Sports Studies Commons^™

Self-Agency And Swimming: Letting Babies Be Your Teachers, Stephen J. Langendorfer Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Young children learning to swim should be afforded the freedom to choose for themselves whether they submerge, float, or have their arms and legs manipulated.

Can You Float? Part 2 - Perceptions And Practice Of Lifejacket Use Among Young Adults, Kevin Moran Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Personal flotation devices (PFDs), commonly referred to as lifejackets, have been identified as an extremely effective form of drowning prevention and was identified as a critical distinct water competency by Stallman and colleagues (2017). In this second phase of the Can You Float? study, perceptions and practice of a range of lifejacket tasks among students (N = 40) with known water proficiency were examined. Participants estimated exertion levels before and after practical testing of six simulated survival tasks when wearing lifejackets. All participants completed a 25m sprint swim, 5-minute endurance swim, 5-minute float, and 25m partner assist but many …

An Investigation Of Youth Swimming Skills And Method Of Instruction, Carol C. Irwin, Jennifer R. Pharr, Todd E. Layne, Richard L. Irwin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is a leading cause of death for US children. Teaching youth to swim in a formal setting from certified instructors is a consistent drowning prevention recommendation. Purposes for this investigation was to examine type of swimming instruction and ability to swim and compare to attitudes toward swimming among US youth. Methods were similar to previous USA Swimming studies in 2008 and 2010. YMCA associations in five cities were used to recruit adolescent survey respondents (n=600) aged 12-18 years. Results showed African American youth had the lowest rate of formal swimming instruction (29%) compared to White (32%) and Hispanic (42%) …

An Examination Of The Severity Of Aquatic Incidents, Lyndsey K. Lanagan-Leitzel

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Lanagan-Leitzel (2012) found that lifeguards do not consistently report incidents when free-viewing aquatic scenes and miss some incidents that should be considered critical. This could have been because they did not know what incidents were critical to monitor or because they were busy monitoring other incidents. In the current study, lifeguards and non-lifeguards were presented with video clips of isolated incidents and rated the severity of each on a scale of 0 – 7. The lifeguards reported greater mean and maximum incident severity than non-lifeguards. Further analyses of lifeguard responses revealed that severity ratings were only moderately correlated to the …

Triennial Scientific Review: Assisting Drowning Victims: Effective Water Rescue Equipment For Lay-Responders, Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The original question addressed in the scientific review was What is the most effective piece of rescue equipment for a lay responder to throw to a person in trouble in water? and the modified question was rephrased as What are the most effective types of aquatic rescue equipment for a layperson/bystander to use to rescue a drowning person? To thoroughly analyze the main question, the following sub-questions were examined: What are the most accurate and buoyant types of devices? What specific equipment is best for quick rescues? What specific equipment can be grasped most easily by drowning victims? This …

Association Between Perceived Physical Activity And Cognitive Function In Older Adults, Paul D. Loprinzi, Emily Frith

Faculty and Student Publications

© The Author(s) 2018. There is irrefutable evidence that regular participation in physical activity is favorably associated with numerous positive health outcomes, including cognitive function. Emerging work suggests that perceived physical activity, independent of actual physical activity behavior, is inversely associated with mortality risk. In this study, we evaluate whether perceived physical activity, independent of actual physical activity, is associated with cognitive function, a robust indicator of mortality risk. Data from the cross-sectional 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed (N = 2352; 60+ years of age). Actual physical activity was assessed via a validated survey. Perceived physical …

Revised Scientific Review: Minimum Age For Swim Lessons, Stephen J. Langendorfer Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The question addressed in the original scientific review (2009) was rephrased as Does sufficient scientific evidence exist to support setting a minimum age for swimming lessons? for this triennial review. Addressing the research question is significant because strong differences of opinion about the appropriate age(s) for initiating learn-to-swim lessons have existed among the pediatric medical profession, aquatic professionals and agencies, and proprietary programs and swim schools for over four decades. The question has implications for the appropriate purposes, pedagogies, and outcomes associated with swimming experiences for infants and young children that will be addressed in a subsequent review. The revised …

