Caution for Contact Sport Athletes and CTE / Women's Rugby Six Nations and Smaller Balls / Worst Sport to be Elite at?
The Real Science of Sport PodcastShow Notes
Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport, and as mentioned, get a bonus episode of Applied Science every week, access to our world class forums, and (we hope) ad-free listening soon!
Show notes
On the decks today:
A new paper raises "substantial concerns" about the tool that is regularly used to diagnose a progressive neurodegenerative disease in contact sport athletes. We discuss the paper, and how the discourse around brain health of retired contact sport athletes has created anxiety and fear to the detriment of the athletes The Women's Six Nations concluded, England winning it again with victory over France. We discuss the tournament, with Ross raising concerns about one-sided contests through, and the total stratification of teams, while Gareth is more optimistic about some statistical trends that suggest progress, at least on the part of some teams On the subject of women's rugby, the trials for a smaller ball have received more criticism from international players. Ross explains how the process is run, why nobody is being ambushed, and how the smaller ball has been explored for six years and counting to get to this point Janik Sinner won another Masters tournament last week, breaking the record for most wins (now at six tournaments, and 34 matches, with only three lost sets). Gareth wonders what can possibly deny the Italian a French Open and Wimbledon, now that Alcaraz is missing both those Slams? Ross reckons maybe muscle cramps can defeat him... A listener, Andrew, asked an intriguing, and unanswerable question in our Supporter community - which sport would it be best to be elite at? And which is worst? We offer our thoughts and criteria for what qualifies the sport And Finally, the Enhanced Games are on Sunday, and Sean Ingle is attending. We offer our thoughts on what we'd most like to see happen at the Vegas circus. One swimmer is taking some precautions in anticipation of the side-effects, and we promise to revisit the performances in next week's show Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Real Science of Sport Podcast
Become a Supporter for less than the price of one lactate gel a month, and get ad-free shows, a members-only Applied show every week, and Discourse. We promise it is a better investment than the lactate gel, and it won't cause gut issues either!
SHOW NOTES From the evidence on early specialisation to the formula most likely to produce a champion sportsperson, talent specialist Stuart Armstrong breaks down the science and data on identifying and developing young talent. For parents everywhere with a child showing sporting promise, Armstrong offers practical advice on how to sustain motivation and decide whether to pursue a pro sporting career or foster a lifelong love of sport. Armstrong also breaks down the path most likely to produce a champion, and it's not what you think. Armstrong is the managing director at Future Coach, a Learning Innovation Architect, Skill Acquisition Specialist and host of the Talent Equation Podcast and has spent most of his career working in the talent ID field, having previously worked for Sport England.
Become a Supporter for ad-free shows, a members-only Applied show every week (durability, this week), and Discourse, where Ironman collapses and other topics are being explored with insight and experience!
Become a Supporter for ad-free shows, a members-only Applied episode every week, and Discourse, where Steve Hennings asked one of this week's best questions!
Episode guest Dr Ian Gallen is an award-winning Consultant Endocrinologist at Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading. He is a consultant physician, endocrinologist, and diabetologist whose career has included clinical medicine, research, medical education, and work relating to diabetes, exercise, and sport. His particular expertise is in diabetes, exercise and sport, including the practical challenges of managing diabetes during physical activity and competitive sport.