The purpose of this paper was to profile game strategy used by world’s top female squash players in international competitions using postevent notational analysis methods. A total of 10 matches from the Ladies Hong Kong Open 1993 and 1994 were selected for analysis. A total of 15 right-handed competitors, who were ranked in the top 15 in the world at that time, were involved in the matches. Matches were played under the International scoring system. A 3-CDD video camera, positioned behind the court, was used to record the player’s performance throughout the matches. Frame-by-frame video notation was used to record the player, the kind of stroke, the position where the stroke was made, and the success or failure of that stroke. Shots were classified as “effective”, “ineffective”, “winning” and “losing” shots. Statistics show that the mean number of games per match was 4, rallies per game was 13.57 and shots per rally was 12.44. Of all the shots, 57.13% were “effective”, 31.36% were “ineffective”, 6.24% were “winning” and 5.27% were “losing” shots. Over half (62.01%) of all shots played were the drive, followed by drop (18.20%), volley (11.23%), boast (5.06%) and lob (3.50%). Of all shots played, 43.81% were in the back left court, 32.66% in the back right court, 13.04% in the front left court, and 10.49% in the front right court, showing that these right-handed players preferred to attack the backhand of the opponent. The drive (45.9%) was found to provide the greatest contribution shots to winning scores, with the next greatest being the drop (27.9%), then the volley (20.2), the boast (5.6%) and, finally, the lob (0.5%). Almost an equal number of cross-court shots and straight shots were played. In an average game, the winner played 50% more winning shots than the losing player, showing that in high level competition of female squash, the attacking shots, which produce the most winning scores, are required for success.
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Game Strategy Used by the World’s Top Female Squash Players in International Competition - A Notational Analysis
Youlian Hong, Paul D. Robinson, and Wan Ka Chan
Personal Distances of Squash and Badminton Players: A Preliminary Study
Martin J. Lee and Hilary Roberts
Quantifying Hitting Load in Racket Sports: A Scoping Review of Key Technologies
Quim Brich, Martí Casals, Miguel Crespo, Machar Reid, and Ernest Baiget
,546) and 2,28,139 (SD: 50,707), respectively. In the case of other racket sports, hitting load has been reported in elite badminton, 36 squash, 37 and padel 38 players. Although some studies have quantified the hitting load in high-level athletes, stroke quantification is typically not monitored at the
Athlete Perceptions of Coaching Effectiveness and Athlete-Level Outcomes in Team and Individual Sports: A Cross-Cultural Investigation
Ahmad F. Mohd Kassim and Ian D. Boardley
]) and individual (squash [ n = 47], table tennis [ n = 48], and golf [ n = 44]) sports in the midlands region of the UK; various competitive standards were represented (i.e., local = 25, university = 105, regional = 79, national = 24, international = 4). Athletes’ ages ranged from 16 to 41 years ( M
Effect of Warm-Up and Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on 4-km Cycling Time-Trial Performance
William H. Gurton, Steve H. Faulkner, and Ruth M. James
. Determination of Time-to-Peak HCO 3 − The second laboratory visit was conducted to identify time-to-peak HCO 3 − following the ingestion of 0.3 g·kg BM −1 NaHCO 3 . Beverages were administered in 5 mL·kg BM −1 fluid (3:2, water and sugar-free orange squash) and consumed within 5 minutes. Capillary blood
The Use of Imagery by Athletes in Selected Sports
Craig R. Hall, Wendy M. Rodgers, and Kathryn A. Barr
The use of imagery by athletes was assessed by administering a 37-item questionnaire to a sample of 381 male and female participants from six sports. The sample comprised competitors in the sports of football, ice hockey, soccer, squash, gymnastics, and figure skating. Athletes reported using imagery more in conjunction with competition than with practice. The motivational function of imagery was found to be important, but no substantial differences were evident between how athletes employ visual and kinesthetic imagery or how they use internal and external imagery perspectives. Athletes also indicated that they do not have very structured or regular imagery sessions. The level at which athletes were competing (recreational/house league, local competitive, provincial competitive, national/international competitive) was found to influence imagery use. The higher the competitive level, the more often the athletes reported using imagery in practice, in competition, and before an event.
The Stakeholder Dilemma in Sport Governance: Toward the Notion of “Stakeowner”
Lesley Ferkins and David Shilbury
This study is positioned within the nonprofit sport context and builds on an emerging body of work in sport governance to investigate how nonprofit sport organizations can develop their governing capability. A rich data set derived from a 2-year action research study in an Australian state sport organization revealed a lack of stakeholder engagement underpinned by confusion about stakeholder-governing responsibility as the central issues in developing governance capability. The lessons drawn from the Squash Vic experience integrated with sport governance literature and stakeholder theory show the need to embed the notion of stakeholder salience or primacy to explain and clarify the dilemma of multiple stakeholders and the lack of stakeholder engagement in the governing process. We introduce Fassin’s (2012) notion of “stakeowner” and associated ideas of reciprocity and responsibility as a helpful characterization of the legal members in the stakeholdergovernance relationship.