Risk Factors For Boating Incidents In Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, Catherine Tr Glass, Audrey R. Giles

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Injury prevention programs that focus on boating and water safety in the Northwest Territories (NWT) have existed for decades; however, rates of boating incidents are much higher in the NWT than southern Canada. To better understand this health disparity, we engaged in community-based participatory research informed by postcolonial feminist theory to examine Aboriginal men’s understandings of the risk factors that contribute to boating incidents in Inuvik, NWT. Participants identified four main risk factors for boating incidents in Inuvik: 1) Gender, 2) age, 3) place, and 4) lack of boating safety education. As a result of these findings and the ways …

Examining The Perceived Impacts Of Recreational Swimming Lessons For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Erin Kraft M.A. Ed.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived impacts of recreational swimming lesson participation for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Although swimming lessons are a suitable form of physical activity for children with ASD, minimal research has examined the impacts of these lessons. The author conducted semi-structured interviews with an Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) certified therapist and a swim instructor, each with experience working with children with ASD in swimming lessons. The participants suggested that swimming lessons encouraged children with ASD to socialise. Both participants agreed that distractions in swimming lessons and barriers in communication created challenges …

Editorial: Born To Swim?, Stephen J. Langendorfer Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Can a child's eventual swim kick and stroke preference be predicted shortly after birth? Read this editorial....

Can You Float? Part I - Perceptions And Practice Of Unsupported Flotation Competency Among Young Adults, Kevin Moran Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The capacity to maintain the airway through buoyancy control when immersed in water is critical in preventing drowning (Stallman, Moran, Quan & Langendorfer, 2017). In this first phase of the Can you Float? study, perceived and real unsupported flotation competency of a group of students (n=37) with known water proficiency was examined. Using a modified version of Borgs Rating of Perceived exertion (RPE), participants were asked to estimate exertion levels before and after a practical test of five stationary floating tasks of increasing difficulty ranging from treading water to motionless floating. Most participants (82%) were able to tread water for …

Acute Exercise And Mindfulness Meditation On Learning And Memory: Randomized Controlled Intervention, Malina Austin, Paul D. Loprinzi

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the potential combined effects of acute exercise and mindfulness mediation on episodic memory. Methods: All data collection occurred in the authors’ laboratory (January to May of 2019). In this three-arm, within-subject design, participants (N=20; Mage=21.6 years) completed three counterbalanced laboratory visits, including Exercise Only, Exercise + Meditation and Control. Learning and memory were assessed from a word-list task. A one-factor repeated-measures ANOVA was computed for two memory outcomes, including the learning outcome (average performance across the 6 trials) and the long-term memory recall (10-minute delay). Results: The …

Athletic Identity, Need Satisfaction, And Burnout In Collegiate Athletes, Rachel Brooke Daniels

Online Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: The relationship between need satisfaction and burnout has been well defined in literature, but studies of the relationship between athletic identity and burnout have produced varying results. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that may contribute to burnout in athletes by determining the direction and strength of a relationship between burnout, athletic identity, and need satisfaction.

METHODS: In this study, an online survey was distributed to a population of NCAA Division I varsity and club student-athletes. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), the Basic Need Satisfaction in Sport Scale …

Pressure To Be Perfect: Eating Disorders In Sports, Genevieve Nitzsche

Writing Across the Curriculum

Eating disorders have become more prevalent in recent years as societal standards have gotten harsher. Typically, when people think about the type of people who develop eating disorders, the first thing that pops into their head is not athletes. There is an association between athletes and the need for great amounts of food to fuel their bodies. However, in sports such as wrestling and aesthetic sports, like gymnastics and figure skating, the emphasis of image and the pressure from their coaches can be extremely harmful to their mental health. This paper discusses specific statistics of the incidence of eating disorders …

Glycemic Control In A Type I Diabetic Athlete: Recommendations For Athletic Trainers In Management, Athlete Care, And Performance, Megan Whyte

