Increased Participation In Sports Research Articles

Research on Analytical Model of Participation and Social Influence of She Sports Activities Based on Multi-source Data Fusion

The present research looks into the involvement and societal impact of women's sports activities by developing an analytical model based on multi-source data fusion. The She people, a nomadic farming tribe in southern China, have a rich cultural legacy, with sports playing an important part in community bonding and cultural expression. This study tries to explore the complex dynamics of sports engagement within the She community by combining multiple datasets from surveys, social media analysis, observational studies, and historical records. The analytical model constructed in this study examines the elements that influence sports participation among the She people, taking into account gender dynamics, resource availability, cultural norms, community support, and individual incentives. By combining data on community cohesion, gender dynamics, cultural preservation, and individual well-being, the model provides insights into the social impact of She sports activities. Further, this research examines the unequal impact of sports engagement on several demographic groups in the She community, providing a more nuanced understanding of how sports activities interface with larger social structures and inequities. The findings of this study contribute to the progress of knowledge in sports sociology and cultural anthropology, while also providing practical insights for developing inclusive and sustainable sports practices in the She community. As a result, increased sports participation and high-quality development were linked to stronger social bonds and community cohesion.

Not a Priority? That’s a Problem: The Influence of Stakeholder Salience on Event Leveraging to Increase Sport Participation

Sport events must be strategically leveraged if desired participation outcomes are to be achieved. However, uncertainties remain over which event stakeholder/s should lead this process. In addition, there is a lack of theoretical explanation to support the findings from extant studies in this area. This study analyzes how stakeholder salience influences event leverage for sport participation, focusing on a case study of an Australian state sport organization (SSO) and two major sport events. Data were collected through 15 semi-structured interviews with the SSO’s employees and content analysis of over 60 organizational documents, websites, and media reports. Findings revealed that strategies for leverage were ineffective due to demands enforced by the national sport organization, a highly salient stakeholder. This research provides new insight on the utility of sport governing bodies leading event leveraging strategies, highlighting the significance of stakeholder salience and strategic control systems in achieving desired outcomes.

Sports Health in Older Age: Prevalence and Risk Factors - Systematic Review

Exercise prevalence in older adults often shows low levels, with a considerable portion of this demographic being physically inactive. Myriad studies have also depicted gender disparities in exercise prevalence, highlighting that men tend to engage in more physical activity compared to women. The primary objective of this research is to highlight sports health in older age, prevalence, and risk fac-tors through a systematic review. This research employs a systematic review method by searching reputable journal databases such as Science Direct and Pubmed. The inclusion criteria in this study were articles published in the last five years related to exercise in the elderly, addressing topics such as exercise prevalence, risk factors for exercise, physical activity participation, the health of the elderly, and barriers to exercise. The exclusion criteria in this study were articles published in non-reputable journals. The researchers selected and analyzed 16 articles meeting the inclusing criteria for this systematic review. For standard operations, this study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) assessment. The research findings reveal that within the first group, various risk factors significantly impede exercise in older adults, including chronic health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. In addition, factors such as lack of knowledge about the benefits of exercise, fear of injury, and social isolation contributed to reduced participation in physical activity. Furthermore, the findings with-in the second group underscore the significance of information that various exercises through health sports activities to support body health in old age. The results of the third group show that some treatments of sports health therapy are suitable for the elderly. Understanding these multifaceted factors is paramount to design effective interventions to increase sports participation in the elderly. Therefore, the promotion of active and healthy lifestyles in older adults should consider the social, economic and health factors that influence individuals' decisions. This holistic approach can contribute to improving the quality of life and well-being of older adults, concurrently reducing the burden of age-related diseases. Keywords: active lifestyle, older age, physical activity, Sports Health

