Women's Intercollegiate Research Articles

A Comparative Analysis of Pre-Competition Anxiety (somatic anxiety) in Female Inter College Badminton and Volleyball Participants: A Case Study of District Sargodha, Pakistan.

This research focuses on the comparison of the level of pre-competition anxiety (somatic anxiety) between intercollegiate women’s badminton as well as volleyball players in district Sargodha. The 300 female players who participated consisted of 150 badminton female players and 150 volleyball female players chosen within the age range of 16 to 21 years where M=18.5 and SD=1.87. This empirical research was delimited to the teams of women colleges of District Sargodha who took part in the Sports Events 2015-2016 of PASBAN (Pakistan Army Sports Base Achievement Network) which were held in the District Sargodha. The comparison of the level of their pre-competitive anxiety in two different games was performed with the help of Revised Competitive State Anxiety Invertory-2(CSAI-2R). The method of inferential statistics is performed on the collected data with the help of Independent Samples t/test for getting the desired result. The result depicts that no major variation is found in the level of pre-competitive somatic anxiety of the inter-collegiate female badminton and volleyball players. However, the outcome demonstrated that the level of anxiety in the girls who played badminton is higher than the girls who played volleyball. Overall, the outcome of this research will be beneficial for the athletes, other researchers, and coaches of badminton and volleyball because of the detailed review of the complex idea of competitive sport anxiety, and compared the badminton and volleyball girl players’ somatic state of anxiety.

Perceptions of the sport leadership labyrinth through the career pathways of intercollegiate women administrators

Perceptions of the sport leadership labyrinth through the career pathways of intercollegiate women administrators

Health-Related Incidents among Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Players.

Studies have revealed a higher incidence of injury and illness among elite adaptive athletes when compared to non-disabled athletes in the Paralympics and Olympics. However, sport-specific health care incidence rates and patterns outside of the Paralympics have been poorly described. To date, there are no prospective studies focused on injury or illness rates among intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players. To determine the incidence of sports-related injuries and illnesses among men's and women's intercollegiate wheelchair basketball teams throughout a season. We hypothesized that injury rates among the intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players would be similar to or greater than those of previously published National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) nondisabled basketball players and that injuries would most commonly affect the upper extremities. Prospective surveillance study. Men's and women's intercollegiate wheelchair basketball teams in Arlington, Texas. Twenty-eight (14 male, 14 female) of the 29 (15 male, 14 female) eligible adult athletes playing on an intercollegiate men's or women's wheelchair basketball team during the 2018-2019 season. Completion of a repeatable, electronic, web-app injury and illness survey during the season, as well as separate pre- and post-season injury and illness surveys. Injury rates throughout the season based on athlete-exposures and relative risk (RR) of injury of intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players compared to NCAA nondisabled basketball players. Description of onset, location, diagnosis, medical evaluation, and missed time from sport related to injuries and illnesses. Sixty-two health-related incidents, including 48 injuries and 14 illnesses, were prospectively reported during the season. Overall injury incidence rates were 12.2 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 7.4 to 17.4) and 13.1 (95% CI 7.8 to 18.4) injuries per 1000 athlete-exposures among male and female athletes, respectively. These equated to RRs of 1.53 (95% CI 1.03 to 2.27) (male) and 2.01 (95% CI 1.34 to 3.02) (female) when compared to the rates published previously on NCAA nondisabled basketball players, indicating a statistically significant increase in injury risk. Injuries most commonly involved the upper extremities (56.3%). Illnesses commonly involved the gastrointestinal (35.7%) or respiratory (21.4%) systems. This is the first prospective study to report incidence of sports-related injuries and illnesses throughout an intercollegiate wheelchair basketball season. Overall injury rates reported were higher than prior NCAA nondisabled intercollegiate basketball reports. This reinforces the need to establish an accessible network of health care support and injury prevention strategies for these athletes.