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Type I diabetes in athletes is a relatively rare condition and as a certified athletic trainer it is critical to know how to manage all aspects of this disease in an athlete. Current National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) guidelines exist for developing a basic plan for management and care of an athlete with Type I Diabetes, but there is room to improve current guidelines, using evidence-based practice. Purpose: to address: medical management of a type I diabetic athlete as a case study, obtain first person observations from the athlete’s perspective, and provide additional evidence based practice recommendations to athletic trainers …

The Relationship Between Campus Wellness Center Usage And Symptoms Of Depression In College Freshmen, Allison Leonard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is limited research done on the relationship between the program utilization at a campus wellness facility and the symptoms of depression in college freshmen. College students have been found to have a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than the general population, possibly due to the stressors college life can add. Studies have been done on the effects of physical activity as an intervention for depression as well as on the benefits of campus wellness facilities; however, there have been few studies that look at both campus recreation and depression. The author’s purpose for this study was to see if …

Analysis Of Perceptual-Motor Calibration Processes In Indoor Climbing, Andrew Stephen Walsh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research programme examines how people perceive maximal reach-and grasp-ness in climbing, and as such these questions will be limited to climbing.

Is experienced gained from performing daily submaximal reaching sufficient for the accurate perception of maximal horizontal reaching affordances in rock climbing?

How is perception of maximal horizontal boundary of reach-and grasp-ness affected by: hold size, body position, additional load, or fatigue.

How will inducing fatigue affect how a participant calibrates distance and their movement economy?

The Application Of Maximal Mean And Critical Speed And Metabolic Powers For The Quantification Of External Load In Soccer, Cameron Nicholas Lord

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In Association football, often referred to as “soccer”, competitive match play is typically known to represent the greatest physical demand that players experience. The demands associated with match running performance may impact training outcomes and injury risk. As a result, practitioners evaluate these demands to ensure that performance is optimised. To assist in this process, global positioning systems (GPS) are typically used to quantify displacement variables and, more recently, the interaction between running speed and acceleration. However, traditional player monitoring methods tend to apply identical and somewhat arbitrary displacement, velocity and acceleration bands to describe movement “intensity”, and thus to …

Social Media And The Effect On Social Comparison, Recovery, And Motivation Measures In High-Intensity Functional Fitness Athletes (Hift), Mia D. Hannah

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The use of social media in high-intensity functional fitness (HIFT) athletes facilitated social comparisons that affected recovery and motivation. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use social comparison theory to investigate the impact that short workout videos had on heart rate (HR), heart rate recovery (HRR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), perceived recovery status (PRS) and time to completion. Methods:Thirty-three individuals who identified as HIFT athletes participated in this study (age: 30.45 years ± 6.59, height: 169.41cm ± 8.69, weight: 73.07 kg ± 13.65). The participants were made up of 57.6% (n=19) female and 42.4% (n=14). Participants were …

Goal Orientations And Beliefs About Success In Age Group Swimmers, Nathan Alexander Rhea

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to expand on goal orientation theory and its relationship with beliefs about the causes of sport success by differentiating by age group in youth USA Swimming registered swimmers, ages 11-18. 80 swimmers from six different USA Swimming clubs completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Beliefs About the Causes of Sport Success Questionnaire (BACSSQ) after providing parent consent and child assent to take part in the study. Similar to previous research, the ego orientation was found to have a significant positive relationship with ability and deception as beliefs about …

Predictors Of Morbidity And Mortality Among Thoracic Trauma Patients, Jeremy Patrick Mcconnell

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Background. There are roughly 300,000 rib fractures treated for in the United States each year. These represent 10-26% of thoracic trauma injuries and have about a 10% mortality rate. There is a common belief that mortality in rib fracture patients can be contributed to the diagnosis of pneumonia, but this study does not support that claim. Purpose. To determine the predictors of morbidity and mortality in rib fracture patients. Methods. Using a level 1 trauma center patient registry, we retrospectively analyzed all patients that were admitted with at least one rib fracture (n=1,344). All predictors were analyzed with linear regressions. …