Using Gamification in Teaching Physical Education: A survey review

Nowadays, the determining role that Physical Education (PE) assumes for cognitive, psychomotor and affective development is widely accepted. Even so, several investigations continue to report the difficulty in motivating children to be involved and participate in PE classes through traditional teaching methods. Thus, to combat this scourge, gamification has been suggested as a useful tool to increase students’ motivation to practice PE. Based on these considerations, the main objective of this survey review was to critically analyze the potential impact of using gamification in PE classes. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses literature search extension (PRISMA-S) guidelines were advised for this survey review. After searching procedures, 68 articles remained for analysis. Traditional teaching models can be applied by using the direct instruction model, and teaching dominated approaches. By contrast, nowadays physical education and sports education have been based on game-based models. From this, gamification strategies seem to be valid and efficient as a contribute to the previous ones, applying game elements, mechanics, and principles to non-game contexts to enhance engagement and intrinsic motivation. Thus, gamification models extend to as fundamental element the theory of self-determination expressed by theory of gamified learning, dynamical model for gamification of learning, goal-access-feedback-challenge-collaboration, gamification, and virtual gamification. This investigation allows us to conclude that the inclusion of gamification in PE classes seems to translate into an increase in motivation in children and youth. For this reason the introduction of technology in classes seems to be a key factor to increase sports participation, regular physical activity and improve motor learning and control.

Do differences in sport participation contribute to socioeconomic health inequalities? Evidence from the Lifelines cohort study on all-cause mortality, diabetes and obesity

Little is known about the role of sport participation in socioeconomic health inequalities. We studied the association between different aspects of sport participation with all-cause mortality, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, including inequalities between socioeconomic subpopulations. Using the Dutch Lifelines cohort study (n = 84,230), we assessed the associations of sport participation, as well as the amount, intensity, type and number of sports, with all-cause mortality, T2DM and obesity in individuals. We studied the effect of sport participation on health outcomes within and between educational categories. Outcomes were compared with moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Sport participation was significantly associated with lower mortality (HR = 0.81), T2DM (HR = 0.70), and obesity (HR = 0.77). No significant additional effects of the amount or intensity of sport participation were found, while participating in teams sport was associated with significantly lower mortality (HR = 0.53) compared with other types of sport. These effects were similar among educational categories. Sport participation explained between 11% (T2DM and obesity) and 22% (mortality) of health inequalities between educational categories. This was more than twice the effect size of MVPA. The sensitivity analysis with net income as the socioeconomic indicator showed similar results. Our results suggest that to reduce socioeconomic differences in health, public health policies should focus on increasing sport participation in groups with a low socioeconomic status, rather than increasing the amount or intensity of sport participation, or MVPA in general.

S8-5 INTERACT capacity building framework for sport for all among sports federations

Abstract Purpose International Sports Organisations (ISOs) have increasing interest in investing on sport for all and have been called by policy-makers through different policies (e.g. WHO Global Action Plan for physical activity, UN Sustainable Development Goals) to leverage their health and physical activity potential towards the society. This presentation showcase a training (in-person, informal education workshop) that aims to empower the staff and volunteers of ISOs promote Sport for All and physical activity and act as multipliers to train their national federations and grassroot sport organisations. Project The INTERACT Capacity-Building Framework which was designed by INTERACT Erasmus+ project partners (TAFISA and 8 International Sports Organisation) through different meetings and a co-construction approach, addresses key elements, identified as part of the INTERACT project, to support ISOs and continental/national sport federations in developing their own Sport for All and physical activity initiatives and engage with their members in the field. It provides exchange of knowledge and training to empower ISOs, their staff and volunteers in Sport for All and place physical activity promotion at the core of their activities. This will in turn increase participation in sport and physical activity. By using different sensory channels (e.g. visual, acoustic, tactile), our approach satisfies the participant’s different learning types and primary ways of absorbing and processing information. Composed of three steps (advocacy, diagnostic, training), it alternates theory and practice as well as tension and relaxation, movement and rest. Participant-oriented educational work includes the conscious handling of diversity and diversity of people (e.g. in relation to sex/gender, nationality, ethnicity, religious belief, disability, sexual orientation etc.). A first pilot has been launched among 12 ISOs, and evaluation framework will be created this spring, based on a litterature review. Conclusion The INTERACT Capacity-building programme is developed to become a full-fetched service that is offered in the coming years to any ISO willing to step up its promotion of Sport for All activity.