Assistant coach hiring trends: an updated investigation of homologous reproduction in intercollegiate women’s sport

ABSTRACT This study sought to update and expand upon previous applications of homologous reproduction in sport through an investigation of assistant coach hiring trends for six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s sports. Similar to previous investigations, this study focused on environments in which women (as a proportion) are both the dominant gender doing the hiring of their subordinate employees (assistant coaches) as well as the minority. We examined the gender representation of assistant coach staff members as a function of head coach gender in six sports (women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, softball, and swimming) across NCAA divisions of competition (I, II, and III). Findings revealed that women head coaches continue to engage in homologous reproduction at higher rates than men. Results suggest that in order to increase the proportions of women head coaches throughout NCAA sport, proportions of all-women and mostly-women assistant coaching staffs must also increase.

Sex differences in mechanisms of head impacts in collegiate soccer athletes

BackgroundThere has been growing interest in head impacts related to sports participation due to potential long- and short-term consequences of head injuries. Our purpose was to compare head impact magnitude and frequency between men's and women's intercollegiate soccer players based on head impact mechanism. Methods28 collegiate soccer players (16 women: age = 19.94 (1.06) years, height = 163.75 (5.15) cm, mass = 61.21 (5.09) kg; 12 men: age = 20.25 (1.14) years, height = 180.34 (6.03) cm, mass = 74.09 (9.32) kg) wore xPatch (X2 Biosystems, Seattle, WA) head impact sensors. Each practice and game was video recorded in order to confirm head impacts. The independent variable was impact mechanism (head to head, head to body (other than head), head to ground, ball to head, goal to head, and combination). Sensors collected linear and rotational accelerations and frequency of head impacts per 1000 athlete exposures. FindingsMen were more likely to sustain head impacts than women (IRR = 1.74, CI95 = 1.59–1.92). The highest head impact incidence rate for men was head to body (IR = 611.68, CI95 = 553.11–670.25) while the highest impact incidence rate for women was ball to head (IR = 302.29, CI95 = 270.93–333.64). The interaction between sex and mechanism was significant for rotational accelerations (F4, 1720 = 3.757, P = .005, ω2 = 0.013) but not for linear accelerations (F4,1720 = 0.680, P = .606, ω2 < 0.001, 1 − β = 0.223). InterpretationTo reduce the frequency of head impacts in men, perhaps rules governing player to player contact should be more strictly enforced as these data confirm frequent player-to-head contact during soccer practices and games. Prevention efforts for women should be focused on limiting the amount of purposeful heading (planned contact between the head and ball) occurring during play especially since these impacts had higher magnitudes compared to men.

Voluntary occupational turnover and the experiences of former intercollegiate women assistant coaches

Women remain underrepresented in positions of leadership throughout the sport industry. This underrepresentation has been previously linked to a leaking pipeline of successful female candidates and over the past five years the proportion of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women assistant coaches has declined. Subsequently, occupational turnover intentions of women assistant coaches have been found to exceed those of their male counterparts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of former NCAA women assistant coaches who voluntarily engaged in occupational turnover. A qualitative approach, with the theoretical underpinnings of phenomenology and hermeneutics directed the research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants. Based on the experiences of the participants, these findings extend the body of knowledge concerned with combating the leaking pipeline of women sport leadership candidates. Implications are discussed along with future research suggestions.

Women's Intercollegiate Sports on the Bubble

Women in Higher EducationVolume 24, Issue 11 p. 6-11 Athletics Women's Intercollegiate Sports on the Bubble Lois Elfman, Lois ElfmanSearch for more papers by this author Lois Elfman, Lois ElfmanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 03 November 2015 https://doi.org/10.1002/whe.20253Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume24, Issue11November 2015Pages 6-11 RelatedInformation

Baseline cortisol moderates testosterone reactivity to women's intercollegiate athletic competition

Recent research suggests that cortisol (C) level moderates testosterone (T) reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in men. The extent to which C moderates T reactivity in other circumstances and in women is not known. In this retrospective study, before- and after-competition salivary levels of C and T from 97 intercollegiate women athletes competing in one of four different sports (soccer, volleyball, softball, tennis) were used to evaluate the influence of before-competition C level on T reactivity in women's athletic competition. Athletic competition was associated with a substantial increase in salivary levels of C and T in the vast majority of athletes. Before-competition level of C significantly moderated testosterone reactivity to athletic competition — women with relatively low levels of C showed larger increases in T to competition than women with higher levels of C. Clearly, the moderating effect of C on T reactivity is not limited to laboratory settings intended to increase social stress, but is also seen in (as we show here) the context of athletic competition.

