It has long been established that pupillary responses provide a valid and reliable window on the “intensity” of mental activity or cognitive effort (Hess & Polt, 1964; Kahneman & Beatty, 1966). As these responses are routinely and noninvasively measured during eye-tracking, they constitute a promising tool for the study of the cognitive mechanisms underlying skilled performance. Specifically, larger pupil diameter during equiluminance reflects increased attentional resource allocation. In eye-tracking research, the “quiet eye” (QE) has consistently shown to be a key predictor of perceptual-motor expertise (Mann, Williams, Ward, & Janelle, 2007; Vickers, 2009). Unfortunately, despite an abundance of QE research, there has been a dearth of theorizing on the specific purpose of QE or the mechanisms that underlie this distinctive pattern of gaze behavior. Therefore, the current study aims to tackle this gap in the literature by measuring the timing and magnitude of the cognitive load during golf putting using pupillometry. Participants consisted of 24 golfers undertaking 2 blocks of 10 putts—easy (1.83 m) and more difficult ones (3.66 m). Results indicate that peak pupil dilation directly corresponds to the onset of QE. This finding illustrates that QE onset is the most cognitively intense time for skilled golfers. Finally, results revealed that the magnitude of pupillary responses was greatest for all golfers (high- and low-handicap groups) from the moment of QE onset through to ball contact, showcasing that putting is a mentally demanding task. The theoretical significance of these results is discussed and suggestions are provided for future research.

Collision sports, such as Rugby Union (“Rugby”) have a particularly high risk of injury. Of all injuries common to collision sports, concussions have received the most attention due to the potentially negative cognitive effects in the short- and long-term. Despite non-professional Rugby players comprising the majority of the world’s playing population, there is relatively little research in this population. Stellenbosch Rugby Football Club (“Maties”), the official rugby club of Stellenbosch University, represents one of the world’s largest non-professional Rugby clubs, making this an ideal cohort for community-level injury surveillance. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and events associated with concussion in this cohort. Baseline demographics were obtained on the 807 male student Rugby non-professional players who registered for the 10-week long 2018 season, which comprised 101 matches and 2,915 of exposure hours. All match-related injuries were captured by the medical staff of Stellenbosch Campus Health Service on an electronic form developed from the consensus statement for injury recording in Rugby. The mean age, height and weight of this cohort were 20 ± 2 years, 182 ± 7 cm and 88 ± 14 kg, respectively. Overall, there were 89 time-loss injuries, which equated to an injury rate of 30.6 per 1,000 match hours [95% confidence intervals (CIs): 24.2–36.9], or about one injury per match. The most common injury diagnosis was “concussion” (n = 27 out of 90 injuries, 30%), at a rate of 9.3 per 1,000 match hours (95% CIs: 5.8–12.8). The three most common mechanisms of concussion in the present study were performing a tackle (33%), accidental collision (30%) and being tackled (11%). Concussion was the most common injury in this population, at a rate that was six times higher than the most comparable study from the UK, which had far more exposure time over six seasons and wider range of player ability, from recreational to semi-professional. This might be explained by the training and vigilance of the club’s first aiders observing all matches for concussion. Future studies should try to explain this high rate and subsequently reduce these concussions. The addition of video surveillance data would assist in identifying the etiology of these concussions injuries in order to develop specific targeted interventions.

Golf is a popular leisure and competitive activity for individuals with disabilities. The current golf handicap system does not take into account the possible challenges of playing golf with any form of physical disability. The aim of this study was to examine golf driving performance measures, comparing golfers with various types of physical disabilities to able-bodied golfers. Through drive shot ball launch analysis, this study compared amputees (single leg, below and above knee), deaf, visually impaired, polio, Les Autres and arthrogryposis golfers to able-bodied golfers with similar golf handicaps. Twenty-seven able-bodied (handicap category 3, 12.4 ± 7.0) and 15 disabled (handicap category 3, 18.2 ± 9.2) hit 10 drives each. Able-bodied golfers presented longer but less accurate drives (208.1 m carry, 4.6 m lateral deviation), and concomitant higher club head and ball velocity than disabled golfers (157.6 m carry, 6.0 m lateral deviation) [p<0.001]. The apparent difference in outcome performance cannot be fully accounted for by the small difference in golf handicap score, thus disabled golfers appear to be penalised/ disadvantaged by the current golf handicap classification rules.