O.4.4-2 Cross-sectoral sporting programs aimed at children from low-income families: lessons learnt from the Netherlands

Abstract Purpose Children from low-income families participate less often in sport and physical activity than children from high-income families. In the Netherlands, sporting programs were implemented by sports clubs in collaboration with other local organizations to stimulate physical activity among children from poor families. These programs were funded by the Dutch government within the program ‘Sport Impulse Youth from Low Income Neighborhoods’ (2014-2020). The aim of the research was to get insight into the implementation and successfulness of these sporting programs with regard to increasing sport participation among the target group. Methods After the two-year funding period, online questionnaires were sent to project coordinators and group interviews were conducted with project coordinators and collaborating partners (funding period 2014-2017). During the final funding period (2018-2020), also group interviews were conducted with participating children and parents. The research focused on the reach and implementation of the programs, involvement of parents, experienced effects, and factors influencing sport participation among the target group. Results Sporting programs were often adapted to the local context. Furthermore, there was little collaboration with key figures in the neighborhood that were close to the target group. The target group was predominantly reached through providing sport activities at schools in low-income neighborhoods. Providing different sport activities and personal guidance, stimulated children’s participation. However, a lack of follow-up activities and a lack of parental involvement, hindered structural sport participation. Conclusions The target group can be reached with these kind of sporting programs. To enhance program effectiveness, it is important to involve parents and to ensure suited follow-up activities are available. Furthermore, it is important that the sport coach is someone who is familiar with the background of the target group. Moreover, collaborations with key figures in the neighborhood could help in attracting more participants. Finally, adaptations in sporting programs should be thoroughly monitored. Funding source This study was funded by ZonMw, The Netherlands.

Achilles Tendinopathy Pathogenesis and Management: A Narrative Review.

The Achilles tendon is the thickest and strongest tendon of the human body, and it is frequently injured during sports activity. The incidence of Achilles tendon pathologies has increased over recent decades, especially in the last few years, because of increased sports participation among the general population and due to the diffusion of competitive sports at a high level. Tendinopathies are common in athletes and in middle-aged overweight patients. The term "tendinopathy" refers to a condition characterised clinically by pain and swelling, with functional limitations of tendon and nearby structures, and consequently to chronic failure of healing response process. Tendinopathies can produce marked morbidity, and at present, scientifically validated management modalities are limited. Despite the constantly increasing interest and number of studies about Achilles tendinopathy (AT), there is still not a consensual point of view on which is the best treatment, and its management is still controversial. AT can be treated conservatively primarily, with acceptable results and clinical outcomes. When this approach fails, surgery should be considered. Several surgical procedures have been described for both conditions with a relatively high rate of success with few complications and the decision for treatment in patients with AT should be tailored on patient's needs and level of activity. The aim of this article is to give insights about the pathogenesis and most used and recent treatment options for AT.

The association between childhood motor performance and developmental trajectories of sport participation over 5 years in Danish students aged 6–16-year-old

Sports participation has potential to promote physical activity in youth. Unfortunately, sports participation and physical activity may decline from childhood to adolescence and into adulthood. Globally, only 20% of 13–15-year-olds meet the World Health Organisation recommendations for physical activity. This study aimed to investigate the 5-year trajectories of sports participation and their association with baseline motor performance in Danish school children as part of the Childhood Health Activity and Motor Performance School Study-Denmark (CHAMPS-DK), a school-based physical activity intervention study which investigated the health benefits of increased physical education lessons. Five distinct trajectories were identified, with group 1 maintained a stable trajectory of little to no sports participation, and group 2 showing a low decreasing trend. Group 3–5, the most sports active, demonstrated increasing sport participation at different rates. Baseline motor performance score was associated with the two most active sports participation groups. Students who were more physically active during school hours participated less in organised leisure time sports. This suggest focusing on improving motor performance in youth may support future sports participation and thus health-related physical activity. But also, that it might be necessary to engage and maintain children and adolescents in leisure time sports while implementing physical activity promotion interventions.

