The revised European consensus defined sarcopenia as a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that is associated with an increased likelihood of adverse outcomes including falls, fractures, physical disability and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and analyse the influence of diet, physical activity (PA) and obesity index as risk factors of each criteria of sarcopenia. A total of 629 European middle-aged and older adults were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometrics were assessed. Self-reported PA and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were evaluated with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and Prevention with Mediterranean Diet questionnaire (PREDIMED), respectively. The functional assessment included handgrip strength, lower body muscle strength, gait speed and agility/dynamic balance. Of the participants, 4.84% to 7.33% showed probable sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was confirmed in 1.16% to 2.93% of participants. Severe sarcopenia was shown by 0.86% to 1.49% of participants. Male; age group ≤65 years; lower body mass index (BMI); high levels of vigorous PA; and the consumption of more than one portion per day of red meat, hamburgers, sausages or cold cuts and/or preferential consumption of rabbit, chicken or turkey instead of beef, pork, hamburgers or sausages (OR = 0.126–0.454; all p < 0.013) resulted as protective factors, and more time of sedentary time (OR = 1.608–2.368; p = 0.032–0.041) resulted as a risk factor for some criteria of sarcopenia. In conclusion, age, diet, PA, and obesity can affect the risk of having low muscle strength, low muscle mass or low functional performance, factors connected with sarcopenia.

ResumenEl objetivo de la presente investigación fue diseñar y validar un instrumento de evaluación para conocer la percepción de los estudiantes universitarios-deportistas de alto nivel sobre la carrera dual. En la creación inicial del instrumento se definió el constructo y se establecieron tres dimensiones: carrera académica, carrera deportiva y tutor deportivo. En la validez de contenido, tras un proceso de traducción inversa, los expertos (n = 8) valoraron positivamente el constructo, las dimensiones y las preguntas cuestionario. Los resultados estadísticos de los ítems mostraron la adecuada validez de comprensión de los participantes (n = 30). En la validez de constructo (n = 73), las propiedades psicométricas mostraron la adecuada calidad psicométrica, consistencia interna, fiabilidad y bondad de ajuste. El instrumento también contó con evidencias externas de validez, dado que los resultados fueron en la línea de lo que demuestra la literatura. Por ello, este trabajo ofrece un cuestionario válido y fiable de 84 preguntas (en español y en inglés) que permite medir la percepción de los estudiantes universitarios-deportistas de alto nivel sobre la carrera dual.Palabras clave: Carrera dual, estudios y deporte, proceso de aprendizaje, tutorización deportiva. AbstractThe purpose of this paper was to design and validate a questionnaire about the perceptions of elite studentathletes at university relating to their dual career. In the initial creation of the instrument, constructs were defined and three dimensions were established: academic life, sporting life and sports tutor. After a process of 'back translation', experts (n = 8) agreed the construct to ensure content validity, the dimensions and the questionnaire questions. Statistical analysis of the items showed adequate comprehension to confirm content validity of participants (n = 30). In construct validity (n = 73), the results showed correct psychometric quality, internal consistency, reliability and adequacy of the structural model. The instrument had evidence of external validity, since the results were congruent with the main findings of the research. This questionnaire was found to be a valid and reliable assessment instrument, consisting of 84 questions (in Spanish and English language), that enables the perception of elite student-athletes to be known about their dual career whilst at university.

Nowadays, in contemporary sports studies scarce attention is devoted to studying the referee and his/her functions in light of the philosophical and pedagogical approach. For this reason, the main aim of this study is to use a hermeneutical philosophic methodology to reflect on the role and functions of this figure, and to show his or her importance in preserving the intrinsic values of sport in front of youth and society. Starting with a historical analysis of the referee and the sport judge in ancient Greek athletics, this study will highlight how such this important figure has always been a key element of competitive sport. This study will demonstrate that refereeing is a practice that needs a specific set of hermeneutical skills and the development of complex pedagogical knowledge and ways of acting. It will also define the concept of “refereeing” in light of a pedagogical approach demonstrating that this practice is, fundamentally, a communicative action implying an ethical and hermeneutical dimension of the referee as a critical-reflective professional committed to enforcing sport’s rules and values. In conclusion, the study will stress the importance of looking at referees and sport judges not as a mere technicians and evaluators of performances in competitions but as educators whose specific knowledge must be developed in all of the courses for their training and education.

