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For decades, high-intensity interval/intermittent exercise training methods have been used by elite athletes to improve their performance in sports. One of the most effective training methods, i.e., ‘Tabata training,’ is reviewed herein from the viewpoint of the energetics of exercise. The prior research describing the metabolic profile and effects of Tabata training is also summarized, with some historical anecdotes.

This paper explores the influence that school sport and non-sport extracurricular activities (ssEC and nsEC) can have on academic achievement. A central thesis of this paper is that, despite the literature on the perceived and presumed benefits of school sport and of non-sport activities, theorising a model of the process by which the benefit is attained, which we conceptualise as a case of transfer, has been neglected. Cognisant of the long-standing literature on transfer and the recent resurgence in transfer research, we present a dual step transfer hypothesis by which ssEC and nsEC activities confer academic achievement benefits. Key to this dual step transfer hypothesis is the influence these activities have on non-cognitive skills, whereby the activity promotes non-cognitive skills (i.e., motivational-social skills), which in turn promote learning and academic achievement. We present an overview of transfer from the early discussions framing transfer to either mental muscle or identical elements mechanisms, to more recent discussions and new perspectives on what counts as transfer. To this discussion we compare research linking academic achievement to school physical education, school sport and school non-sport activities. We place particular emphasis on extracurricular activities and the potential influence they can have on non-cognitive characteristics. In making our argument we weigh up the relative support for dual step transfer within extant literature on both areas, and in doing so return to take a position on the long-standing and divergent framing of transfer in terms of either mental muscle or identical elements mechanisms.

The aim of this study was to develop a physical activity advisory system supporting the correct implementation of sport exercises using inertial sensors and machine learning algorithms. Specifically, three mobile sensors (tags), six stationary anchors and a system-controlling server (gateway) were employed for 15 scenarios of the series of subsequent activities, namely squats, pull-ups and dips. The proposed solution consists of two modules: an activity recognition module (ARM) and a repetition-counting module (RCM). The former is responsible for extracting the series of subsequent activities (so-called scenario), and the latter determines the number of repetitions of a given activity in a single series. Data used in this study contained 488 three defined sport activity occurrences. Data processing was conducted to enhance performance, including an overlapping and non-overlapping window, raw and normalized data, a convolutional neural network (CNN) with an additional post-processing block (PPB) and repetition counting. The developed system achieved satisfactory accuracy: CNN + PPB: non-overlapping window and raw data, 0.88; non-overlapping window and normalized data, 0.78; overlapping window and raw data, 0.92; overlapping window and normalized data, 0.87. For repetition counting, the achieved accuracies were 0.93 and 0.97 within an error of ±1 and ±2 repetitions, respectively. The archived results indicate that the proposed system could be a helpful tool to support the correct implementation of sport exercises and could be successfully implemented in further work in the form of web application detecting the user’s sport activity.

As part of the training mission within extracurricular activities, universities promote the practice of physical and sports activities in a comprehensive manner. In their dynamics, they are recognized as organizations that manage competitive sports being a breeding ground for high-performance athletes and sportspersons. In this sense, physical activities and sports management generally lack defined management models in their structure and operability, face the challenge of having defined management models, which contribute in most cases to reduce instability, slow development and lack of tools to face the various problems that emerge. Starting from these facts, the research aim of this work lies in designing and validating a management model as a proposal for the practice of physical activity and university sports, using a mixed methodology that resulted in a management model with five axes;1) sports competition with an integral approach, 2) the generation of a culture towards the practice of physical activities and sports, 3) accompaniment and attention to the athlete with multidisciplinary teams, 4) dissemination and assertive communication for the strengthening of identity, 5) science as a support for sports development and two support elements, the integration of programs and projects for sustainability and a quality management system, From all of the above, five objectives and 25 strategic criteria emerge. Como parte de la misión formadora dentro de las actividades extracurriculares, las universidades en su haber promueven la práctica de actividades físicas y deportivas de forma integral. En su dinámica, son reconocidas como organizaciones que gestionan el deporte competitivo, siendo un semillero de atletas y deportistas de alto rendimiento. En este sentido la gestión de las actividades físicas y deportivas generalmente en su estructura y operatividad, enfrentan el desafío de contar con modelos de gestión definidos, que contribuyan en la mayoría de los casos a disminuir la inestabilidad, el lento desarrollo y falta de herramientas para enfrentar las diversas problemáticas que se presentan. Partiendo de estos hechos, el objeto de investigación de este trabajo radica, en diseñar y validar un modelo de gestión como propuesta de la práctica de actividad física y del deporte universitario, utilizando una metodología mixta que dio como resultado, un modelo de gestión con cinco ejes; 1) la competencia deportiva con un enfoque integral, 2) la generación de una cultura hacia la práctica de actividades físicas y deportivas, 3) acompañamiento y atención al deportista con equipos multidisciplinares, 4) difusión y comunicación asertiva para el fortalecimiento de la identidad, 5) la ciencia como soporte del desarrollo deportivo y dos elementos de apoyo, la integración de programas y proyectos para la sostenibilidad y un sistema de gestión de calidad, de todo lo anterior se desprenden cinco objetivos y 25 criterios estratégicos.