Causal Attributions of Winners and Losers in Individual Competitive Sports: Toward a Reformulation of the Self-Serving Bias
Melvin M. Mark, Manette Mutrie, David R. Brooks, and Dorothy V. Harris
The achievement oriented world of sport has been a frequent setting for the study of attributions for success and failure. However, it may be inappropriate to generalize from previous research to attributions made in actual, organized, competitive, individual sports because previous studies suffer from one or more of three characteristics which may limit their generalizability to such settings: previous studies have employed novel tasks, staged the competition for research purposes, or examined attribution about team success or failure. The present research was conducted (a) to avoid these limitations to generalizability, (b) to examine whether competitors who differ in experience or ability make different attributions for success and failure, and (c) to employ an attribution measure that does not rely too much on the researchers' interpretation of the subjects' attributions as past techniques have done. Two studies were conducted examining the attributions made by winners and losers in the second round of organized squash (Study 1) and racquetball (Study 2) tournaments. Subjects reported their attributions on the Causal Dimension Scale developed by Russell (1982). Results indicate no difference between players of different experience/ability levels. In addition, winners and losers did not differ in the locus of causality of their attributions, but winners, relative to losers, made more stable and controllable attributions. Implications of these results were discussed first in terms of the debate over self-serving bias in attributions, and second, in terms of the effects of ability and experience on attributions.
Energy Deficiency, Menstrual Disturbances, and Low Bone Mass: What Do Exercising Australian Women Know About the Female Athlete Triad?
Stephanie M. Miller, Sonja Kukuljan, Anne I. Turner, Paige van der Pligt, and Gaele Ducher
Purpose:
Prevention of the female athlete triad is essential to protect female athletes’ health. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of regularly exercising adult women in Australia toward eating patterns, menstrual cycles, and bone health.
Methods:
A total of 191 female exercisers, age 18–40 yr, engaging in ≥2 hr/wk of strenuous activity, completed a survey. After 11 surveys were excluded (due to incomplete answers), the 180 participants were categorized into lean-build sports (n = 82; running/athletics, triathlon, swimming, cycling, dancing, rowing), non-lean-build sports (n = 94; basketball, netball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, tennis, trampoline, squash, Australian football), or gym/fitness activities (n = 4).
Results:
Mean (± SD) training volume was 9.0 ± 5.5 hr/wk, with participants competing from local up to international level. Only 10% of respondents could name the 3 components of the female athlete triad. Regardless of reported history of stress fracture, 45% of the respondents did not think that amenorrhea (absence of menses for ≥3 months) could affect bone health, and 22% of those involved in lean-build sports would do nothing if experiencing amenorrhea (vs. 3.2% in non-lean-build sports, p = .005). Lean-build sports, history of amenorrhea, and history of stress fracture were all significantly associated with not taking action in the presence of amenorrhea (all p < .005).
Conclusions:
Few active Australian women are aware of the detrimental effects of menstrual dysfunction on bone health. Education programs are needed to prevent the female athlete triad and ensure that appropriate actions are taken by athletes when experiencing amenorrhea.
Ingestion of Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3) Following a Fatiguing Bout of Exercise Accelerates Postexercise Acid-Base Balance Recovery and Improves Subsequent High-Intensity Cycling Time to Exhaustion
Lewis A. Gough, Steven Rimmer, Callum J. Osler, and Matthew F. Higgins
This study evaluated the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) on postexercise acid-base balance recovery kinetics and subsequent high-intensity cycling time to exhaustion. In a counterbalanced, crossover design, nine healthy and active males (age: 23 ± 2 years, height: 179 ± 5 cm, body mass: 74 ± 9 kg, peak mean minute power (Wpeak) 256 ± 45 W, peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) 46 ± 8 ml.kg-1.min-1) performed a graded incremental exercise test, two familiarization and two experimental trials. Experimental trials consisted of cycling to volitional exhaustion (TLIM1) at 100% WPEAK on two occasions (TLIM1 and TLIM2) interspersed by a 90 min passive recovery period. Using a double-blind approach, 30 min into a 90 min recovery period participants ingested either 0.3 g.kg-1 body mass sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or a placebo (PLA) containing 0.1 g.kg-1 body mass sodium chloride (NaCl) mixed with 4 ml.kg-1 tap water and 1 ml.kg-1 orange squash. The mean differences between TLIM2 and TLIM1 was larger for PLA compared with NaHCO3 (-53 ± 53 vs. -20 ± 48 s; p = .008, d = 0.7, CI =-0.3, 1.6), indicating superior subsequent exercise time to exhaustion following NaHCO3. Blood lactate [Bla-] was similar between treatments post TLIM1, but greater for NaHCO3 post TLIM2 and 5 min post TLIM2. Ingestion of NaHCO3 induced marked increases (p < .01) in both blood pH (+0.07 ± 0.02, d = 2.6, CI = 1.2, 3.7) and bicarbonate ion concentration [HCO3 -] (+6.8 ± 1.6 mmo.l-1, d = 3.4, CI = 1.8, 4.7) compared with the PLA treatment, before TLIM2. It is likely both the acceleration of recovery, and the marked increases of acid-base after TLIM1 contributed to greater TLIM2 performance compared with the PLA condition.
