Resting toucher: a time and motion analysis of elite lawn bowls

Whilst numerous investigations have explored the physical demands placed upon competitive sportspeople from a wide array of sports little is known about the physical demands placed on lawn bowlers. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the movement activities of Australian representative singles and pairs players and to determine the frequency and duration of these activities. One match each of two male and two female players (one singles and one pairs player per gender) were videotaped during an international tournament. During playback of the videotaped matches (n = 4), a single observer coded the players’ activities into five distinct categories (waiting, walking forward, walking backward, jogging and bowling) using a computerised video editing system (Gamebreaker™ Digital Video Analysis System). Field calibration of players over 30m for forward motions and 15m for the backward motion was performed to allow for the estimation of total distance covered during the match. Heart rate was monitored during each match. The duration of a match was found to be (mean ± SD) 1hr 28 ± 15mins. The total distance covered during each match was 2093 ± 276m. The mean percentage of match time spent in each motion was: waiting, 61.8 ± 9.3%; walking forward, 22.3 ± 5.6%; walking backward, 2.0 ± 0.4%; jogging, 1.1 ± 0.5%; and bowling, 8.5 ± 4.2%. Average heart rate was found to be 57 ± 7% of age-predicted HRmax with a maximum of 78 ± 9% of age-predicted HRmax. The results of this study suggest that playing lawn bowls at an international level requires light-moderate intensity activity similar to that reported for golf

Albert Pierrepoint and the cultural persona of the twentieth-century hangman

Albert Pierrepoint was Britain’s most famous 20th-century hangman. This article utilises diverse sources in order to chart his public representation, or cultural persona, as hangman from his rise to prominence in the mid-1940s to his portrayal in the biopic Pierrepoint(2005). It argues that Pierrepoint exercised agency in shaping this persona through publishing his autobiography and engagement with the media, although there were also representations that he did not influence. In particular, it explores three iterations of his cultural persona – the Professional Hangman, the Reformed Hangman and the Haunted Hangman. Each of these built on and reworked historical antecedents and also communicated wider understandings and contested meanings in relation to capital punishment. As a hangman who remained in the public eye after the death penalty in Britain was abolished, Pierrepoint was an important, authentic link to the practice of execution and a symbolic figure in debates over reintroduction. In the 21st century, he was portrayed as a victim of the ‘secondary trauma’ of the death penalty, which resonated with worldwide campaigns for abolition

Hitting a home run: long-term injury consequences of baseball injuries

PURPOSE: To determine what impact (major and significant) injuries sustained during participation in competitive baseball have on players\u27 post participation. METHODS: 75 retired players (37.8% response rate) completed a survey designed specifically for this research. Each participant received a package containing the survey, an explanatory cover letter and a reply paid addressed envelope in which to return the completed survey. After the initial development of the survey form it was distributed to relevant experts in the sport/sports injuries field for input and feedback regarding face validity and relevance of questions. A pilot study was also conducted using 4 subjects from the target population resulting in a number of small changes being made to the survey tool. Statistical analysis - As the number of major, significant and total injuries were significantly positively skewed, a natural logarithmic transformation was applied to the counts of injuries in each category [In(number of injuries+1)]. A hierarchical analysis of variance was performed on each of the transformed variables; number of major, significant and total injuries, with the covariate of years spent playing baseball and factors, level of competition played (4 levels - local, state, semi-professional/ professional, national) and playing position (4 levels - pitcher, outfield-hitter, infield-hitter, catcher). A hierarchical analysis of variance gives the significance of each factor after adjusting for the previous variables included separately in the model. An alpha level of p \u3c0.05 was used for all statistical comparisons. RESULTS: The most common injuries were sprained ankles, hamstring strains, rotator cuff injury to the shoulder and tendon or ligament damage to the elbow or lower arm. Catchers had significantly less injuries than all other positions. 18.7% of all respondents reported suffering from arthritis, 24% from restricted joint mobility and 4% from chronically stiff fingers; all of these conditions were associated with their participation in baseball based on medical examination by their GP or medical specialist. A total of 29.3% of respondents indicated that they had incurred additional medical costs and 12% reported significant loss of income associated with their injuries. 26.7% reported experiencing limitations in their ability to carry out normal recreational activities. CONCLUSIONS: Typically it appears the career length of a player is quite long and while the average rate of injury across a career was reported at 5.6 given the length of time (mean 27.2 yrs) spent actively involved in the sport this could not be considered high