The Relative Importance of Training and Social Support for Runners’ Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundRunning participation/performance is a complex system. Understanding the variables associated with these behaviors may help to increase population physical activity and improve performance. This study aimed to investigate social and training variables important for running performance using a network approach.MethodsThis cross-sectional study sampled 1151 non-professional Brazilian runners of both sexes (women, 38.2%; men, 61.7%). A questionnaire was available for eligible participants using an online platform, and information regarding training (volume and running pace) and social variables (participation in a running event, participation in a running group, influence on running, runners in the family, and childhood sport) related to runners’ performance was obtained. The Chi-square test and network model were estimated by sex.ResultsTraining characteristics tend to be clustered. For both sexes, the training volume node presented the highest expected influence in the network (1.69 for women and 2.16 for men). Centrality indicators of social variables show that sports childhood participation and the presence of runners in the family were the most important nodes of network connection for women and men, respectively.ConclusionBased on these findings, it was concluded that sports participation during childhood and the practice of running by other family members were important factors to connect variables in the network. These findings have practical applications for health policymakers, highlighting the need to develop educational programs to increase sports participation during childhood and within families.

Kecanduan Gadget dan Aktifitas Fisik Pada Remaja: Tinjauan Literatur

Background: Physical inactivity is one of the causes of non-communicable diseases and is a global public health problem. Numerous studies mentioned that teenagers spend their leisure time in engaging sedentary behavior and smartphone addiction is the primary cause of physical inactivity.Objective: This narrative review aims to review the association between smartphone addiction and physical inactivity among adolescents, as well as some solutions that have been carried out to overcome this problem from previous studies. Methods: The search included electronic bibliographic databases from PubMed and Google Scholar, published from 2015-2021. In total, 8 cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria of this review.Results: Adolescents who reported being addicted to a smartphone are more likely to engage in sedentary behavior and be physically inactive. Mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, fear, and other mental depression mediated this association. Also, smartphone addiction can be reduced by increasing sports participation and involvement in physical activity among adolescents. Educational institutions and parents can use sports and recreational activities as intervention strategies to overcome smartphone addiction among the adolescent population.Conclusion: This study highlights the association between smartphone addiction and physical inactivity. Physical activity and sports participation may have the potential to prevent smartphone addiction among adolescents.

Facilitating Children's Club-Organized Sports Participation: Person-Environment Misfits Experienced by Parents from Low-Income Families.

Despite the many benefits of club-organized sports participation for children, studies have shown that sports participation is lower among children from low-income families than among children from middle- or high-income families. Adopting a socioecological perspective, the main aim of our study was to identify and describe experiences of person-environment (PE) misfits in relation to parental facilitation of children's sports participation. We conducted 24 interviews with parents from low-income families. PE misfits were found in multiple behaviors related to the facilitation of children's sports participation: financing sports participation; planning and investing time; transporting children; acquiring, processing, and providing information; and arranging support. Across these PE misfits, influential attributes were found on the individual level (e.g., skills) as well as within the social, policy, physical, and information environment. In response to PE misfits experienced, parents deployed multiple strategies to reduce these PE misfits, aimed at enhancing either themselves (e.g., increasing financial capacities) or their environments (e.g., arranging social support). These results provide an insight into experienced PE misfits that took the form of multiple specific behaviors which parents found difficult while facilitating their children's sports participation. Furthermore, the results provide insight into the environmental and individual attributes that were involved in these PE misfits, and into how parents modified themselves or their environments in order to make their environments more supportive. The study contributes to future research on individual and environmental influences on parental facilitation of their children's sports participation, as well as on the development of multilevel interventions aimed at increasing sports participation among children from low-income families.

