scholarly journals The post-Olympic Games experience: A qualitative investigation of Australian Rio Olympians

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Bennie ◽  
Courtney C. Walton ◽  
Donna O'COnnor ◽  
Lauren Fitzsimons ◽  
Thomas Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Performance Expectations ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Individual Sports ◽  
Sport Organisation

Background: While research into Olympic Athletes’ career transitions and retirement has led to a deeper understanding of important factors for athletes in this context, considerably less is known about the experiences of athletes in the immediate phase following an Olympic Games. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate Australian Olympic athletes’ experiences during the period of time immediately following the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. This involved investigating specific factors that influenced athletes’ post-games realities of success, failure, and return to everyday life.Design: Qualitative-inductiveMethods: Eighteen Australian Rio Olympic Games athletes (Female N=9, Male N=9) from a variety of team and individual sports participated in semi-structured interviews that explored their post-Olympic Games experiences. Thematic analysis was used to inductively analyse the data. Results: In the period immediately following the Rio Olympic campaign, many athletes felt a sense of relief before coming to terms with a post-Olympic ‘come down’. While positive and negative transitions back to reality following the Rio Games were influenced by performance expectations, positive transitions generally occurred when athletes had made plans for the post-Games phase and received strong support from family, teammates, and sport governing bodies. Conversely, negative experiences tended to occur where funding ceased, coach-athlete relationships fell apart, or team structures were dissolved following the Olympic event. Conclusions: Overall, athletes had a variety of experiences during the post-Olympic period and as such, it is critical to consider their needs individually. The findings of this project have implications at the micro (athlete, coach) and macro (National Sport Organisation) levels that could be used to better inform the targeted development of post-Olympic programs.

scholarly journals Virtual Reality for Experiential Education: A User Experience Exploration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schott ◽  
Stephen Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Experiential Education ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Tourism Education ◽  
Education Tool ◽  
User Perspectives

Virtual reality technology has made significant advances and is now widely recognised for its potential to provide fully immersive experiences that have relevance to many aspects of life, including education. This paper explores the effectiveness of VR technology for situated experiential education by adopting a user experience (UX) theoretical framing of an example application in tourism education. The trial of a VR-based experiential education tool followed by semi-structured interviews revealed many positive user perspectives that lend strong support for the technology’s use for experiential education, however, several negative experiences were also identified, included the debilitating impact of motion sickness. The UX framework contributes a deeper analysis of the positive and negative experiences by applying the three UX facets, beyond instrumental facet, emotion & affect facet, and the experiential facet, which in combination serve to not only identify key areas requiring improvement but also assists in the prioritisation process. While the exploratory findings promote further engagement with VR to foster experiential education more research is required to locate VR’s broader pedagogical place in tertiary education.

scholarly journals Virtual Reality for Experiential Education: A User Experience Exploration

2020 ◽  
pp. 96-110
Author(s):  
Christian Schott ◽  
Stephen Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Experiential Education ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Tourism Education ◽  
Education Tool ◽  
User Perspectives

Virtual reality technology has made significant advances and is now widely recognised for its potential to provide fully immersive experiences that have relevance to many aspects of life, including education. This paper explores the effectiveness of VR technology for situated experiential education by adopting a user experience (UX) theoretical framing of an example application in tourism education. The trial of a VR-based experiential education tool followed by semi-structured interviews revealed many positive user perspectives that lend strong support for the technology’s use for experiential education, however, several negative experiences were also identified, included the debilitating impact of motion sickness. The UX framework contributes a deeper analysis of the positive and negative experiences by applying the three UX facets, beyond instrumental facet, emotion & affect facet, and the experiential facet, which in combination serve to not only identify key areas requiring improvement but also assists in the prioritisation process. While the exploratory findings promote further engagement with VR to foster experiential education more research is required to locate VR’s broader pedagogical place in tertiary education.

scholarly journals Exploring the Experiences and Well-Being of Australian Rio Olympians During the Post-Olympic Phase: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Bennie ◽  
Courtney C. Walton ◽  
Donna O’Connor ◽  
Lauren Fitzsimons ◽  
Thomas Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Elite Athlete ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
The Olympic Games

Research about the Olympic Games has primarily focused on preparing athletes for competition. Less attention has been paid to the post-Olympic-phase (POP) and athlete well-being during this time. This study explored Australian Olympic athletes’ experiences following the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, including the factors that may have contributed to or challenged their well-being during this time. Eighteen athletes participated in semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis revealed that when Olympic performance appraisal met prior expectations, when athletes planned for a return to work or study, and when support from a variety of sources was readily available, this positively influenced athletes’ well-being during the POP. When these factors were not in place, more challenging post-Games experiences were present, and well-being was compromised. The findings contribute to the broader literature on elite athlete well-being and at an applied level, may be used to inform targeted programs that focus on supporting athletes after an Olympic campaign.

