Volume 34 (2024): Issue 6 (Nov 2024)
Assessing the Use of Recommended Practices in Adapted Physical Activity/Education Experiential-Learning Programs
Layne Case, Joonkoo Yun, Megan MacDonald, Bridget E. Hatfield, and Samuel W. Logan
This study investigated the use of recommended practices in university-based experiential learning associated with adapted physical activity and education (APA/E) undergraduate courses. Participants (N = 165) were instructors of APA/E courses with an experiential-learning component and/or professionals involved in APA/E experiential-learning programs at their university. Participants completed an online questionnaire designed to describe program characteristics and evaluate the use of two sets of practices, including those recommended for involving students and people with disabilities. Findings highlight low proportions of the use of practices recommended for people with disabilities and indicate that significantly more practices recommended for students were implemented (Z = −10.45, p < .001). Findings from this study have several implications for evaluation and intervention in APA/E experiential learning, such as including the disability community in planning and designing programming to benefit both students and people with disabilities. Instructors should aim to increase their implementation of practices recommended for involving people with disabilities.
La reconnaissance du sport pour handicapés physiques par l’État français: gestion des effets inattendus d’une scission fédérale (1963–1977)
Sylvain Ferez and Sébastien Ruffié
After being founded in 1963, the Fédération Sportive des Handicapés Physiques de France (FSHPF) began a timid move towards regional structuring, with the creation of a Comité Régional Lyonnais-Forez-Dauphiné-Savoie (CR-LFDS) – alongside that of Ⓘle-de-France – in 1965. From 1968 onwards, the strengthening of links with the French State Department for Youth and Sport helped to accentuate this movement. The FSHPF, renamed the FFSHP in 1968, finally obtained a delegation of powers from this department on 20 June 1972. This article looks at the conditions and reasons for this accelerated recognition by the State. It puts forward the hypothesis that it was paradoxically the result of the crisis that led to the split into two federal organisations in early 1972 (the FFSHP and the FFOHP, created on the initiative of the president of the CR-LFDS). This hypothesis is explored by crossing the archives of the Department of State for Youth and Sport and those of the two rival federations (as well as testimonies collected from the leaders of the time). These archives shed light on the tensions generated in the early 1970s by the organisation of international sporting events and the desire to control the development of a growing sport for the physically disabled. In 1971–1972, the crisis that erupted around the organisation of the “World Winter Games” helped the FFSHP gain the status of a delegated federation, a prerequisite for its entry into the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) in 1973 and the secondment of technical advisors by the State (1976).
NATA News and Notes
“One Day . . . It Won’t Be a Big Story”: Analyzing the Media Response to Female National Football League Coaches
Katie Taylor
In 2015, Dr. Jen Welter became the first woman to coach in the National Football League (NFL). Other female coaches followed. Yet, sports-studies scholars know little about the media’s response to these football pioneers. This paper presents critical themes on how popular media discussed female coaches by analyzing the hiring announcements of four women who coach or have coached in the NFL. Utilizing a critical feminist lens, this paper demonstrates that media outlets reproduced conventional media tropes by reassuring readers that women have the requisite knowledge, trivializing women’s achievements, underscoring the need for male player support, emphasizing appearance, and permitting sexist comments. However, it is evident that online publishers are simultaneously making progress. In most cases, the articles represented the coaches in ways that differ from how female athletes have been historically depicted. This research reveals nonlinear and incremental progress toward gender equality in football.
Physical Determinants of Sprint and Long Jump Performance in Male Youth Track-and-Field Athletes With Differing Maturity Statuses
James Baker, Paul Read, Philip Graham-Smith, Mauricio Monaco, Evdokia Varamenti, Marco Cardinale, and Thomas W. Jones
Purpose: This study examined the physical determinants of 60-m sprint and long jump (LJ) performance and differences between maturity groups in physical characteristics in young male track-and-field athletes. Methods: Competition results, countermovement jump, isometric leg press, 10-5 repeated jump test, and 50-m sprint were collected over 3 seasons for 54 male athletes (age 13 [1] y; stature 160.0 [8.9] cm; body mass, 48.0 [9.8] kg; percentage predicted adult height 92.2% [5.5%]) grouped by maturity status: approaching- (n = 16), circa- (n = 19), and post-peak height velocity (PHV) (n = 19). Results: There were significant between-group differences in 60 m, LJ, and all physical testing variables (P < .001, g = 0.88–5.44) when comparing the approaching- and circa-PHV groups with the post-PHV group. Significant differences were identified between the approaching- and circa-PHV groups in 40-m (P = .033, g = 0.89), 50-m (P = .024, g = 1.64), and 60-m (P < .001, g = 0.89) sprint times. Countermovement jump and 50-m sprint variables were consistently important for projection of 60 m and LJ performance across the valid multivariate models. Conclusions: Large differences in performance across maturity groups highlight the importance of understanding athletes’ maturity status to accurately interpret performance. Several physical performance variables were important for projecting competition 60 m and LJ performance.