Effects of 120mg pseudoephedrine on muscle performance and fatigue

Pseudoephedrine (PSE) was recently removed from the list of prohibited substances in sports because of equivocal evidence of its effects. Following previous investigations in our laboratory, the aim of present study was to examine the potential ergogenic effects of PSE on force production capacity, muscle activation and fatigue during an incremental cycle exercise (ICE). Nine healthy male athletes, age of 18-23 years, voluntarily participated in this double-blind placebo-controlled study. Each subject undertook one familiarisation session (F) and three testing sessions (A, B and C) in a randomised order. In Session F, subjects were familiarised with the testing procedure and underwent ICE till exhaustion. In Session A, 120mg of PSE and ICE were administered. Session B was similar to Session A while the PSE was replaced by a placebo (PLA). Session C was similar to Session A while the ICE was replaced by rest as control (CON). Maximal voluntary knee extension contractions (MVC) and twitch interpolation test (TI) were performed to examine strength and muscle activation deficit (MAD) at baseline, 1hr post PSE or PLA administration, and post ICE. Electrocardiogram (ECG), Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and perceived drug effect scores (DE) were recorded before and after each performance test. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the mean values of the outcome measures within and between the sessions. Results showed a significant (p\u3c0.05) increase in MVC 1hr post PSE ingestion in Session C, a higher MVC in Session A than that in B, and a significant decrease in MAD post ICE in Session A. Although not statistically significant, a trend of increase (p=0.053) was detected in electrical stimulation evoked twitch torque (ETT) post ICE in Session A. No significant difference was found in time to fatigue during ICE or in the DE, while DE was higher during Session A than Session B. The study confirmed previous findings that PSE at doses of 120-180mg had ergogenic effects on muscle performance. The results suggest that PSE has the effects of reducing muscle activation deficit and improving muscle contractility. A case of abnormality in ECG indicated that ingestion of PSE at a dose above therapeutic level may pose an additional risk factor to the health of athletes

The effect of a carbohydrate enriched diet on the skill performance of midfield soccer players after intermittent treadmill exercise

INTRODUCTION Considerable depletion of intramuscular glycogen stores occurs during soccer games which affects the distance covered by players during the second-half of a match-play (Saltin, 1973). Although it appears that players skills deteriorate with fatigue, it is difficult to quantitatively investigate the skill performance during a soccer game. Additionally, the effects of muscle glycogen depletion and a carbohydrate enriched diet on skill performance such as dribbling and shooting are not known. The aim of this study was to determine (1) whether an intermittent treadmill exercise similar in distance and intensity to soccer match could impair the skill performance of midfield soccer players, and (2) if a carbohydrate enriched diet could influence the skill performance after the intermittent treadmill exercise. METHODS Six midfield soccer players participated in the study, with mean (+/-SD)age, mass, height and VO2max of 18 +/-1.8 years, 68.72 +/-3.43 kg, 1.75 +/-0.035 m, and 61.97 +/-4.89 ml/kg/min, respectively. Subjects first completed a treadmill exercise with the objective of reducing the muscle glycogen stores. The treadmill exercise, which mimicked the distance and intensity of a soccer match-play consisted of 11.16 km intermittent running at various speeds and slopes conducted over a 1 hour period. Subjects were then given either a mixed diet (40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 30% protein) or a carbohydrate enriched diet (80% carbohydrate, 10% fat, and 10% protein) over a 48 hour period. On completion of the dietary manipulation, a modified Zelenka Functional Performance Test (Zelenka et al., 1967) was administered to subjects. The test, which showed an acceptable reliability with a coefficient of 0.78, consisted of dribbling in and out of cones and shooting at a 1.5 m wide goal, 15.6 m away. The time to continuously complete 5 repeated circuits plus the shooting accuracy were recorded as the skill performance. This was then followed by intermittent treadmill exercise as before. On completion of the treadmill exercise, subjects repeated the skill test. Approximately two weeks after the first test, subjects repeated the protocol under the alternative dietary regime. Blood samples were obtained pre exercise and after each procedure to determine glucose and lactate concentrations. Heart rate was recorded throughout the experimental protocol using a Polar Sport Tester PE4000. Statistical analysis was carried out with Repeated measures MANOVA. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results showed that (1) the skill performance was not impaired by the intermittent treadmill exercise (p\u3e0.05); (2) the carbohydrate enriched diet did not increase the ability of the players to shoot or dribble (p\u3e0.05); (3) there was a significant increase in the heart rate during the post treadmill exercise skill test compared with that during the pre treadmill exercise test (p\u3c0.05); and (4) no significant differences in blood glucose and lactate concentrations were found between the tests. The results suggest that (1) the intermittent treadmill exercise similar in distance and intensity to that of soccer match-play did not affect the ability of the players to execute complex skills of shooting and dribbling; and (2) the 48 hour carbohydrate enriched diet had no significant influence on the skill performance, either pre or post the treadmill exercise. It is speculated that either (1) muscle glycogen depletion may not impair the ability of the player to execute game skills; (2) an alternative fatigue mechanism such as dehydration or transient lactate accumulation may be a causative factor in the reduction in skill performance; and (3) the treadmill protocol employed failed to induce a significant degree of glycogen depletion large enough to cause a significant fall in skill performance. REFERENCES Saltin B. (1973). Metabolic fundamentals in exercise. Med. Sci. Sports. 5: 137-146. Zelenka V., Seliger V. & Ondrej O. (1967). Specific function testing of young football players. J. Sports Med. Phys. Fit. 7: 143-147