Motivation levels towards physical-sports practice are lower among girls and girls drop out of sports more frequently than boys. It is necessary to delve deeper into the search for links and factors that influence sport adherence in girls and boys. In this line, the objectives of this research were: to analyse gender-specific instruments that inquire about the link with school physical activity (PA) in childhood and early adolescence; as well as to categorise and examine them in depth. A systematic review was developed. The ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed and Dialnet databases were reviewed in two phases by two researchers. Based on the inclusion criteria and methodological quality, thirteen studies were selected. In these, we found a total of twelve gender-specific research instruments. The instruments found were mostly questionnaires, which analysed variables on peer treatment, students’ personal situation and motivation, students’ attachment to PE and gender stereotypes. They were classified into three categories: teacher- and methodology-focused; student-focused; and environment-focused. The small number of studies in which these instruments were applied and investigated the link between children and adolescents and PA constructed around the concept of gender and its socio-cultural imbrications was discussed, while the need to deepen the knowledge, design and development of instruments that delve into the problem from a specific gender perspective was highlighted. Los niveles de motivación hacia la práctica físico-deportiva son inferiores en el género femenino y el abandono deportivo es más frecuente en niñas que en niños. Es necesario ahondar en la búsqueda de vínculos y factores que influyen en la adherencia deportiva de niñas y niños. En esta línea, los objetivos de esta investigación fueron: analizar los instrumentos específicos de género que indaguen sobre la vinculación con la actividad física (AF) escolar en la infancia e inicio de la adolescencia; así como categorizarlos y examinarlos en profundidad. Se desarrolló una revisión sistemática. En dos fases se revisaron las bases de datos de ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed y Dialnet por dos investigadores. Atendiendo a los criterios de inclusión y la calidad metodológica, se seleccionaron trece estudios. En estos, se encontraron catorce instrumentos de investigación específicos de género. Los instrumentos hallados fueron mayoritariamente cuestionarios, que analizaron variables sobre el trato entre iguales, la situación y motivación personal del alumnado, la vinculación de este con la Educación Física y los estereotipos de género. Se clasificaron en tres categorías: centrados en el profesorado y su metodología; centrados en el alumnado; y centrados en el entorno. Se discutió sobre el reducido número de estudios en los que estos instrumentos fueron aplicados e indagaron en la vinculación de niñas, niños y adolescentes con la AF construidos en torno al concepto de género y sus imbricaciones socio-culturales, al mismo tiempo que se resaltó la necesidad de profundizar en el conocimiento, diseño y desarrollo de instrumentos que profundicen en el problema desde una perspectiva específica de género.

The present investigation intends to study if the importance and the difficulty of the game, the pre-competitive anxiety (somatic and cognitive) and the levels of self-confidence in football were influenced by the competitive level (Under 12 and Seniors) and also where the game took place (home / outside) and to verify the correlations between these variables. The sample was intentional and consisted of 85 male athletes, participants in the regional championship of “Under 12” and Seniors. The “Under 12” athletes (35) were aged between 11 and 12 years (M = 11.02 ± 0.37) and the Senior athletes (50) were aged between 18 and 35 years (M = 26.66 ± 4.41). The instrument used was the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) of Martens et al. (1990) and translated and validated into Portuguese language by Raposo & Fernandes (2004). The results showed that, regardless of the competitive level (Under 12 and Seniors), athletes showed high levels of importance and difficulty to games performed both at home and away from home. Game importance and difficulty levels as well as levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety were higher in the “Under 12” teams, while self-confidence levels were higher in Senior teams. Positive correlations were found between the importance and difficulty of the games, between cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety. But, the negative correlations were found between cognitive and somatic anxiety and self-confidence.Resumen. El presente estudio tiene como objetivos verificar si la importancia del juego, la dificultad del juego, la ansiedad precompetitiva (somática y cognitiva) y los niveles de autoconfianza son influenciados por el escalón competitivo de los deportistas (infantiles / seniors) y por la localización de los juegos (casa / fuera), y conocer las correlaciones existentes entre la importancia, la dificultad del juego, la ansiedad (somática y cognitiva) y la autoconfianza. Participaron en el estudio 85 deportistas del sexo masculino, a competir en el campeonato distrital de fútbol, en los escalones de infantiles y seniors. Los deportistas infantiles (35) tenían edades comprendidas entre los 11 y 12 años (M = 11.02 ± 0.37) y los deportistas seniors (50) tenían edades comprendidas entre los 18 y 35 años (M = 26.66 ± 4.41). El instrumento utilizado fue el Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2), elaborado por Martens et al. (1990), traducido y validado al idioma portugués por Raposo y Fernandes (2004). En cuanto a los procedimientos estadísticos, probamos la distribución de los datos de la muestra a través del Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. Para una distribución normal, utilizamos el test paramétrico t de Student para muestras independientes. Las correlaciones entre las variables se determinaron a través del Coeficiente de correlación de Pearson, aplicamos aún una regresión lineal en función de las variables importancia y dificultad de los juegos para ambos grupos de edad en análisis. También aplicamos el método de inferencias basadas en la magnitud de los efectos a través del d-Cohen y el r-Cohen. Adoptamos un nivel de significancia de p ≤ 0.05. Los resultados mostraron que independientemente del escalón competitivo (infantiles o seniors) los deportistas atribuyeron niveles elevados de importancia y dificultad a los juegos realizados en casa o fuera de casa. Los niveles de importancia y dificultad de los juegos, así como los niveles de ansiedad cognitiva y somática fueron más altos en los equipos de fútbol infantil, aunque sin diferencias significativas en comparación con los equipos seniors, mientras que los niveles de autoconfianza fueron significativamente superiores en equipos del fútbol senior. En ambos escalones se observaron correlaciones positivas entre la dificultad del juego y la importancia del mismo, promoviendo estas variables, en términos generales y en ambos niveles un aumento de la ansiedad y una disminución de la autoconfianza. Los resultados fueron abundantes en cuanto a la importancia y la dificultad de los juegos que explican de manera residual los niveles de ansiedad y confianza en sí mismos en los niveles de infantiles y senior.