Women Movement Behaviors During Pregnancy and 2 Years After Childbirth: Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, Sleep, and Rhythm Changes in a Brazilian Birth Cohort
Andrea Wendt, Rafaela Costa Martins, Adriana Kramer Fiala Machado, Luiza I.C. Ricardo, Shana Ginar da Silva, Bruna Gonçalves Cordeiro da Silva, Gregore I. Mielke, Marlos Rodrigues Domingues, Pedro C. Hallal, and Inácio Crochemore-Silva
Objective: To describe physical activity (PA), sleep, and rhythm patterns during 24-hr cycles from the second trimester of pregnancy up to 2 years after childbirth. Methods: This longitudinal study used data from mothers of the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort (Brazil). Women were invited to wear the accelerometer during 7 days on the nondominant wrist during the second trimester of pregnancy and 2 years after childbirth. Data collected included PA, sleep, and rhythm variables. We compared the means/medians of variables during the pregnancy and 2 years after the childbirth. We also describe the shape of acceleration across the day in the two evaluated periods and stratified this curve according to covariables. Results: This study includes data from 1,293 women with valid accelerometer data for both periods. The nonbouted moderate-to-vigorous PA average was 94 min during pregnancy and increased to 122 min 2 years after childbirth (p < .001). Sleep decreased by 11 min (388–377 min; p < .001) in the evaluated period. The pattern of acceleration across the day did not change in the evaluated period with two marked spikes of activity at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The amount of activity, however, increased. Conclusions: These findings may be helpful to better understand changes in PA and sleep during this specific period of life and assist in planning recommendations.
24-Hour Movement Behaviors of LGBTQA+ Young People: A Systematic Review
Kathryn Fortnum, Sjaan R. Gomersall, Megan H. Ross, James Woodforde, George Thomas, Yu-Shu Wen, Francisco Perales, and Michalis Stylianou
Background: The movement behaviors of LGBTQA+ young people, who encounter specific health, and other, challenges are not well understood. This systematic review examines the 24-hour movement behaviors of LGBTQA+ young people compared with population estimates of meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines. Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to January 2024. Observational studies published in English and reporting quantitative data for physical activity, sedentary behavior, or sleep duration for LGBTQA+ individuals <24 years old were included. Data were narratively synthesized for children/adolescents (<18 years) and young adults (18–24 years), guided by the Cochrane Synthesis Without Meta-analysis guidelines. Results: Fifty-six studies were included; 46 were of “fair” quality and 37 were conducted in the United States. Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep outcomes were reported in 46, 11, and 14 studies, respectively. Ninety unique LGBTQA+ terms were identified. Based on outcomes reported in ≥1 study, and compared to population estimates, LGBTQA+ young people were less likely to meet aerobic physical activity and strength/resistance training guidelines. LGBTQA+ children/adolescents were less likely to meet the sleep guidelines. Young adults demonstrated similar adherence to sleep guidelines as population estimates. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that LGBTQA+ young people have suboptimal 24-hour movement behaviors; in some cases, worse than population estimates. Utilization of more robust measures of exposure and outcome variables is recommended, with a focus on sleep and sedentary behavior.
Impact of Generalized Versus Individualized Load–Velocity Equations on Velocity-Loss Magnitude in Bench-Press Exercise: Mixed-Model and Equivalence Analysis
Miguel Sánchez-Moreno, Beatriz Bachero-Mena, Juan Sánchez-Valdepeñas, Fabio Yuzo Nakamura, and Fernando Pareja-Blanco
Purpose: This study analyzed the influence of 2 velocity-based training-load prescription strategies (general vs individual load–velocity equations) on the relationship between the magnitude of velocity loss (VL) and the percentage of repetitions completed in the bench-press exercise. Methods: Thirty-five subjects completed 6 sessions consisting of performing the maximum number of repetitions to failure against their 40%, 60%, and 80% of 1-repetition maximum (1RM) in the Smith machine bench-press exercise using generalized and individualized equations to adjust the training load. Results: A close relationship and acceptable error were observed between percentage of repetitions completed and the percentage of VL reached for the 3 loading magnitudes and the 2 load-prescription strategies studied (R 2 from .83 to .94; standard error of the estimate from 7% to 10%). A simple main effect was observed for load and VL thresholds but not for load-prescription strategies. No significant interaction effects were revealed. The 40% and 60% 1RM showed equivalence on data sets and the most regular variation, whereas the 80% 1-repetition maximum load showed no equivalence and more irregular variation. Conclusion: These results suggest that VL is a useful variable to predict percentage of repetitions completed in the bench-press exercise, regardless of the strategy selected to adjust the relative load. However, caution should be taken when using heavy loads.
“It’s Like This One Man’s Baby”: Gender and Decision-Making Power in Sport for Development and Peace Organizations
Lucy V. Piggott
Within this article, the author draws on Rao et al.’s theory of the deep structure of organizations to analyze the extent to which decision-making power across sport for development and peace organizations is gender inclusive. Findings from interviews with women and men leaders indicate that decision-making power across the organizations is inclusive to women, with women holding positional power and having a voice to influence. However, the author emphasizes that caution must be taken in claiming that such decision-making power is fully gender inclusive. This is because “women” in positions of power mostly represent privileged profiles, and men hold the most powerful positions. These findings are strongly linked to the origin stories of the organizations, with all having men (co)founders. The gendered implications of such men-dominated organizational histories were found to span both inward- and outward-facing organizational elements and were reported to be difficult to challenge.