scholarly journals Where is victory most certain? The level of luck-based noise factor in Summer Olympic Games

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-386
Author(s):  
Gergely Csurilla ◽  
András Gyimesi ◽  
Erika Kendelényi-Gulyás ◽  
Tamás Sterbenz
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Noise Factor ◽  
Table Tennis ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
Market Shares ◽  
Actual Outcome ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Individual Sports ◽  
Noise Factors

Abstract We describe a statistical approach for the measurement of the newly defined luck-based noise factor in sports. It is defined as the difference between the actual outcome and the expected outcome based on the model predictions. We raise the question whether some sports exhibit a higher level of noise-factor than others, making investments in that sport riskier. Data from 14 individual sports in six Summer Olympic Games between 1996 and 2016 were included in the analysis. Market shares are predicted by the autoregressive linear and zero-inflated beta regression models with exogenous variables, where the higher Normalized Mean Squared Error indicates a higher noise-factor. Modern pentathlon, tennis and cycling showed the highest noise-factors, whereas swimming, table tennis and athletics were the least noisy. Possible reasons are discussed in the paper. Our analysis indicates that countries with suitable resources producing leading elite Olympic athletes are predicted to achieve higher success in sports with a lower noise-factor such as swimming. In contrast, investments in noisy sports, such as e.g., modern pentathlon, are associated with a higher risk.

scholarly journals Virtual Reality for Experiential Education: A User Experience Exploration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schott ◽  
Stephen Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Experiential Education ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Tourism Education ◽  
Education Tool ◽  
User Perspectives

Virtual reality technology has made significant advances and is now widely recognised for its potential to provide fully immersive experiences that have relevance to many aspects of life, including education. This paper explores the effectiveness of VR technology for situated experiential education by adopting a user experience (UX) theoretical framing of an example application in tourism education. The trial of a VR-based experiential education tool followed by semi-structured interviews revealed many positive user perspectives that lend strong support for the technology’s use for experiential education, however, several negative experiences were also identified, included the debilitating impact of motion sickness. The UX framework contributes a deeper analysis of the positive and negative experiences by applying the three UX facets, beyond instrumental facet, emotion & affect facet, and the experiential facet, which in combination serve to not only identify key areas requiring improvement but also assists in the prioritisation process. While the exploratory findings promote further engagement with VR to foster experiential education more research is required to locate VR’s broader pedagogical place in tertiary education.

scholarly journals Exploring the use of goal proximity by Olympic athletes: A preliminary study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Greg Sun
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
Systematic Planning ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Data Source

An athlete’s 4-year Olympic preparation cycle requires systematic planning involving the use of short- and long-term goals. These goals provide athletes with increased motivation, persistence, effort and direction in their goal pursuit. Short-term goals can be viewed as steppingstones towards the long-term goals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the use of short- and long-term goals by Olympic athletes. A qualitative design was used, with semi-structured interviews as the major data source. Participants were purposefully sampled from a typically understudied sports population. Four male Olympians, representing swimming and athletics, shared their experiences about how and why they set and used short- and long-term goals. The athletes spent an average of 11.3 years training and competing at the elite level. Findings revealed that winning a national championship and competing at the Olympic Games were their major long-term goals. Furthermore, these goals did not change during their athletic career. Short-term goals were primarily set to learn, develop and improve their skills/techniques that would allow them to reach their ultimate goals. Major competitive events (e.g. national championships, Pan Am Games, Olympic Games) dictated how they planned these goals. The findings also support previous research suggesting the use of both short and long-term goals. Coaches and young athletes can use the information provided to plan their sports goals. Future research should investigate the goal setting practices of team versus individual sport Olympic athletes.

TOURISM MOBILITY AT THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Cabral ◽  
Carolin Lusby ◽  
Ricardo Uvinha
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Official Sources ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

Sports Tourism as a segment is growing exponentially in Brazil. The sports mega-events that occurred in the period from 2007 to 2016 helped strengthen this sector significantly. This article examined tourism mobility during the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016, hosted by the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This study expands the understanding of the relationship between tourism and city infrastructure, therefore being relevant to academics, professionals of the area and to the whole society due to its multidisciplinary field. The existence of a relationship between means of transportation and the Olympic regions as well as tourist attractions for a possible legacy was observed. Data were collected from official sources, field research and through participant-observation and semi structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed. The results indicate that the city was overall successful in its execution of sufficient mobility. New means of transportation were added and others updated. BRT's (Bus Rapid Transit) were the main use of mass transport to Olympic sites. However, a lack of public transport access was observed for the touristic sites.

