There are various contributing factors to sporting success among elite athletes, including Olympians. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the enablers and/or barriers to sporting success among South African former Olympians from historically disadvantaged areas (HDAs) using the SPLISS framework. This would enable an understanding of the factors that lead to sporting success among athletes from HDAs. A qualitative research design was employed for this study, whereby semi-structured interviews were conducted among 15 former Olympians who represented South Africa between the 1992 and 2016 Olympic Games. The ATLAS.ti (version 22) software tool was used to analyse the data. The study found that athletes from HDAs attributed their sporting success to the functional competition structure, sports access at community level, access to scholarships and bursaries to elite schools/universities, good coaching support and mentorship, access to local and international competitions, as well as community and peer athlete support. The highest barriers reported by athletes were inadequate financial support, a dysfunctional school sport system, lack of sports facilities, equipment and transport system, poor post-career and scientific support. Elite athletes from HDAs need consistent financial support, school/foundation level sport access, quality sports facilities, equipment, and reliable transport to training and competitions, post-career, as well as scientific support to achieve their full potential and attain international sporting success.
Background: Emergency care providers (ECPs) have a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding profession. Therefore, they are predisposed to cardiovascular and other non-communicable disease risk factors. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the physical health status of ECPs in the North West province of South Africa through a selected anthropometric and other health parameter test battery. Methods: Ninety-one ECPs (64 males, 27 females) took part in the study voluntarily for health screening tests including body mass index (BMI), lean body mass (LBM), resting heart rate (RHR), blood pressure (BP), skinfold measurement, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and total cholesterol (TC). The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 (IBM). Results: The participants demonstrated a mean BMI of 28.2 ± 5.5 kg/m2, body fat of 26 ± 7.6 %, and LBM of 58.6 ± 10 kg. Significant differences were seen in height (170.5 ± 6.2 vs. 160.7 ± 5.3 cm), BF% (22.5 ± 5.3 vs. 34.2 ± 6.2 %), and LBM (62.3 ± 8 vs. 49.2 ± 8.2 kg) between males and females (P ≤ 0.05). Mean systolic BP was 122 ± 15 mmHg, and diastolic BP was 81 ± 10 mmHg. Mean WC was 90.8 ± 11.4 cm. Other health parameters included mean FBG of 5.1 ± 2.4 mmol/L and mean TC of 4.9 ± 0.7 mmol/L. Significant differences were seen in WHR (0.88 ± 0.04 vs. 0.79 ± 0.06) between males and females (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: A significant number of ECPs presented with cardiovascular and other NCD risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, high WC, elevated FBG, and abnormal levels of TC. This can be attributed to the nature of their occupation such as working irregular shifts leading to sleep deprivation, being exposed to psychological trauma, poor nutrition during shifts, and/or lack of exercise. Stress management is an important part of these workers’ rehabilitation program. A well-formulated employee wellness program is required to set remedial measures in place.
Objective The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between validated fitness parameters and an emergency rescue simulation (RS) circuit performed by emergency care providers (ECPs). Methods A cross-sectional study was selected to determine the relationship between the fitness tests and the RS. Twenty ECPs in the North West province of South Africa participated in the study. Demographic data were collected, followed by testing of anthropometric characteristics and field fitness tests measuring muscular strength, muscular endurance, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity and flexibility. Thereafter, participants had to complete a RS circuit. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between variables. Differences in age, gender and body mass index formed part of the descriptive statistics. A test-retest reliability method was applied to evaluate the reliability of the RS. Results Significant correlations were found between the RS and the 250 m shuttle run (r=0.83; p<0.01), flexed-arm hang test (r=-0.59; p<0.01), Cooper 12-minute test (r=-0.56; p<0.01), and the maximum push-up test (r=-0.51; p<0.05). Conclusion Findings demonstrate a possible association between aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance and ECP performance in an occupational task-related RS. Improved performance in these specific fitness areas may enable ECPs to be better prepared for the physical demands of their occupation. The RS may also be used as a tool to assess job (physical) preparedness of qualified ECPs during their recruitment, but this requires further validation.
The purpose of the study was to examine the availability of elite sport support systems of South African National Sports Federations (NSFs) and their accessibility to athletes from historically disadvantaged areas (HDA). Twenty-one NSFs from Olympic sports participated in the study whereby they responded to a questionnaire on sports policy factors leading to sporting success (SPLISS). Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 27.0, IBM). Informed consent was obtained from all participants before the study commenced. The majority of the NSF’s respondents reported that there was an insufficiency of financial resources, scientific and research support services, and post-sport career support. They also reported overall moderate-to-high availability of governance, organisation and sport policy structure, sport facilities, and opportunities for international competitions/exposure. Financial resources, post-career and scientific support were the most frequently reported insufficiencies, with poorer support in HDAs for all of the nine pillars of support. Additional provision is required to ensure that support systems are inclusive of athletes from HDAs. Future research needs to continue the focus on providing more detailed data on the support systems accessible to elite athletes and coaches.
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