests were not different between trials. CHO + BHB-ME resulted in blood BHB concentrations that remained &gt;2 mmol/L during exercise (p &lt; .001). Serum lactate and glycerol concentrations were lower after CHO + BHB-ME than CHO (p &lt; .05). Coingestion of a BHB-ME with CHO can alter fuel metabolism (attenuate circulating lactate and glycerol concentrations) and may improve high-intensity running performance during a simulated rugby match-play protocol, without improving shorter duration sprint and power-based efforts.</p

WIMU instrumentation of skeleton "ASSASSIN" trainer & sled

Skeleton is a high‐speed Winter Olympic sport performed on the same twisting, downhill ice tracks used for Bobsleigh & Luge. The single rider sprints and pushes their sled for 20‐30m on a level start section before loading and going through a twisting course of over 1km, at speeds up to 140km/h, experiencing up to 5g. In competition, the top athletes can be within a fraction of a second of each other. The initial short pushing period is believed to be critical to overall performance but it is not well understood. A collaborative project between University of Bath, UK Sport and Tyndall National Institute is instrumenting skeleton athletes, training equipment and test tracks with Tyndall’s Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit technology in order to investigate and improve understanding of this phase of a skeleton run. It is hoped this will lead to improved training regimes and better performance of such elite, Olympic level athletes. This work presents an initial look at the system as implemented and data recorded

Movement Demands of Elite U20 International Rugby Union Players

The purpose of this study was to quantify movement demands of elite international age grade (U20) rugby union players during competitive tournament match play. Forty elite professional players from an U20 international performance squad were monitored using 10 Hz global positioning systems (GPS) during 15 international tournament matches during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons. Data on distances, velocities, accelerations, decelerations, high metabolic load (HML) distance and efforts, and number of sprints were derived. Data files from players who played over 60 min (n = 161) were separated firstly into Forwards and Backs, and more specifically into six positional groups; FR--Front Row (prop & hooker), SR--Second Row, BR--Back Row (Flankers & No.8), HB--Half Backs (scrum half & outside half), MF--Midfield (centres), B3--Back Three (wings & full back) for match analysis. Analysis revealed significant differences between forwards and backs positions. Backs scored higher on all variables measured with the exception of number of moderate accelerations, decelerations (no difference). The centres covered the greatest total distance with the front row covering the least (6.51 ± 0.71 vs 4.97 ± 0.75 km, p < 0.001). The front row also covered the least high speed running (HSR) distance compared to the back three (211.6 ± 112.7 vs 728.4 ± 150.2 m, p < 0.001) who covered the most HSR distance, affirming that backs cover greater distances but forwards have greater contact loads. These findings highlight for the first time differences in the movement characteristics of elite age grade rugby union players specific to positional roles