This study investigated physical education (PE) teachers’ experiences with remote instruction in the United States during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. PE teachers (n = 4,362) from all 50 states completed a survey identifying their experiences with remote instruction in May, 2020. Survey responses were analyzed by geographic region, district type, and school level. Teachers reported having students submit assignments (51% yes), using video instruction (37% yes), being less effective when instructing remotely (20% yes), and emphasizing student outcomes focused on health-related fitness (32% yes), and physical activity value/enjoyment (43% yes). Access to technology (40% yes) and required student assignments (43% yes) were lowest among teachers from the South. Rural teachers reported the least access to technology (37% yes) and rated themselves as least effective (24% yes). Secondary level teachers reported the highest percentage of required assignments (84% yes). Teachers’ responses identify unique challenges to delivering equitable and effective remote PE instruction.

Wrestlers abruptly lose body mass before competition; however, the effects of "weight cutting" are poorly understood because of conflicting evidence. This study aimed to determine the effects of self-selected mass loss on precompetition mood, grip strength, and lower body power in collegiate wrestlers. Sixteen male collegiate wrestlers (age = 20 ± 2 years, height = 177.5 ± 7.2 cm) were weighed 10 days before (D-10) a competitive meet. Euhydrated subjects were administered the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS), tested on grip strength, and given a 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Power test to determine lower body power. Additional weigh-ins were conducted 6 (D-6) and 2 (D-2) days before competition. Subjects repeated the testing battery the day of competition (D-0). During the study, wrestlers self-selected the method and timing of mass loss. Wrestlers lost 0.0-8.1% of their body mass using exercise, caloric restriction, or fluid deprivation. Most mass loss occurred between D-2 and D-0 (mean ± SD, D-10 = 81.7 ± 18.2 kg, D-6 = 81.2 ± 17.8 kg, D-2 = 81.1 ± 18.5 kg, D-0 = 79.0 ± 19.2 kg). Wrestlers losing ≥ 4% body mass became significantly more confused (D-10 = 0 ± 0, D-0 = 3 ± 3); subjects losing less mass showed no difference in confusion. No significant differences existed across time for remaining BRUMS variables, grip strength, and Wingate variables. These results suggest that wrestlers self-select large, rapid mass loss that impairs aspects of psychological functioning without affecting grip strength or lower-body power.

The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education teachers’ perceptions of implementing online physical education during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to explore their needs with regard to support for future teaching experiences. A total of 4,302 teachers completed four open-ended questions as part of a larger survey. Deductive and inductive qualitative analysis led to three themes: (a) Teachers’ Proud Moments, (b) Help! So Many Obstacles, and (c) Future Challenges. Teachers stated many successes and challenges that they experienced through the COVID-19 pandemic. Many items specifically focused on use and access to technology, student participation, and meeting students’ needs in various ways. Results can provide guidance for how to address the essential components of physical education in the online environment. In addition, results may provide insight to those who educate, train, and prepare teachers to teach in a virtual and/or physically distanced environment.

In today's school climate of accountability, researchers in Physical Education (PE) pedagogy have contested current fitness curricula that aim to manage, control, and normalize young people's bodies. This participatory visual research incorporated a Body Curriculum into a fitness unit in a secondary school (a) to assist young people critically deal with the media narratives of perfect bodies they consume in their daily lives, and (b) to examine how participants responded to a Body Curriculum. It was found that while participants rejected media fabrications of the "ideal body" and the "unhealthy" ideals they circulate in society, they recognized the difficulty of not being "caught up" in media storytelling. Participants' views of their own bodies, however, were not malleable, but rooted in narrow, fixed heteronormative white ideals of "looking a certain way" to "fit" society norms of physical appearance and attractiveness. The benefits and limitations of implementing a Body Curriculum are recognized.

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