Reduced high-intensity-running rate in collegiate women's soccer when games are separated by 42 hours.

During the competitive soccer season, women's intercollegiate matches are typically played on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The efficacy of a 42-h recovery period is not well understood. This investigation was conducted to determine performance differences between Friday and Sunday matches during a competitive season. Ten NCAA Division I female soccer players (20.5±1.0 y, 166.6±5.1 cm, 61.1±5.8 kg) were monitored with 10-Hz GPS devices across 8 weekends with matches played on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The players were outside backs, midfielders, and forwards. All players had to participate in a minimum of 45 min/match to be included in the study. Average minutes played, total distance covered, total distance of high-intensity running (HIR) (defined as running at a velocity equal to or exceeding 3.61 m/s for longer than 1 s), the number of HIR efforts, and the number of sprints were calculated for each match. Data for Friday vs Sunday matches were averaged and then compared using dependent t tests. No differences were seen in minutes played, distance rate, or number of sprints between Friday and Sunday matches. A significant (P=.017) decrease in rate of HIR between Friday (25.37±7.22 m/min) and Sunday matches (22.90±5.70 m/min) was seen. In addition, there was a trend toward a difference (P=.073) in the number of efforts of HIR between Friday (138.41±36.43) and Sunday (126.92±31.31). NCAA Division I female soccer players cover less distance of HIR in games played less than 48 h after another game. This could be due to various factors such as dehydration, glycogen depletion, or muscle damage.

Women's intercollegiate athletic competition: Cortisol, testosterone, and the dual-hormone hypothesis as it relates to status among teammates

Recent research suggests that testosterone and cortisol jointly regulate dominance motivation and, perhaps, the status relationships that are affected by it. For this article, the results of six different studies of women's intercollegiate athletic competition were combined to give a sample size of almost ninety women for whom we had before- and after-competition values for salivary cortisol and testosterone for at least one and sometimes two competitions. For many of these women, we had surveys that allowed us to assess their status with teammates. In no matter what sport (soccer, softball, volleyball, and tennis) levels of salivary cortisol and testosterone increased when women participated in athletic competition. Salivary levels of C and T appear to rise in parallel during competition and increases in levels of one hormone are significantly related to increases in the other. Salivary levels of these hormones typically decreased for teammates who did not play but watched the competition from the sidelines. For women who played in two competitions, individual differences in the positive effect of competition on cortisol and testosterone were conserved from one competition to the next, affirming the personal consistency of endocrine responses to competition. Status with teammates was positively related to before-competition levels of testosterone, but only for women with relatively low before-competition levels of cortisol. This result provides novel support for the “dual-hormone hypothesis” as it relates to predicting social status in women's athletic teams — natural social groups of individuals who know each other and whose social hierarchy has evolved over the course of practice and play for at least one and, in some cases, several years of intercollegiate athletic competition.

Understanding women's collegiate volleyball spectators from the perspectives of sociodemographics, market demand and consumption level

There are few studies examining the marketing characteristics of intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators. The purpose of this paper is to examine intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators from the perspectives of sociodemographics, market demand and consumption. Spectators (N=265) from seven intercollegiate women's volleyball games at three National Collegiate Athlete Association Division-I universities participated in the study. The findings indicate that there is a need to emphasise the market demand factors when marketing intercollegiate women's volleyball games.

Development of a Notational Analysis System for Selected Soccer Skills of a Women's College Team

The purposes of this study were to develop a notational system to evaluate passing, dribbling, first touch, and individual defensive skills as they relate to success during women's soccer games and to develop a statistical model to weigh the importance of each skill on creating scoring opportunities. Sequences of skills in ten games of a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I intercollegiate women's soccer team were coded using well defined performance scores and outcomes. The notational analysis system was highly reliable as demonstrated by Spearman's rank correlations (>.98) between the first and second notation of three games for all four skills. The importance scores calculated from a Bayesian model demonstrated that dribbling (.0127) was the most important skill on creating scoring opportunities, followed by first touch (.0079), passing (.0075), and individual defense (.0050). The notational system developed from this study provides coaches with reliable and objective information to improve practice planning and optimize performance.