Youth Sport Participation By Metropolitan Status: 2018-2019 National Survey Of Children’s Health (NSCH)

Youth sport participation in rural populations is understudied, including minimal information being available on how participation rates vary by urbanicity. This information is crucial for identifying demographic groups within different levels of urbanicity that may need additional support to increase sport participation. PURPOSE: To examine the association between metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status and sport participation among American youth ages 6-17. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2018-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health. Weighted prevalence statistics were computed for sport participation by MSA status (living in an MSA, yes/no), overall and by child sex and age. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) for non-MSA versus MSA youth, before and after adjusting for special health care needs, race/ethnicity, income, and parent education. RESULTS: The final sample included 30,029 children [11.6 years (SD = 0.4), 51.4% female, 49.0% White). About 56% participated in sport in the past year. Sport participation prevalence was lower outside of (versus within) MSAs [53.6% (95% CI: 51.1%-56.0%) versus 56.0% (95% CI: 54.7%-57.3%)]. Among youth ages 6-11, those in non-MSAs (versus MSAs) were less likely to participate in sport [IRR 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.99)], which was non-significant after adjustment. In adjusted models, youth ages 12-17 in non-MSAs (versus in MSAs) were more likely to participate in sport [aIRR 1.07 (95% CI: 1.00-1.15)]. This association was stronger for older males [aIRR 1.12 (95% CI: 1.02-1.23)]. CONCLUSIONS: There was a negative association between living in a non-MSA and sport participation. However, in adjusted models, non-MSA youth were more likely to participate. The relationship between MSA status and sport participation may be largely driven by factors (e.g., household income) that affect children’s ability to participate in sport. Efforts promoting youth sport should focus on reducing cost-related barriers to increase participation regardless of household income.

Is Working from Home during COVID-19 Associated with Increased Sports Participation? Contexts of Sports, Sports Location and Socioeconomic Inequality.

Previous research has focused mainly on the association between working from home (WFH) and physical activity, establishing that physical activity diminished among people WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we investigated the association between WFH and specifically sports participation (competitive and non-competitive). We theorized that WFH would offer individuals additional opportunities to practice sports during the pandemic. Governmental restrictions at the time constrained opportunities to participate in organized sports and in sports with others. We, therefore, expected sports participation during the pandemic to be largely restricted to individual participation and participation at home or in the public space. By means of descriptive analyses and adjusted analyses of variance (n = 1506), we found positive associations between WFH and various aspects of sports participation. Lower-educated individuals, in particular, seem to be benefiting from WFH related to their sports participation in the public space, and economically deprived individuals also seem to be benefiting from WFH in regard to their sports participation at home. Our findings extend the literature on physical activity and sports participation among people who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic while offering implications for policies on WFH, sports opportunities in public space and physical activity-friendly environments.

Leveraging the London 2012 Paralympic Games to increase sports participation: the role of voluntary sports clubs

ABSTRACT Purpose This study investigates the extent to which English voluntary sports clubs leveraged the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and what impact leveraging had on the sports participation of people with disabilities (PwD) at clubs. Research methods Realist evaluation was used to frame the research. An online questionnaire was administered to English clubs between 27 January 2018 and 8 April 2018. Four hundred and thirty-three clubs were included in the final analysis. Findings Most clubs did not leverage the London 2012 Paralympics. Clubs that leveraged were more likely to have increased their PwD membership. Holding taster sessions was the most effective leveraging activity. Principal components analysis revealed two leveraging constraints: knowledge of disability, and resources to leverage. A one-way MANOVA revealed clubs from inclusively funded national governing bodies were more likely to be constrained by their limited knowledge of disability. Implications This study suggests specific disability provision at clubs was important to the successful leveraging of the 2012 Paralympics for increased sport participation of PwD. The intention and capacity of the club to support leveraging were also important factors. Research contribution This study produces empirical data on the role and effectiveness of clubs as sites for sport participation for PwD following the Paralympic Games.

