Quantification of Head Acceleration Events in Rugby League: An Instrumented Mouthguard and Video Analysis Pilot Study

Instrumented mouthguards (iMG) were used to collect head acceleration events (HAE) in men’s professional rugby league matches. Peak linear acceleration (PLA), peak angular acceleration (PAA) and peak change in angular velocity (ΔPAV) were collected using custom-fit iMG set with a 5 g single iMG-axis recording threshold. iMG were fitted to ten male Super League players for thirty-one player matches. Video analysis was conducted on HAE to identify the contact event; impacted player; tackle stage and head loading type. A total of 1622 video-verified HAE were recorded. Approximately three-quarters of HAE (75.7%) occurred below 10 g. Most (98.2%) HAE occurred during tackles (59.3% to tackler; 40.7% to ball carrier) and the initial collision stage of the tackle (43.9%). The initial collision stage resulted in significantly greater PAA and ΔPAV than secondary contact and play the ball tackle stages (p < 0.001). Indirect HAE accounted for 29.8% of HAE and resulted in significantly greater ΔPAV (p < 0.001) than direct HAE, but significantly lower PLA (p < 0.001). Almost all HAE were sustained in the tackle, with the majority occurring during the initial collision stage, making it an area of focus for the development of player protection strategies for both ball carriers and tacklers. League-wide and community-level implementation of iMG could enable a greater understanding of head acceleration exposure between playing positions, cohorts, and levels of play.

Academia as a league system

In this paper, we explain the stability of top university ranks and discuss attempts to create top national universities. Firstly, it is shown theoretically that in a world with differently-gifted poor and rich students, a three-tier university system may become very stable, with a super league of the best research universities that attract the best students, whether rich or poor. Secondly, it is empirically demonstrated that half of the highest ranked universities enjoy very stable competitive advantages. Thirdly, we examine attempts of China, France and Germany to overcome these disadvantages and to get into this super league. The recent attempt of China to create such super league universities shows the financial and societal costs of these attempts. France demonstrates how the concentration of financial resources on two newly built universities that complement the forces of existing ones—either real or only by labelling—may succeed. Despite the complexly designed and competitive German Excellence Initiative, ongoing since 2004, no German university was among the top 50 in the Shanghai ranking in 2021 (compared to one university in 2004). The mixed results of all these worldwide attempts may reflect the problem that late market entry into the super league may be too costly, given that the classical university business model is in the mature phase of its life cycle.

Longitudinal changes in Super League match locomotor and event characteristics: A league-wide investigation over three seasons in rugby league

The 2019 and 2020 Super League (SL) seasons included several competition rule changes. This study aimed to quantify the difference between the 2018, 2019 and 2020 SL seasons for duration, locomotor and event characteristics of matches. Microtechnology and match event data were analysed from 11 SL teams, comprising 124 players, from 416 competitive matches across a three-year data collection period. Due to an enforced suspension of league competition as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions, and subsequent rule changes upon return to play, season 2020 was divided into season 2020a (i.e. Pre-COVID suspension) and season 2020b (i.e. Post-COVID suspension). Duration, locomotor variables, and match events were analysed per whole-match and ball-in-play (BIP) periods with differences between seasons determined using mixed-effects models. There were significant (ρ ≤ 0.05) reductions in whole-match and BIP durations for adjustables and backs in 2019 when compared to 2018; albeit the magnitude of reduction was less during BIP analyses. Despite reduced duration, adjustables reported an increased average speed suggesting reduced recovery time between bouts. Both forwards and adjustables also experienced an increase in missed tackles between 2018 and 2019 seasons. When comparing 2019 to 2020a, adjustables and backs increased their average speed and distance whilst all positional groups increased average acceleration both for whole-match and BIP analyses. When comparing 2020a to 2020b, all positional groups experienced reduced average speed and average acceleration for both whole-match and BIP analyses. Forwards experienced an increased number of tackles and carries, adjustables experienced an increased number of carries, and backs experienced an increased number of missed tackles when comparing these variables between season 2020a and 2020b. Rule changes have a greater effect on whole-match duration and locomotor characteristics than those reported during BIP periods which suggests the implemented rule changes have removed stagnant time from matches. Amendments to tackle related rules within matches (e.g., introduction of the ‘six-again’ rule) increases the number of collision related events such as carries and tackles.

Development of an expected possession value model to analyse team attacking performances in rugby league

This study aimed to evaluate team attacking performances in rugby league via expected possession value (EPV) models. Location data from 59,233 plays in 180 Super League matches across the 2019 Super League season were used. Six EPV models were generated using arbitrary zone sizes (EPV-308 and EPV-77) or aggregated according to the total zone value generated during a match (EPV-37, EPV-19, EPV-13 and EPV-9). Attacking sets were considered as Markov Chains, allowing the value of each zone visited to be estimated based on the outcome of the possession. The Kullback-Leibler Divergence was used to evaluate the reproducibility of the value generated from each zone (the reward distribution) by teams between matches. Decreasing the number of zones improved the reproducibility of reward distributions between matches but reduced the variation in zone values. After six previous matches, the subsequent match’s zones had been visited on 95% or more occasions for EPV-19 (95±4%), EPV-13 (100±0%) and EPV-9 (100±0%). The KL Divergence values were infinity (EPV-308), 0.52±0.05 (EPV-77), 0.37±0.03 (EPV-37), 0.20±0.02 (EPV-19), 0.13±0.02 (EPV-13) and 0.10±0.02 (EPV-9). This study supports the use of EPV-19 and EPV-13, but not EPV-9 (too little variation in zone values), to evaluate team attacking performance in rugby league.