The dual career allows elite athletes to attain their maximum competitive and academic performance, but the COVID-19 pandemic hindered their development and changed their perception of the importance given to the sporting and educational environment. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to determine the differences in the motivations and perceived barriers, the importance given to academic qualifications, and the perception of the dual career from a multifactorial perspective, of elite athletes according to sex, type of sport practiced, job performance, time of sports career, type of athlete, and type of scholarship received. A total of 100 student-athletes participated in the research study by completing the “Perceptions of dual career student-athletes” questionnaire. The results showed that athletes from individual modalities (p = 0.012) and those who did not receive any scholarships described more barriers (p &lt; 0.001). In addition, women studied more because they enjoyed it (p = 0.007); athletes from individual modalities studied to work later (p = 0.008); athletes who do not work perceived a greater influence between study and sports performance (p = 0.029); at the beginning and at the best stage of their sports career, a greater influence of academics on performance was perceived (p = 0.016); and athletes who considered themselves professionals, and athletes who did not receive any scholarships (p = 0.025), reported that the conciliation between sports and academic life was difficult (p = 0.034). The results obtained point to the importance of dual career scholarships for student-athletes, as well as the need for the programs implemented for these athletes to consider sex, sport modality or type of scholarship granted.

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The text presents and analyses manifestations of modernity and postmodernity in the field of competitive and recreational sport, physical education, leisure, and tourism. The paper builds upon an extensive literature survey and presents the concept and key features of postmodern societies and the modernity-postmodernity debate in sports with reference to postmodern tendencies in tourism. We have attempted to determine the proportions of tradition, modernity, and postmodernity in contemporary sport and tourism, keeping in mind that, similarly to contemporary societies as a whole, sport is undoubtedly a mixture of traditional, modern, and Fordist elements with postmodern and post-Fordist features. We present and discuss the prevailing belief that the key elements of leisure sport are mostly postmodern and focused on the notion of individualisation and freedom expressed especially in alternative sports, while commercialised mainstream sport follows the regular mass-media show-business development path, maintaining a significant amount of modern concepts, such as the importance of national identities. Special attention is also paid to the Olympic Games as a specific and very efficient mixture of modernity and postmodernity. More so than at any point in the past, and despite the actual proportions of modernity and postmodernity that it contains, contemporary sport has become an integral part of postmodern societies and their lifestyle, with technology-determined individualisation of sport consumption and leisure sport participation.

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The ancient Olympic Games were held in spaces and places consecrated for hospitality, to xénia, a Greek word that means “gifts” but also something that refers to and belongs to strangers and foreigners. Foreigners from every part of Greece met in Olympia to celebrate the agón. In this place, a stranger or a foreigner (hostis in Latin), probably a former enemy, became a friend because he was both guest and host (hospes in Latin) in the sanctuary-town, which belonged to the gods and to all of the Greeks, who recognized themselves in its spirit. This mechanism of hospitality formed the basis of the Olympic peace system and was the fundamental prerequisite for the celebration of agón. The practice of the agón was therefore made possible by a “gift” but also by “for-giveness” that allowed people to meet and compete. We can conclude that at the base of the Olympic (and Greek) ethics there was the concept of hospitality. Olympia was then the common home of all Greeks, the place where ethics were carried out, were put into practice, and concretely exercised. It is not a pure coincidence that the Greek word “ethics” is linked to the word éthos, which means “house”, “home”. For this reason, ethics can be thought as the art of hosting somebody in our own home and trusting him/her, just as it happened in ancient Olympia during the Olympic Games, which demonstrated that ethics was always a home’s ethics. Therefore, taking into account this cultural and philosophical framework, this study will develop a methodological approach, derived from deconstructionism, which will be applied to concepts that are both ambiguous and semantically rich in meaning, such as “gift”, “forgiveness”, xénos, hostis, and hospes. The first objective of this study is to reflect upon the connection between “gift” and “sport” and show the deep interconnection between the two concepts. The second is to use the model of Greek hospitality at the Olympic Games to deeply rethink sport and contemporary philosophy of sport education in terms of peace and multiculturalism.