A preliminary investigation into the long-term injury consequences reported by retired baseball players

Seventy-five retired baseball players participated in a survey (37.8% response rate) in order to establish the long-term consequences of injuries sustained during their playing careers. Respondents had a mean age of 55.8 (±11.4) years with a mean age of 41.3 (±11.4) years at retirement from play. The mean overall rate of injury suffered per player/playing career was 5.6 (±7.1). 54.7% of respondents experienced a major injury (i.e. injury resulting in 5 or more consecutive weeks absence from training and play) with a mean major injury per player/playing career of 1.5 (±2.2). The rate for significant injuries (i.e. injury resulting in more than 1 week but less than 5 weeks absence from training and play) was 4.1 (±6.5) per player/playing career. Catchers had significantly less injuries than all other positions (p = 0.027). 18.7% of all respondents reported suffering from arthritis, 24% from restricted joint mobility and 4% from chronically stiff fingers; all of these conditions were associated with their participation in baseball based on medical examination by their GP or medical specialist. 29.3% of respondents indicated that they had incurred additional medical costs and 12% reported significant loss of income associated with their injuries. Some injuries were severe enough that they resulted in extended stays in hospital producing costs carried by the health care system

Self-reported skin cancer protection strategies and location of skin cancer in retired cricketers: a case study from the membership of the Emu Cricket Club

Cricket is one of Australia\u27s most popular sports with approximately 470,000 registered participants. Played as a summer sport, participants can spend long periods in the sun with potential skin damage a possible contributor to skin cancer. Three hundred and sixty-eight retired regional representative players received and were invited to complete a comprehensive survey that included questions relating to their individual playing history, injury rate, sun protection strategies and reported location of skin cancer. A total of 164 players (mean age 45.2 ± 12.1 years) responded to the survey representing a response rate of 44.6%. Of these, 61.6% reported no diagnosis of skin cancer. However, 38.4% had been diagnosed with at least one skin cancer with the most common site being the face followed by the arms. Of those respondents reporting the diagnosis of a skin cancer, 7.9% had skin cancer on 4 or more separate locations. Proportionally, the 45–55 years group had the highest incidence, with 55.8% of this group indicating they had a skin cancer in at least one anatomical location. By comparison those in the under 35 years age group reported an incidence rate of 16.7%. The incidence of skin cancer among respondents (n = 63) reporting either, occasionally, very rarely or never wearing sunscreen, a hat or long sleeved shirt was (n = 27) 42.9, (n = 14) 22.2 and (n = 39) 61.9%, respectively. The results suggest that skin protection strategies, such as wearing a wide brimmed hat, long sleeved shirt and the use of sunscreen, may help to reduce the risk of skin cancer in cricketers

A retrospective analysis of major and significant injuries and their consequences reported by retired Australian baseball players

The purpose of this study was to establish if injuries sustained during a player’s career in baseball had consequences later in life following retirement from participation. Seventy-five retired Australian baseball players (mean age 55.8 ±11.4 years) completed a survey to establish the long-term consequences of major (i.e. those resulting in five or more consecutive weeks of training or playing being missed) and serious (i.e. those resulting in more than one week, but less than five weeks of training or playing being missed) injuries sustained during their playing careers. Players typically retire from participation in competitive baseball because of either age (33%), a combination of age and injury (25.3%) or injury (14.7%). The average overall injury rate during a playing career was 5.6 ±7.1. Respondents reported a total of 98 (26.4% of all injuries) “major” injuries (1.5 ±2.2 per respondent/playing career) and 273 (73.6%) “significant” injuries (4.1 ±6.5 per respondent/playing career). The highest number of injuries related to the upper body (n = 145) representing 59.9% of all injuries reported and 40.1% (n = 97) of injuries occurred to the lower body. Some respondents (29.3%) incurred additional medical costs and significant loss of income (12%) associated with their injuries. 5.3% of all respondents indicated their injuries had impacted on their ability to perform work for which they had been previously trained. A further 26.7% reported experiencing limitations in their ability to carry out normal leisure activities later in life. Further research is needed into the mechanisms and management of common injuries and their consequences after retirement with a view to developing strategies that may reduce their incidence/severity and possible negative impact later in life