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Study aim: To investigate age-related changes in rhythmic reproduction ability in relation to the complexity of the adopted movement task.

In general, women are well represented among sport participants and sport audiences but not in the media. Data show that women's sport is greatly under-reported and trivialized in newspapers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure press coverage during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in the largest circulating Belgian, Danish, French, and Italian daily newspapers by: (a) number of articles, (b) size, (c) page placement, (d) accompanying photographs, and (e) photograph size. For each sport covered, the athletes' nationality and the gender were recorded. Compared to the 1996 Atlanta Games, there was an increase of 326 female athletes (+4%), and women competed in 25 sports and 132 events (44%) of the total 300 events. Although only 29.3% of the articles and 38% of photos were on women's sports, the newspaper coverage was similar to the distribution of participating athletes and events. No significant gender differences were found with respect to article size, page placement, accompanying photographs, or photograph size. The most covered sport was track and field, independent of national achievement. Other sports received different coverage in relation to national expectations, achievement, and participation. In conclusion, there was a trend to overcome gender inequities in media coverage during the Olympic Games, which may be due to the International Olympic Committee's actions to promote increased participation of women in sport activities and to publicize their achievements. Moreover, during the Olympic Games, a nationalistic fervor might affect the equality of gender coverage.

The goal of the following work was to identify the effects, positive or negative, of performing group-based physical activity (GBPA) in the workplace. In addition, the scope of the present research was to investigate some social and relational aspects of medical origin associated with the Happy Bones project. The sample consisted of 28 women between 47 and 67 years old, employees of the University of Rome "Foro Italico", in menopause, and inactive. The explorative nature of the investigation and the multidimensional aspect of the variables suggested the adoption of a qualitative method. Even though the survey did not fulfil the minimum standards of representativeness, interview analysis showed a positive trend in joining physical activity in the workplace, as shown by the good compliance of the participants with the proposed workplace training protocol. Personal motivation linked to the project itself or to the corresponding activity existed albeit to a secondary extent; the unifying element of the group existed regardless of the project and was due to the home institution, hence to the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teamgym is a new and emerging closed-skill sport, which includes tumbling, trampette, and floor programs performed by teams ranging from 6 to 12 athletes. The purpose of this study was to verify the concurrent validity of the session-rating of perceived exertion ([RPE] session-RPE) to quantifying the internal training load (ITL) of tumbling, trampette, and floor training sessions using Edwards' summated heart rate (HR)-zone method as a criterion measure. Session-RPE was obtained with 2 different instruments (i.e., CR-10 Borg's scale and visual analog scale) multiplied by the training duration (minutes). Ten female teamgym athletes (age = 21.7 [+ or -] 1.2 years; height = 164.9 [+ or -] 6.6 cm; and body mass = 54.6 [+ or -] 5.4 kg) participated in this study. High and significant correlations (r range: 0.77-0.85; [R.sup.2] range: 0.59-0.85; p < 0.01) were found between Edwards' HR and the session-RPE methods and between the 2 session-RPE instruments (r range: 0.92-0.97; [R.sup.2] range: 0.85-0.94; p < 0.01). The significant (p < 0.05) differences emerged between training sessions indicate that session-RPE discriminates ITL in relation to various technical skills. Hence, session-RPE can be a useful and inexpensive tool to quantify ITL in teamgym, and coaches could use this instrument to monitor their periodization plan as experienced by the athletes. KEY WORDS rating of perceived exertion, heart rate, visual analogue scale

J Strength Cond Res 24(1): 223-229, 2010--This study aimed at comparing elite (i.e., Euro League and Italian 'Serie A1') and sub-elite (Italian 'Serie B') matches. A notational analysis was performed on 17 men's water polo matches during the 2005-2006 season to evaluate the following technical and tactical parameters of the offensive play: frequency of occurrence of the actions; mean clock-time duration; mean number of players involved and passes; frequency of occurrence of the turnovers; and frequency of occurrence of the number, outcome, position, and type of the shots. All the indicators were analyzed in relation to even (i.e., equal number of offensive and defensive players), counterattack (i.e., higher number of offensive players than that of the defense), and power play (i.e., a team defending for 20 seconds without a player because of an exclusion foul) situations. A multivariate approach (multivariate analysis of variance) was applied to the playing situations (even, counterattack, and power play) as dependent variables and competition levels (Final Four of Euro League Championship, Serie A1 Championship, and Serie B Championship) as between factor (p < 0.05). Significant differences among competition levels emerged in (a) the frequency of occurrence of counterattack and power play actions, (b) the duration of even situations, (c) the mean number of players directly involved during power play actions, (d) the mean number of the passes during even and power play actions, (e) the frequency of occurrence of the shots during counterattack and power play actions, (f) the frequency of occurrence of goals during even actions, (g) the frequency of occurrence of shots originating from different zones of the court, and (h) the type of shots performed. The present results showed that the competition level has a relevant impact on the occurrence of technical and tactical indicators especially in relation to even, counterattack, and power play situations. Thus, notational analysis proved to be a valuable tool for better coaching through the interpretation of technical and tactical aspects of water polo in relation to its competition level. KEY WORDS match analysis, technical indicators, tactical indicators, water polo players

