Supporting a uK SucceSS Story: The impacT of - Research Councils ...

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Mental training An occasion such as the Olympic Games puts considerable mental pressure on an athlete to perform well. While some will thrive under this pressure, some athletes struggle with and are susceptible to ‘choking’ at the moment of competition. Researchers at Bangor University’s Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP) have been examining how individual differences in personality might predict how well athletes perform under pressure. In particular, the researchers have found that athletes with a narcissistic personality think of themselves as excellent performers and tend to perform very well under the pressure of competition. However, in contrast, nonnarcissistic individuals may be more susceptible to choking under pressure and not performing to the best of their ability. By considering these individual differences in personalities, coaches and sport psychology practitioners can tailor their training to meet the specific needs of athletes. This can help increase the chances of successful performances at major events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A collaborative project between five UK universities is looking to advance understanding of emotion regulation and how this can have considerable costs or benefits to an individual’s wellbeing and performance. The Emotion Regulation of Others and Self (EROS) project involves researchers from a number of psychological disciplines including sports psychologists from the University of Wolverhampton. This team have found that athletes can ‘learn’ which emotional state best aids their performance and can teach themselves to achieve it before competing. The researchers have also found that when athletes perform intense exercise, they begin to think negatively and experience unpleasant emotions which makes the exercise feel harder until it actually becomes more physically demanding. The researchers have examined the effectiveness of simulating light to help GB swimmers improve their mood ready for early morning training and are offering workshops on emotion regulation for sports psychologists and coaches who work with elite athletes. Elite athletes at the Olympic or Paralympic Games will be under intense pressure to perform. Researchers at Bangor University’s Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP) have found that some athletes are likely to suffer from the ironic error - the performance error that each athlete will be specifically trying most to avoid. For example, if a golfer under pressure tells themselves, “whatever you do, do not hit the ball short”, they will ironically tend to hit the ball short more consistently than when not under pressure. The research team’s most recent findings confirm this and show that athletes under pressure do not commit random errors, they commit specifically the error that they are trying to avoid (the ironic error). Also athletes who attempt to mask their anxiety, for example by trying to “look cool”, when under pressure are more likely to suffer from ironic performance effects. This is because their cognitive system is overloaded by repressionassociated cues, for example “do not show anxiety”; “do not hit the ball short”. The researchers have found two ways of reducing the likelihood of committing an ironic error. The first is to reduce anxiety and therefore the pressure that is experienced and the second is to use positive statements when preparing for the competition, for example “focus on the centre of the hole”. Adopting this kind of psychological behaviour could be effective for a great number of athletes competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and in other international sporting competitions. 32 SECTION two : Health and Wellbeing
Health and Wellbeing Monitoring air quality for athletes Athletes are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution as a consequence of their heavy training regimes and high breathing rates during competition, which increases their pollution dose. The effects of air pollution on athletic performance were evident at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, when the UK’s Steve Ovett collapsed following the 800 metres final with severe respiratory problems, citing air pollution as a major trigger in the exacerbation of his exercise induced asthma. Monitoring air pollution levels in the lead-up and during the Games is crucial to assess and manage health risks to athletes who will be competing in London 2012. Researchers from King’s College London were asked to give evidence to the International Olympic Committee about pollution data for London which might affect the 2012 Games. Pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide mainly effect wide areas of London during the winter, but each week in August there is a 10 to 20 per cent chance of ground level ozone exceeding World Health Organisation Guidelines. “Each week in August there is a 10 to 20 per cent chance of ground level ozone exceeding World Health Organisation Guidelines.” London has the largest and most advanced air quality surveillance systems of any city in Europe. The system is funded by local and central government and run by King’s College London from an operations centre at the Waterloo campus where researchers combine air pollution science, toxicology and epidemiology to determine the impacts of air pollution on health and the causal factors. During the London 2012 Games, researchers from King’s will monitor air pollution levels and provide this information to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) so it can assess potential health risks caused by air pollution during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. SECTION two : Health and Wellbeing 33
Page 1 and 2: Supporting a UK success story: The
Page 3 and 4: British Universities & Colleges Spo
Page 5 and 6: Research is increasingly being used
Page 7 and 8: CONTENTS Section 1 technology Secti
Page 9 and 10: Electronic POWERbreathe® K-Series
Page 11 and 12: Strengthening foundations through 3
Page 13 and 14: Since then, the Imperial team have
Page 15 and 16: Men’s 4x100 m relay team review t
Page 17 and 18: Technology: FOOTBALL FOCUSED Footba
Page 19 and 20: “This interactive approach will a
Page 21 and 22: SECTION ONE : TECHNOLOGY 21
Page 23 and 24: A number of new technologies will b
Page 25 and 26: the concentration of lactate in the
Page 27 and 28: Dr James Betts sampling blood for a
Page 29 and 30: A healthy legacy Recognising the im
Page 31: mind anticipates the end of a bout
Page 35 and 36: Sharon Gayter SECTION two : Health
Page 37 and 38: difference. It is the same disabili
Page 39 and 40: Tom Waller, a former Engineering an
Page 41 and 42: Role of drawing in the Olympic Game
Page 43 and 44: Design for disabled athletes Studen
Page 45 and 46: SECTION THREE : DESIGN 45
Page 47 and 48: The first project, ‘Sport for Lif
Page 49 and 50: of the game away from the more expe
Page 51 and 52: Tennis Tennis is another sport whic
Page 53 and 54: London 1948 established Olympism’
Page 55 and 56: Modern Pentathlon celebrates its ce
Page 57 and 58: etween the two countries in the run
Page 59 and 60: PhD student Helen Hoyle Trial plot
Page 61 and 62: World Student Games in Sheffield SE
Page 63 and 64: Lifelong health Physical inactivity

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