Let Her Play

This article addresses changes made by the Office of Civil Rights to Title IX compliance in November 2005 and argues these changes threaten current Title IX compliance practices. We frame our argument within the theoretical construct of gender socialization by examining Bussey and Bandura's (1999) definition of social cognitive theory regarding gender development and differentiation. We then tie social cognitive theory to the existing applicable literature surrounding gender socialization in women's athletics to explain the implications of the March 2005 Office of Civil Rights Title IX rulings on the future of women's intercollegiate athletics.

Community Responsibility for Preventing Sexual Violence: A Pilot Study with Campus Greeks and Intercollegiate Athletes

SUMMARY Previous research has noted higher incidences of sexual violence on campus among members of campus Greeks and athletes and the need to do prevention programs with them. This article presents the results of an exploratory pilot study of a sexual violence prevention program with members of one fraternity, sorority, men's and women's intercollegiate athletic team. The program, experimentally evaluated and found to be effective with a general sample of undergraduates, was used to determine its efficacy specifically with Greeks and athletes. The model on which the program is based calls for prevention efforts that take a wider community approach rather than simply targeting individuals as potential perpetrators or victims. Results from repeated-measures analysis of variance indicate that the program worked overall. Future directions are discussed.

The Frequency of Mouth Guard Usage and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries in College Womenʼs Basketball

PURPOSE: Recent concerns have arisen regarding female sports and the occurrence of head injury sustained during participation in contact sports. While protective mouth guards have widely been used for prevention of orofacial injury, there is evidence to support the use of a mouth guard to reduce the incidence of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI). The purpose of this study was to examine mouth guard usage and the frequency of MTBI in collegiate women's basketball. METHODS: A survey instrument was designed for this study and was validated for content and construct validity by a panel of 10 colleagues in the athletic training profession. Pilot testing was conducted with 5 professional colleagues to determine reliability of the instrument. The population of the study included a random selection (25%) from each competitive division in the NCAA (Division I, II, and III). At the time of the study a total of 1014 NCAA institutions sponsored women's intercollegiate basketball. The Certified Athletic Trainer for women's basketball at these identified institutions (80 from Division I, 72 from Division II, and 104 from Division III) was mailed a survey. Data were collected to examine the number of players who wore protective mouth guards during the 2000–2001 season and the frequency of occurrence of MTBI. In addition, data were collected on the various types of mouth guards utilized, the frequency of MTBI sustained, and mechanism of injury (MOI). RESULTS: A response rate of 51% (n = 131) was obtained (Division I: n = 49; Division II: n = 40; Division III: n = 42). The respondents indicated a total of 1781 female basketball participants from their respective institutions. Of the total female basketball participants 16% percent used mouth guard protection (12.9% custom fabricated and 3.1% boil-and-bite), while 84% used no mouth guard protection at all. Division I institutions had the highest number of participants wearing mouth guards at 27.1%, with 12.7% at Division II and 7.3% at Division III. Of all female basketball participants, 5.3% (n=95) sustained a MTBI. Fifty-four percent of MTBI occurred in Division I athletics (n=51) with 30.5% (n=29) at Division II, and 15.8% (n=15) at Division III. Regardless of competitive division, 70% of females that sustained MTBI were wearing no mouth guard protection. The most common MOI was contact with another player (35%), contact with playing surface (28%), and arm-to-head contact (22%). CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that few female basketball athletes use mouth guard protection. It also appears that a higher percentage of MTBI occur in those who do not use protection. Policies should be implemented to mandate the use of mouth guard protection.