Sustainable Development of Olympic Sport Participation Legacy: A Scoping Review Based on the PAGER Framework

After the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese officials claimed that the goal of “driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports” had been achieved. Historically, the London 2012 Olympic Games had a similar goal: to increase sports participation for all by hosting the Olympic Games. Given these goals, the impact of the Olympic Games on sports participation has clearly become significant. These impacts can be referred to as the Olympic sport participation legacy, an intangible Olympic legacy. The Olympic sport participation legacy has attracted a lot of researchers’ interest in the academic field in recent years. This paper aims to conduct a scoping review of Olympic sport participation legacy studies between 2000 and 2021 to identify the progress of studies on the sustainability of Olympic sport participation legacies. Unlike previous scoping reviews on sport participation legacies, this review adopts a Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence of Practice, and Research Recommendations (PAGER) framework at the results analysis stage to improve the quality of the findings. The results from the scoping review contained 54 peer-reviewed articles on three levels of research: the population level, social level, and intervention processes. Many studies indicate that achieving a sustainable Olympic sport participation legacy requires joint collaboration and long-term planning between governments, community organisations, and other stakeholders.

The relationships between school children's wellbeing, socio-economic disadvantage and after-school activities: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundLower socioeconomic status is associated with poorer wellbeing among children. Identifying how children participate in after-school activities and how after-school activities are associated with wellbeing may inform interventions to improve wellbeing among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This study explored whether children’s after-school activities varied by socioeconomic status and examined the associations between after-school activities and wellbeing in low socioeconomic status children.MethodsThis study analysed cross-sectional data from 61,759 school students in years 4 to 9 who completed the 2018 South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collection. Students reported the number of days per week they participated in 12 activities (after-school care, homework, music lessons or practice, youth organisations, sports, television, videogames, social media, reading, chores, arts and crafts, and socialising with friends) during the after-school period (3-6 pm) and their wellbeing (happiness, sadness, worry, engagement, perseverance, optimism, emotion regulation, and life satisfaction). Socioeconomic status was measured by parents' highest education level obtained from school enrolment data. Linear multilevel models were used to examine whether frequency of after-school activities varied by socioeconomic status. Multilevel ordered logit models were used to analyse the association between after-school activities and wellbeing amongst participants in the low socioeconomic status category.ResultsAfter-school activities differed according to socioeconomic status; high socioeconomic status children did more frequent sport, homework, and reading and low socioeconomic status children did more frequent screen-based activities (TV, videogames and social media). Among children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, higher wellbeing was associated most consistently with more frequent sports participation, homework, reading and spending time with friends and less frequent videogames, social media and after-school care.ConclusionsChildren's wellbeing is positively associated with socioeconomic status. Amongst children from disadvantaged backgrounds, participating in sport, spending time with friends and getting less screen time may be protective for wellbeing. The results suggest that programming targeted at increasing sports participation and reducing screen time amongst children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds may support their wellbeing.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Following Surgical Intervention for Pediatric Sports-Related Injuries to the Knee: a Systematic Review.

Increased sports participation and early specialization has contributed to an increase in surgically managed musculoskeletal injuries to the knee in youth athletes. Established patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures have been extensively reported in adult patients to assess outcomes following sports-related knee surgery. However, current PRO measures for pediatric patients undergoing surgery for sports-related injuries have not been well-described. Strong emphasis has been placed on patient-reported outcomes in recent years, and surgeons have identified many different scoring systems that could be used for sports-related knee injuries in children and adolescents. Recent research has shown that substantial variability exists in the reporting of PRO measures assessing outcomes following surgical management of sports-related knee injuries in pediatric patients. With a paucity of studies using PRO measures in surgically managed pediatric knee injuries, only procedures involving the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) showed preference for particular systems. Pediatric ACL procedures predominantly use the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scoring system, while MPFL procedures predominantly use the Kujala scoring system. Further studies are necessary to determine preferred and appropriate patient-reported outcome measures for specific sports-related knee procedures in pediatric patients.