The Influence Of Fatiguing Exercise On Power Output, Lena Kate Perry

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Physical fatigue impairs performance during high power, short duration activities. As technological developments permit new methods of measuring this effect, it is important to validate existing paradigms. The purpose was to determine if kinetic measurements from vertical jump (VJ) tests are influenced by fatigue based on explosive power outputs. A sample of athletes (9 men, 26 women) from a Division I NCAA sports program completed testing. To establish baseline VJ kinetics, athletes performed a controlled warm-up and then completed six jumps using Sparta Science technology, each separated by 15s rest. Sparta software computed three force outputs: Load, Explode and Drive. …

Strong Side, Weak Side: Goal Generating Tactics In Ncaa Men's Water Polo, Joey Gullikson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In the game of water polo, it is generally accepted that the shooting position of the offensive player and the tactic employed are both important in generating goals. Despite their importance, little is known about the relationship between shooting position and offensive tactics and their impact on the probability of goal scoring. In this research, a sequence of hierarchical mixed logistic regression models is applied to a unique data set from 2016 and 2017 NCAA men’s water polo seasons to analyze the relationship between goal generating tactics and different shooting positions. The primary result reveals that the closer a player …

'I Think I'M Gonna Hurl': A Narrative Review Of The Causes Of Nausea And Vomiting In Sport, Patrick B. Wilson

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Exercise-associated gastrointestinal (GI) distress can negatively impact athletic performance and interfere with exercise training. Although there are a few universal underlying causes of GI distress, each symptom often has its own unique triggers and, therefore, its own prevention and management strategies. One of the most troubling GI symptoms an athlete can experience during training and competition is nausea/vomiting. The prevalence of nausea varies with several factors, two of the most important being exercise intensity and duration. Relatively brief, high-intensity exercise (e.g., sprinting, tempo runs) and ultra-endurance exercise are both associated with more frequent and severe nausea. The potential causes of …

Tumble Tots: Outcomes Of A Gymnastics Program For Children With Disabilities, Cayla Leichtenberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the benefits, children with disabilities do not participate in recreational activities as often as typically developing peers. The purpose of the program was to: 1) describe the benefit of a gymnastics program on a child’s development, and 2) identify the impact of a staff training program. Engagement in the proposed program aimed to ultimately contribute to a child’s involvement in recreational activities, health and quality of life (QOL). All participants in the gymnastics program demonstrated a positive change in motor and communication skills. Pre-test data from the staff training program indicated that none of the gymnastics staff members were …

Drowning Prevention: Define And Then Gather Evidence Or Gather Evidence To Define?, Nina J. Nyitrai, Suzi Edwards, Nicholas O'Dwyer

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

According to the World Health Organization, drowning fatalities are a neglected public health issue ranked as the third most frequent cause of unintentional death by injury. Data used to record drowning incidents are acknowledged as inaccurate. Recommendations on drowning prevention based on these data are currently not informed by accurate, detailed and reliable evidence. Two modifications to current practice are proposed: 1) an Aquatic Incident Report needs to be developed as an extension of the current workplace incident report to prompt for information commonly not included in current drowning reports; and 2) National Water Safety Plans should be modified to …

The Impact Of Coaches' Character On Youth Basketball Players, Natasha Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If utilized effectively, recreation and sports can serve as major tools for developing youth, improving the educational environment, and increasing the number of productive adults that are healthier physically and mentally to positively impact society. Most research targeting recreation and sports developing youth has the perspective primarily of parents and youth. Evaluating the character strengths of coaches and youth athletes who actively participate in team basketball is vital.

An exploration of the value of basketball and character strengths of (n = 64) youth athletes, between the ages of 12 to 16 years, and the impact of their involvement with coaches …

The Assessment Of Swimming And Survival Skills: Is Your Programme Fit For These Purposes?, Paolo Di Paola Ba

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

No abstract provided.

A Journey Through Mindset Of The Ice And The Adventure To Cape Horn: Ireland Medal Ceremony Invited Address, Nuala Moore

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Challenges Facing The First Responder In Water-Based Incidents: Workshop, Patrick Buck Ph.D., Remt

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

No abstract provided.