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The paper presents the Swedish data on university student-athletes’ dual career (DC) competences and coping, from the European project “Gold in Education and Elite Sport” (GEES). A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented with the objectives to explore: (a) the student-athletes’ perceived need to develop DC competences in order to successfully combine sport and study, (b) if the student-athletes experienced and how they coped with specific DC scenarios, and (c) the magnitude of the association between the student-athletes’ possession of prioritised DC competences for each scenario and their scenario-specific coping. Seventy-one university student-athletes with a mean age of 25.21 completed the DC competency questionnaires developed within GEES. The student-athletes reported their perception of importance and possession of 38 DC competences (e.g. cope with stress, prioritising), as well as coping with seven DC scenarios (e.g. miss significant days of study), and selected the five most important competences (from the list of 38) to cope with each scenario. The results revealed that the student-athletes: (a) perceived a need to develop more than 70% of the DC competences to successfully combine sport and studies, (b) had experienced and coped average-to-good with the DC scenarios, and (c) possession of the top five prioritised competences was moderately-to-strongly related to their coping in three scenarios. The study extends understanding of Swedish university student-athletes’ DC competences and has contributed to the development of Swedish National Guidelines for elite athletes’ dual careers (2018).
OBJECTIVES:An emerging body of research reveals a heightened risk of gambling problems among elite athletes, particularly among males, but these studies often suffer from small sample sizes and lack diverse representation across sports and groups. This study aimed to investigate gambling problems and their correlates among elite male and female ice hockey players in Sweden's top leagues. METHODS:During the labor union's on-site visits to Swedish ice hockey clubs in the top two tiers for males and the top tier for females, a web-based survey was conducted. Players were screened for gambling problems using the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and for depression, anxiety, and hazardous drinking using other standardized instruments. Estimated study participation was 75-80%. RESULTS:Among male athletes, 12% met the criteria for moderate-risk or problem gambling, while none of the females met this threshold. Approximately 24% of male and 2% of female participants reported any degree of at-risk gambling. In males, gambling problems were strongly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and with hazardous alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION:Gambling problems are 3-4 times more prevalent among elite male ice hockey players compared to young men in the general population. The authors discuss the associated mental health consequences, vulnerability to match-fixing-related fraud, and the need for preventive measures and easy access to treatment.
PurposeTennis demands exceptional technical skills, speed, strength and endurance. Previous studies have highlighted the high energy expenditure during tennis drills due to constant directional changes. While metabolic monitoring and player tracking have been used to quantify exercise intensity and movements, mechanical efficiency (ME) in tennis remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate ME in tennis by combining metabolic and mechanical measurements during on-court drills.MethodsTen elite adolescent tennis players (males n = 5, females n = 5) performed a VO2max test on a treadmill and participated in three standard tennis drills, Spanish cross, lateral and inside out. During the tennis drill, full-body kinematics were captured, and energy expenditure was measured using a portable breath-by-breath gas analysis. ME was calculated for each drill, and individual differences were examined.ResultsResults revealed significant differences in energy expenditure and mechanical work between drills. ME was not associated with VO2max or running speed. highlighting the need to focus on other factors like strength, footwork technique, and neuromuscular training to enhance ME.ConclusionThis study underscores the complexity of ME in tennis, with individual variations and where factors like footwork technique, muscular strength and motor abilities might influence ME.
Nya analyser av idrottsrörelsen i Sverige visar på ett ojämlikt deltagande. Vi kan också säga mer än tidigare om vad som kännetecknar de hushåll varifrån relativt många, respektive få, barn och ungdomar idrottar, detta genom att med större precision mäta föreningsdeltagande på stadsdelsnivå i landets kommuner. Artikeln bidrar med viktig kunskap om vad som kan krävas i strävan att öka graden av aktivitet och rörelse – och säkerställa jämlika hälsoförutsättningar – hos barn och ungdomar i dagens Sverige.
ObjectivesMental health consequences and behavior change has been described in elite athletes following the vast impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of sports. However, most study samples have been of limited size, and few studies have assessed student-athletes. This study aimed to analyze perceived mental health impact, measured as clinical degree of depression and anxiety, worry about one's sport and about one's career, and behavioral change with respect to video gaming behavior, in high-school athletes in Sweden. MethodsData on anxiety and depression as well as on perceived behavioral changes during COVID-19 were collected from students at sports high schools in Sweden (N = 7,025) in February 2021, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsSixteen and 14% met criteria of moderate/severe depression and anxiety, respectively. Many respondents reported feeling mentally worse during the pandemic (66%), and were worried about the future of their sport (45%) or about their own future in sports (45%). Increased gaming behavior during COVID-19 was reported by 29%. All mental health variables were significantly more common in women, except increased gaming (more common in men). Being worried about one's career was less common in winter sports, more common in team sports and more common in older student-athletes, and associated with both depression and anxiety in regression analyses. DiscussionSelf-reported mental health impact of COVID-19 is substantial in student-athletes, and even more so in women and in team sports. The lower impact in winter athletes suggests a moderating effect of the seasons in which the COVID-19 outbreak occurred.