Athletic identity and its relationship to moral values among physical education university students

Introduction. Physical education (PE) is one of the majors that some people and societies may consider less important than other majors which reduces the importance of the specialisation in this field. The investigation of athletic identity and its relationship to moral values among PE university students is an attempt to see the extent of the athletic identity may influence the possession of moral values among individuals who work in the PE field. This evaluation study seen from PE students’ perception is a new study that has not been carried out in Jordan. Most dominant researchers in Jordan and the Arab world evaluate athletic identity or possession of moral values but they have not studied the relation between the two variables.Aim. The present researchaimsto evaluate the athletic identity with relation to moral values based on the perceptions of PE university students.Methodology and research methods. A descriptive approach was used to analyse the data. To collect data, a questionnaire was applied. The questionnaire consists of two scales. The first is the Athletic Identity Measuremtent Scale (AIMS), consisting of 14 items distributed over three domains: socialisation identity (5 items), exclusivity (5 items), and negative emotion (4 items). The second is the Moral Values Scale (MVS), consisting of 27 items, distributed into five domains: responsibility (7 items), honesty, (5 items), socialisation (10 items), beauty (5 items), and competition (5 items). The study sample consisted of 280 students of Faculty of Physical Education at Yarmouk University.Results and scientific novelty. The results revealed that the level of athletic identity among students was rated high with statistically significant differences in favour of males. The domain of negative emotion was rated first, followed by exclusivity and socialisation identity respectively. The domains of moral values were estimated high in which competition domain was rated first, followed by beauty, honesty, responsibility and socialisation respectively. The results also demonstrated that there was a positive statistically significant relationship between athletic identity and moral values.Practical significance. The study recommends consolidating athletic identity among students through increasing sports participation and activities, strengthening academic courses that deal with sports culture and sports values, involving female students in sports activities to enhance the level of their athletic identity to bridge the gap in the level of athletic identity between them and male students.

Changes in the Number of Medal Events, Sport Events, and Classes During the Paralympic Games: A Historical Overview.

PurposeTo chart how changes in the number of medal events relate to changes in the number of sport events and classes during the Paralympic Games (PG) between 1960 and 2018.MethodsWeb-scraping was used to extract information from the website of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on all unique medal events, sport events, and classes per PG, which were then accumulated per sport to descriptively identify and further explore changes.ResultsThe increased number of medal events during the early Summer Games (SG) (1960–1984: 113–975) and Winter Games (WG) (1976–1994: 55–113) was primarily due to an increased number of classes and sport events. While this suggested an increased sports participation among athletes with disabilities, it made the PG difficult to organize. A decrease in the number of medal events subsequently occurred during the SG (1984–1992: 975–489) and WG (1994–2006: 133–58). This was mainly achieved by reducing the number of sport events in the larger sports. Following this decline phase, the number of medal events and sport events has remained relatively stable for both editions of the PG, though this was achieved through different strategies. The WG employed the time-factor system for all individual sports, which enabled competitions across classes within sport events and thus, award a single gold medal (one medal event) for several classes. The SG have maintained the number of medal events despite a slight increase in classes (112–181). This was due to some sports combining classes in the same event, while others excluded certain classes from certain sport events.ConclusionsThe number of medal events during each PG appear to be closely related to the number of sport events and, partially, to the number of classes. The stability in the number of medal events may indicate that a balance has been achieved, where there currently are enough classes and sport events to ensure fairness, while also maintaining a level of prestigiousness for winning a medal. However, it remains to be seen whether this stability will last or if the continued growth of the PG with more athletes and countries will warrant changes in the number of medal events.