‘Attitudes Towards Sport Psychology Consulting in Athletes From Individual and Team Sports’

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daire Rooney ◽  
Neil Heron ◽  
Robin Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Sport Psychology ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Sport Type ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Individual Sports ◽  
Willingness To Consult ◽  
Univariate Analyses

Abstract Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate how an athlete’s participation in either an individual or team sport is related to their attitude toward sport psychology consulting and their willingness to consult a sport psychology practitioner. Method: The Sport Psychology Attitudes-Revised form (SPA-R) was completed by one hundred and twenty athletes from individual and team sports. A 2 (Type of sport: individual and team) x 2 (Gender) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted with attitudes towards sport psychology as dependent variables. In order to identify attitudes that accentuated the differences related to type of sport, follow-up univariate analyses were performed. Results: Results revealed that athletes involved in individual sports reported overall more positive attitudes towards sport psychology consulting than athletes involved in team sports. In particular, the athletes involved in individual sports were more likely to have greater confidence in sport psychology consulting. The findings also show that gender may mediate this association, indicated by a nearly significant two-way interaction effect for gender and type of sport (individual versus team) regarding confidence in sport psychology. The source of this marginal result was a larger effect of sport type for females than for males. Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that athletes involved in individual sports are more likely to have positive attitudes towards sport psychology compared to athletes competing in team-based sports. The results may go some way to assist sport psychologists to understand and address athletes’ concerns and to improve receptivity to sport psychology services.

scholarly journals Quantitative and Qualitative in Measuring Quality of Life in Sports

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihaela PAUNESCU ◽  
Vasilica GRIGORE ◽  
Georgeta MITRACHE ◽  
Alexandra PREDOIU ◽  
Radu PREDOIU
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Statistical Processing ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quality Of Life Inventory ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Individual Sports

The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with what each person and family undertake, continuing with the interventions at the community level and ending with the public policy measures. Purpose: This study makes a quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life as perceived by young people who practice sports, and it also highlights the differences in perception of the quality of life among youth, according to gender and the sport practiced (individual or team sport), for the 16 life domains. Methods: The participants were 69 athletes. Quality of life has been measured using the Quality of Life Inventory (QoLI) for Romania, developed by Michael B. Frisch. Results: After processing the data, it has been found that the highest weighted satisfaction is obtained for Goals and Values, Play, Health and Self-Esteem, and the lowest satisfaction is recorded for Children, Money, Community and Neighborhood. Statistical processing also reveals an average overall quality of life for the study participants, regardless of gender and the practiced sport. Conclusions: It has been concluded that the influence of practicing individual sports on the overall quality of life for the participants in the study is at a higher level than in team sports.

scholarly journals Evaluation of spine MRIs in athletes participating in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympic Games

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S Wasserman ◽  
Ali Guermazi ◽  
Mohamed Jarraya ◽  
Lars Engbretsen ◽  
Mohamad AbdelKader ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Acute Injury ◽  
Spinal Disease ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
High Level ◽  
Spine Mri ◽  
Spine Disease ◽  
Age And Sex

Background/aimIn high-level Olympic athletes, many spinal pathologies arise from overuse, while others are the result of acute injury. Our aim is to analyse the epidemiology of spinal pathologies detected on MRI in athletes participating in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.MethodsIn this retrospective study, all spine MRIs performed during the 2016 Rio Games were analysed. Descriptive data from the MRIs were tabulated and analysed for disc degeneration, spinal canal and/or neural foraminal narrowing, and acute/chronic fractures. Data were analysed by sport, continent of origin, age and sex.ResultsOf 11 274 athletes participating in the Olympic games, 100 received spine MRI. Fifty-two of the 100 (52%) athletes who received cervical, thoracic and/or lumbar spine MRI showed moderate to severe spinal disease. The highest sport-specific incidence of moderate to severe spine disease was seen in aquatic diving athletes (67%, 3 per 100 divers). Weightlifting had the second highest sport-specific incidence of spine disease (67%, 1.5 per 100 weightlifters). Athletics used the most spine MRIs (31 of 107 MRIs, 29%). European athletes had more spine MRIs than all other continents combined (55 of 107 MRIs, 51%). Athletes over 30 years old had the highest rate of moderate to severe spine disease on MRI (24 of 37 athletes >30 years old, 65%).ConclusionsA high number of the world’s premier athletes demonstrated moderate to severe spine disease on MRI during the 2016 Summer Olympics, including moderate/severe degenerative disc changes with varying degrees of disc bulges and herniations.

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