Investor Sentiment in Stock Market: A Case of Pakistan Super League in Pakistan Stock Exchange

This study investigates whether sentiments play any role while investors make financial decisions which results in the stock returns. The paper analyzes the major two sports events (2016-2017) of Pakistan Super League (PSL). The study utilizes the stock market data from Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-100 index for the period of two financial years starting from June 2015 to July 2017. PSL T20 data is collected from the official PSL website. The empirical results of the studyshow that PSL sports events are highly statistically significant and imply that the events trigger investor sentiments (optimistic and pessimistic behaviors) in the PSX.When the whole PSL games were played on United Arab Emirates (UAE) grounds in 2016, later on, which badly affected the investor moods and resulted in a negative abnormal return in PSX-100 index. While in case of PSL event in 2017, in which only final match of the event was held in Lahore, Pakistan and resulted in a positive abnormal return in PSX-100 index. The study provides implications for different authorities such as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), PSX and other development authorities in order to promote such activities for the overall economic and social benefits. While founding no previous studies concerning the subject in the Pakistani context, the Scholar selected the issue to conduct a research and make a considerable contribution for investors in Pakistan with respect to PSL events and its impact on PSX. Keywords: Investor Sentiments, Stock returns, behavioral finance, Pakistan Super League, Pakistan Stock Exchange

Power struggles in football: The European Super League Project and its effects

Purpose: In the research, it is aimed to examine the opinions of the fans about the European Super League and its effects, which were presented to the public on April 18, 2021. Method: Case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group of the research was determined by purposive sampling method. The study group consists of 11 male participants from different professions, who follow the UEFA Champions League organization every competition week and sports news at least 4 days a week and are supporters of a football team. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and subjected to content analysis. Results: As a result of the findings, the participants stated that although there are factors that threaten the popularity of football, it is at the top among sports branches. In addition, it was stated that it would be more appropriate for football to progress with beneficial additions rather than radical changes. The majority of the participants approached the project negatively on the grounds that the founders of the European Super League gave priority to their financial interests and that it was not suitable for the sports culture adopted. The participants stated that UEFA's reactions in this process were not convincing, and that the fans' protest actions against the project were justified. The new Champions League format and Financial Fair Play were discussed in the context of the research topic and the participants stated that these two concepts were useful but structurally lacking. Conclusions: As a result, the process and the findings show that; It will be the most accurate and efficient strategy for both football clubs and UEFA to give priority to the opinions of the fans in the actions to be taken. ​Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. Özet Amaç: Araştırmada, 18 Nisan 2021 tarihinde kamuoyuna sunulan Avrupa Süper Ligi’ne ve etkilerine yönelik taraftar görüşlerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Yöntem: Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması deseni kullanılmış ve amaçlı örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenmiş, farklı meslek gruplarına mensup, UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi organizasyonunu her müsabaka haftası, spor haberlerini ise haftada en az 4 gün takip eden ve bir futbol takımının taraftarı olan 11 erkek katılımcı araştırmanın çalışma grubunu oluşturmuştur. Yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu aracılığı ile veriler toplanmış ve içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Bulgular: Elde edilen bulgular neticesinde, futbolun popülaritesini tehdit eden unsurlar olmasına rağmen spor branşları arasında zirvede yer aldığı ve köklü değişimlerden ziyade faydalı eklemelerle ilerlemenin futbol için daha uygun olacağı katılımcıların görüşleri doğrultusunda tespit edilmiştir. Avrupa Süper Ligi kurucularının maddi çıkarlarına öncelik verdiği ve benimsenen spor kültürüne uygun olmadığı gerekçesi ile katılımcıların büyük bir çoğunluğu söz konusu projeye olumsuz yaklaşım göstermişlerdir. UEFA’nın bu süreçteki tepkilerini samimi görmediklerini ifade eden futbolseverler, projeye yönelik taraftar protestolarını ise haklı bulduklarını belirtmişlerdir. UEFA’nın uygulamalarından Yeni Şampiyonlar Ligi formatı ve Finansal Fair Play, araştırma konusu bağlamında ele alınmış ve katılımcılar bu iki uygulamanın faydalı ancak yapısal olarak eksik noktalara sahip olduğunu ifade etmişlerdir. Sonuç: Sonuç olarak, yaşanan süreç ve elde edilen bulgular göstermektedir ki; gerek futbol kulüplerinin gerek UEFA’nın atacağı adımlarda önceliklerini taraftar görüşlerine vermeleri en doğru ve verimli strateji olacaktır.

Football fans’ views on the passolig e-ticket system and the decline in stadium attendance: the case of the Turkish football super league

The aim of this research is to investigate the reasons behind the decline in stadium attendance in the Turkish Football Super League since the implementation of the Passolig e-ticket system as well as football fans’ views on this system. The research sample consisted of football fans living in the province of Sakarya. The total number of participants was 500. A questionnaire comprising three parts was used for data collection. The first part of the questionnaire included questions aimed at identifying personal details of the participants; the second part included questions intended to identify their viewpoints on Passolig; the third part asked about their opinions concerning the reasons behind the decline in stadium attendance. The questionnaire contained 38 questions in total, 37 of which were prepared in the form of a five-point Likert scale with an additional open-ended question to identify participants’ opinions of Passolig. Quantitative data obtained through the study were evaluated using the IBM SPSS 25.0 software package, and qualitative analysis methods were employed for coding the questions about participants’ opinions. The study concluded that based on the opinions of the participants, Passolig has not been able to fulfill its intended functions of increasing stadium attendance, minimizing violence, and preventing ticket touting. The participants view Passolig as a means of generating unearned income and understand its implementation as one of the main reasons for the decline in stadium attendance. Besides the implementation of Passolig, high ticket prices, the weak financial situation of fans, and media broadcasts that provoke violence were among the foremost reported reasons for the decline in stadium attendance.