Effects of Physical Conditioning on Intercollegiate Golfer Performance

This investigation was conducted to determine the effects of a physical conditioning program on clubhead speed, consistency, and putting distance control in 10 men and 6 women National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I golfers. Supervised strength, power, and flexibility training was performed 3 times per week for 11 weeks. Performance tests were conducted before and after the training period. Significant (p < 0.05) increases were noted for all strength, power, and flexibility tests from pre- to posttraining of between 7.3 and 19.9%. Clubhead speed increased significantly (1.6%), equating to approximately a 4.9-m increase in driving distance. Putting distance control significantly improved for the men-only group (29.6%), whereas there was no significant difference in putting distance control for the total and women-only groups. Eleven weeks of golf-specific physical conditioning increased clubhead speed without a negative effect on consistency or putting distance control in intercollegiate men and women golfers.

Identity Tensions in Lesbian Intercollegiate Coaches

Using social identity perspective, we investigated the experiences of 13 lesbian college coaches. Through semistructured interviews, the coaches revealed the daily identity tensions they experienced. There was constant negotiation between their social identities of “coach” and “lesbian.” The social context of intercollegiate women's athletics created a complex web that juxtaposed these identities against commanding social norms. The challenges these coaches faced ranged from doing what they believed was best for the well being of their athletes (e.g., fighting homonegativism) versus what was best for their professional well being (e.g., remaining silent). These coaches did not passively accept their fate; while they struggled with identity negotiation, they also found ways to counter the heterosexist atmosphere and create positive social change.

Playing nice and losing: the struggle for control of women's intercollegiate athletics, 1960-2000

For nearly a century, women physical educators kept an iron-fist control of women's intercollegiate athletics within the sex-separate spheres of college campuses and under an model of competition. According to the author, Ying Wushanley, that control began to loosen significantly when Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972. Title IX meant greater opportunities for women in educational activities, including intercollegiate athletics, Ten years after the passage of the law, however, women not only gave up their model but also lost their power and control of women's intercollegiate athletics. Playing Nice and Losing looks into the evolution of women's intercollegiate athletics from a historical perspective and examines the demise of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).

Injuries in Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse

Background Historically, the sport of women's lacrosse has required little or no protective equipment. Recently, there has been increasing concern over trauma to the face and head incurred during play. A rule change passed in spring 2003, during the course of this study, mandates goggles in 2005. Purpose To survey injuries in women's lacrosse over multiple seasons and institutions and to categorize injury rates and patterns. Study Design A prospective survey. Methods A standard report-of-injury form was sent to participating institutions. Injuries were defined by athletic training staff as any event resulting in the athlete missing one or more games or practices. Results The overall injury rate for women's lacrosse for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons from participating schools was 3.8 per 1000 athlete exposures. The rate of head and face injuries was 1.4 per 1000 athlete exposures, representing 38.5% of all injuries incurred. The rate of eye injuries was 0.43 per 1000 athlete exposures, accounting for 11.5% of the total injuries. The practice injury rate was 2.7 per 1000 athlete exposures, and the competition injury rate was 8.8 per 1000 athlete exposures. Conclusion Data support the future requirements for protective eyewear. There is significant and increasing exposure for head and face trauma. Further investigation is needed to monitor injury patterns in women's lacrosse as rules for protective gear evolve.

Soccer

Female athletes are at least twice as likely to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament injury than male athletes. The underlying cause of ACL injury is multifactorial. However, several researchers have identified knee joint laxity as a possible contributing factor. The purpose of this study was to provide a comparison of knee joint laxity between male and female collegiate soccer players and male and female non‐athletes. Thirty‐nine (19 male, 20 female) apparently healthy, collegiate athletes from the University of Texas at El Paso's 2001‐2002 women's intercollegiate soccer team and men's club soccer team, and forty (20 male, 20 female) non‐athletic students volunteered to participate. All participants were tested bilaterally using the KT‐1000 MEDmetric knee joint ligament arthrometer. Three tests were used to determine anterior laxity: passive displacement, active displacement, and the Lachman test. The mean passive displacement, mean active displacement, and Lachman (only for the left leg) were significantly lower for the athletic group than for the non‐athletic group. There were no significant differences found between males and females for the passive and active drawer tests. However, females had significantly more laxity than males in the Lachman test. These findings suggest that strength and conditioning may play a more significant role in knee joint laxity than the sex of the individual.