The special nature of recreational sport services, orientates the contemporary research interest to the holistic nature of sports event experience, emphasizing their relationships with psychosocial factors contributing to participants' well-being. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to analyze the dimensions of sport event experience in the context of a sailing marathon event and (2) to investigate the contribution of the sport event experience factors to participants’ psychological well-being. The study was conducted in Greece, where the participants of the event filled out the PERMA Profiler Questionnaire (Pezirkianidis, Stalikas, Lakioti & Yotsidi, 2019) and a multidimensional Sport Event Experience scale, designed especially for the study purpose. The results provided support for the holistic and multilevel nature of sport event experience construct in the case of a recreational sailing event, as it was theoretically defined. The regression analysis showed that participants' psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the event sport experience, where the dimensions of social environment, brand, and services environment of the event had the most significant contributions. These results show the value of sport events with a recreational nature in contributing to the development of individual well-being. The PERMA model is an acceptable one for measuring perceived well-being. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. Keywords: sports services, leisure activities, sports experience, sailing marathon, well-being

En el presente artículo se recogen las conclusiones de un estudio que analiza la relación entre la práctica físico-deportiva de los usuarios de centros deportivos públicos de la ciudad de Terrassa (provincia de Barcelona) y la calidad de vida percibida por los mismos, estudio realizado sobre una muestra de 674 usuarios practicantes de actividad física en ocho centros deportivos públicos abiertos en el momento de la recogida de información. Analizando la variable calidad de vida percibida, el equipo investigador ha logrado definir perfiles de usuarios de los centros deportivos públicos de Terrassa y medir cómo éstos perciben su calidad de vida, habiendo podido distinguir colectivos que no están siendo atendidos actualmente por tales centros deportivos o que lo están siendo de manera incorrecta o insuficiente. Las conclusiones del estudio permitirán al Ayuntamiento de Terrassa una mejor orientación de su política pública en materia de actividad físico-deportiva, en función de las características de sus usuarios/clientes y de su percepción sobre el impacto que tal actividad físico-deportiva practicada en las condiciones actuales tiene en su calidad de vida percibida, es decir, en función de la demanda actual y latente.

Action quality assessment (AQA) tasks in computer vision evaluate action quality in videos, and they can be applied to sports for performance evaluation. A typical example of AQA is predicting the final score from a video that captures an entire figure skating program. However, no previous studies have predicted individual jump scores, which are of great interest to competitors because of the high weight of competition. Despite the presence of unnecessary information in figure skating videos, human specialists can focus and reduce information when they evaluate jumps. In this study, we clarified the eye movements of figure skating judges and skaters while evaluating jumps and proposed a prediction model for jump performance that utilized specialists’ gaze location to reduce information. Kinematic features obtained from the tracking system were input into the model in addition to videos to improve accuracy. The results showed that skaters focused more on the face, whereas judges focused on the lower extremities. These gaze locations were applied to the model, which demonstrated the highest accuracy when utilizing both specialists’ gaze locations. The model outperformed human predictions and the baseline model (RMSE:0.775), suggesting a combination of human specialist knowledge and machine capabilities could yield higher accuracy.