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This study aimed to conduct an updated exploration of the ratio of male and female participants in sport and exercise science research. Publications involving humans were examined from The European Journal of Sports Science, Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, The Journal of Sport Science & Medicine, The Journal of Physiology, The American Journal of Sports Medicine, and The British Journal of Sports Medicine , 2014–2020. The total number of participants, the number of male and female participants, the title, and the topic, were recorded for each publication. Data were expressed in frequencies and percentages. Chi-square analyses were used to assess the differences in frequencies in each of the journals. About 5,261 publications and 12,511,386 participants were included in the analyses. Sixty-three percentage of publications included both males and females, 31% included males only, and 6% included females only (p < .0001). When analyzing participants included in all journals, a total of 8,253,236 (66%) were male and 4,254,445 (34%) were female (p < .0001). Females remain significantly underrepresented within sport and exercise science research. Therefore, at present most conclusions made from sport and exercise science research might only be applicable to one sex. As such, researchers and practitioners should be aware of the ongoing sex data gap within the current literature, and future research should address this.

Previous research suggests that sport media provide one avenue for boys and girls to learn what and who is valued in sport. We explored girl and boy athletes’ perceptions of photographs of female college athletes, which provided insight into young athletes gendered perceptions of athletes and sport. Sixty-nine sportskids participated in focus group interviews where they discussed what they liked and disliked about a series of photographs of college female athletes. Framed by feminist cultural studies, the authors situated their analysis within the current historical moment bounded by young athletes’ post-Title IX and postfeminist sensibilities. The authors present their appraisals of a few exemplar images that characterize themes that appeared across the whole photo collection. Emergent themes included gendered sport terrain, which situates their comments within the gendered milieu of their sport experiences. Data also revealed themes associated with the select images: female athleticism, inspiration versus objectification, transgressing heteronormative femininity, and sporty cute. Overall, both girls and boys struggled with images that were interpreted as too feminine or too muscular/masculine. These data also point to how little has changed in the past 50 years regarding how female athletes are culturally constructed. While the borders of acceptability may have shifted, female athletes continue tenuous navigation of socially acceptable boundaries of athleticism, femininity, and muscularity while masculine privilege in sport continues and the presence of females in sport is framed by a heterosexual male gaze.

The purpose of the current investigation was to report acceleration and deceleration match data in female collegiate soccer players and compare between positions and game halves. A total of 24 players (11 defenders, five midfielders, and eight forwards) (age: M = 19.1, SD = 1.2 years; height: M = 1.64, SD = 0.05 m; and mass: M = 62.2, SD = 5.8 kg) underwent global positioning system monitoring and performance testing. Forwards covered significantly more distance per minute during high-intensity running (effect size [d]: 0.49) and sprinting (d = 0.64) when compared to midfielders across 16 matches for players logging  22.5 min per half. Significant and meaningful positional differences were determined with forwards covering the greatest average distance per acceleration efforts (d = 0.55) and initiating acceleration and deceleration efforts from a greater initial speed (ds = 0.57 and 0.69). When analyzing across all matches for players logging ≥ 40 min per half, second half decreases occurred in the number of accelerations (p < .001; d = 1.98) and decelerations (p < .001; d = 1.92), average distance of accelerations (p < .001; d = 0.83) and decelerations (p = .03; d = 1.30), and starting speed of accelerations (p = .01; d = 0.92) and decelerations (p = .04; d = 1.28). These results provide useful context when interpreting global positioning system–derived player-tracking metrics and can improve positional-specific training programs.

Experiences of puberty and how individuals adapt to puberty may be integral to success in ballet; however, there is a paucity of current research in this area. This study explores the lived experiences of nine professional ballet dancers to capture the journey of negotiating puberty in a ballet context. An interpretative phenomenological analysis approach was employed with semistructured interviews utilized to gather rich, descriptive accounts from nine professional ballet dancers from the United Kingdom and United States. Lived experiences were characterized by conflict and struggle, coming to terms with physical changes and possessing grit and grace in order to successfully negotiate puberty, and to succeed and survive in professional ballet. Accepting physical and esthetic strengths and weaknesses and learning how to adapt or how to compensate for weaknesses was described as pivotal. Factors such as social support, the timing and extent of pubertal changes, dance teacher behaviors, and the ballet training context influenced the extent to which dancers experienced conflict and struggle and how easily they were able to come to terms with their adult physique. Further research is needed to explore the implications of maturing and developing within the context of ballet training and to develop strategies to better facilitate healthy development in ballet.

Strength and conditioning (S&C) has become a chief part of athletes’ physiological preparation. Despite S&C’s growing presence across sports, women coaches have been generally marginalized and underrepresented. This study explores female S&C coaches’ experiences and coping mechanisms in a male-dominated industry. Semi-structured interviews with 15 female S&C coaches were conducted. The main themes identified from interview data are organizational politics, impression management, and humor. The findings suggest that women S&C coaches are often in subservient positions and have to adopt some traditional, male-generated subcultural practices to fit in. They carefully manage their coaching front stage to generate an impression that is expected and accepted in the given milieu. In their efforts to fit in, women often find themselves in a multiplicity of power matrices that involve a continuous negotiation of gender identity, internal politics, and sexist banter.

The countermovement jump test (CMJ) is commonly used as an indicator of the anaerobic capacity of the lower limbs. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the CMJ with arm swing and the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) among female volleyball and football players. A group of first league female volleyball club players (VG, n = 12, age = 24.2 years), a group of first league female football club players (FG, n = 12, age = 20.6 years), and a control group (CG, n = 10, age = 20.4 years) participated in this research. The measurements of selected somatic features were carried out. The CMJ and WAnT were used to assess the explosive strength and maximum muscle power of the lower extremities. An analysis of variance test demonstrated differences between the VG and FG in terms of height (p < .001), body weight (p < .001), and lean body mass (p < .001). In the FG and VG groups, correlations between CMJ and maximum anaerobic power as determined by WAnT were r = .82 and r = .57, respectively. There was not statistically significant differences between values of these coefficients. The obtained results showed a potentially lean body mass influence on the results of the CMJ in VG. In women’s football and volleyball, the results of the CMJ are strongly correlated with the power parameters registered with the WAnT. In volleyball, players’ coaches should include a measurement of lean body mass in the assessment peak power by vertical jump tests.

The purpose of the current study was to explore, via interview, how and why women felt their physical activity levels and active lifestyles had been affected by COVID-19. Telephone interviews were conducted with 23 women, aged between 28 and 52 years from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds in the United Kingdom. Based on reflexive thematic analysis, the perceived reduction in exercise and the increase in sedentary behavior that many of these women experienced were felt to be a result of the physical restrictions imposed through gym and leisure-facility closure, the change in circumstance (both work and home life), the perceived risks associated with exercising during a pandemic, as well as a lack of peer support. In contrast, some women experienced increased opportunity and time to exercise, which they felt benefited their health. For any future pandemic-related restrictions, exercise practitioners should consider promoting exercise with others in a safe environment in order to ensure that women’s healthy exercise and lifestyle behaviors are maintained.