“This is the next frontier of performance”: power and knowledge in coaches “proactive” approaches to sportswomen’s health

A review exploring coach knowledge, attitudes/beliefs and behaviours towards low energy availability in athletes

“…17,22,26,28,37 Sporting cultures where athlete weight and/or physique is a focus may predispose individuals to potential harm. 13,58 Accordingly, it is important that coaches in any individual sport recognise the extent to which physique and/or weight management is related to performance in the athletes they manage.…”

“…sports medicine physician, sports dietician) to appropriately manage athletes with or at risk of LEA. 6,11,13,18 This review suggests that strategies to enhance coach, knowledge/attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards LEA are likely to require a sport specific focus. That is, considering the context in which coaches work, exploring formal and informal learning opportunities, offering seminars and workshops, creating awareness campaigns, understanding coach–athlete relationships, and addressing gender imbalances in the coaching environment.…”

“…adequate fuelling for athletes) to mitigate the risks of LEA. 7,13,22 Importantly, coaches who employ language and behaviours that overemphasise body composition and/or provide misinformed nutrition advice may predispose athletes to significant harm. 7,8,22,23…”

Advancing feminist innovation in sport studies: A transdisciplinary dialogue on gender, health and wellbeing

“…Building more supportive, inclusive, and equitable environments for the health and wellbeing of women and gender expansive people further requires gender-responsive approaches that promote broader cultural change. Feminist sport and exercise medicine practitioners, sports scientists, and social science researchers are increasingly coming together in their efforts to engage in inter- and transdisciplinary work on a range of topics, including gendered approaches to sports injury ( 7 ), menstrual health ( 8 ), Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport ( 9 – 11 ) and research design in exercise and sport science ( 12 , 13 ).…”

“…Through her work with WHISPA, she has organized three national symposiums focused on women's health and wellbeing in sport, collaborated with sports doctors, physiologists, psychologists, nutritionists and endocrinologists on research relating to women athlete health in Aotearoa ( 8 ) and co-produced an array of educational materials for coaches, athletes and parents (see https://hpsnz.org.nz/home/whispa-healthy-women-in-sport-a-performance-advantage/ ). She has also written on the theoretical and methodological complexities of such transdisciplinary research and practice ( 10 , 11 , 18 ), and the importance of localized and cultural ways of knowing health and wellbeing in elite sport ( 19 ). Sheree (she/her) was born in South Africa, grew up in Botswana, completed her PhD in Australia, and now calls Bath (United Kingdom) home.…”