The present study investigated differences in the relations linking anxiety, self-efficacy, and fear of injury in a group of Italian gymnasts as a function of their age, gender, and level of professional competence/competition. One hundred eighty-six gymnasts participated in the study They filled out three separate questionnaires, the Self-efficacy for Physical Abilities Scale (Bortoli & Robazza, 1996), a Trait Anxiety questionnaire (Busnelli, Dall&apos;Aglio & Faina, 1974) and the Gymnastics Fear Inventory an instrument that was specifically developed for the present study. Data were first analyzed by 2x2 ANOVAs to examine possible gender, age, and professional-level differences in the mean scores of fear, anxiety, and self-efficacy for physical abilities. Moderating group differences were then examined, that is, we evaluated the possibility that the magnitude of the relations among constructs would vary with gymnasts&apos; gender, age, and professional-level. On average, male gymnasts were less anxious and more efficacious than female gymnasts; however, gender groups did not differ on fear of physical in July. Furthermore, gymnasts with greater experience expressed more fear of physical injury than gymnasts with less experience. Despite these mean group differences, the relations linking fear of physical injury to self-efficacy and anxiety did not vary with gymnasts&apos; gender, age, and professional-level, thus indicating the generalizability of intervening processes across groups. This research provides further insight on how the professional performance of athletes significantly depends on psychological dimensions and processes of individual differences., The role that psychological factors play in influencing an athlete's performance is a topic that has received substantial attention in the psychological sport literature (Sonstroem, 1974, Corbin, Stewart & Blair, [...]

The evaluation of change-of-direction (COD) performance is strongly focused on the time spent to perform the test trials, while much less is known about the technical execution adopted during the COD movements. Thus, the purposes of this study were to evaluate (1) the relationship between straight- and COD-sprint tests and (2) the technical execution of COD movements in relation to different age categories of young rugby players. Young rugby players (N = 157, age range 8-19 y) completed a test battery composed of a 15-tn straight-sprint test (15SS) and a 15-m sprint test performed with 2 changes of direction (15COD). Significant differences were detected between age categories for both tests. Significant correlations were found between 15SS and 15COD. The analysis of the technical execution of the 15COD test showed differences between age categories, with a prevalence of rounded turns up to the U15 category. These findings confirmed the relationship between straight and COD abilities in young male rugby players. Moreover, the new approach introduced by this study, based on the analysis of COD technical execution, revealed that this performance could be conditioned by the age and mastery level of the players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To anticipate outstanding athletic outcomes, the selection process of elite athletes simultaneously considers psychophysiological and technical parameters. This study aimed to investigate whether selected and nonselected athletes for the Italian national taekwondo team could be discriminated by means of sport- specific performances and psychophysiological responses to training. Participants: 5 established Italian national athletes and 20 elite Italian taekwondo black belt athletes (9 women, 16 men; age 23.0 ±3.1 y; body mass 67.0 ± 12.1 kg). Methods: To update the Italian national-team roster, the 20 elite athletes participated in a 1-wk selection camp (7 training sessions). Selected athletes (n = 10) joined established national athletes during the following 3-wk national training period (7 training sessions/wk). During the 1-wk selection camp, differences (P < .05) between selected and nonselected athletes in performances, heart-rate responses, blood lactate accumulation [La], subjective ratings of perceived exertion (session RPE), and mood were examined. During the 3-wk national training period, differences (P < .05) in mood between selected and established national athletes were investigated. Results: With respect to nonselected athletes, selected athletes responded better to training in terms of session RPE (P = .047) and [La] (P = .046). No difference in performance and mood between subgroups emerged. After the 3-wk national training period, differences (P = .035) emerged for confusion, with decreases in the established national athletes and increases for recently selected athletes. Conclusions: Session RPE and [La] seem to be more effective than psychological measures in discriminating between elite taekwondo athletes. Evaluation of mood could be effective in monitoring athletes' response to national training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of perceived exertion (session-RPE) in quantifying internal training load in divers. Methods: Six elite divers, three males (age, 25.7 ±6.1 y; stature, 1.71 ± 0.06 m; body mass, 66.7 ± 1.2 kg) and three females (age, 25.3 ± 0.6 y; stature, 1.63 ± 0.05 m; body mass, 58.3 ± 4.0 kg) were monitored during six training sessions within a week, which included 1 m and 3 m springboard dives. The Edwards summated heart rate zone method was used as a reference measure; the session-RPE rating was obtained using the CR-10 Borg scale modified by Foster and the 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS). Results: Significant correlations were found between CR-10 and VAS session-RPE and the Edwards summated heart rate zone method for training sessions (r range: 0.71-0.96; R2 range: 0.50-0.92; P < 0.01 ) and for divers (r range: 0.67-0.96; R2 range: 0.44-0.92; P < 0.01). Conclusions: These findings suggest that session-RPE can be useful for monitoring internal training load in divers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of the present retrospective observational study was to evaluate the time of functional recovery following a specific combined therapeutic approach characterized by an active exercise therapy carried out immediately after Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for the treatment of the muscular lesion of the distal musculotendinous junction of the gastrocnemius medial head.Medical records of 31 subjects treated with three PRP intra-lesional ultrasound guided injections and 30 patients treated with the standard therapeutic approach (control group) were analyzed. Both groups followed the same rehabilitation therapy. Patients in the control group were able to start active exercise with a significant delay when compared to the PRP treated subjects: 17 ± 7.2 days and 9 ± 3.8 days (p = 0.0001), respectively. This delay was mainly due to the persistence of pain in the subjects in the control group. The time necessary to return to walk without pain was significantly shorter in the PRP treated group: 24.27 ± 12.36 days versus 52.4 ± 20.03 days in the control group (p < 0.001) as well as the time needed to fully return to practice the previous sport activity: 53.33 ± 27.74 days versus 119.3 ± 43.87 days in the control group (p < 0.001).The present study showed that ultrasound guided delivery of PRP into the site of muscle injury has to be considered a valid therapeutic approach with the potentiality of significantly reduce time and costs for reaching a complete functional recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]