Queensland Academy of Sport

ObjectivesDespite the well-documented benefits of sports for individuals with disabilities, participation remains low, and disability-related medical complications are a major barrier. Medical doctors, as trusted sources of health information on physical activity with sustained patient contact, are well-positioned to manage these issues and promote safe participation in sports. However, limited evidence exists regarding their role. This study explored medical doctors’ knowledge, practices and perceptions in promoting and supporting sports participation among people with disabilities.MethodsAn online survey collected quantitative and qualitative data from registered medical doctors internationally who provided direct general or specialised medical care to people with disabilities.ResultsA total of 168 medical doctors from 16 countries participated. Most (91.1%) recognised the benefits of sports participation for people with disabilities and acknowledged their role in supporting participation (76.8%), while 69.7% identified medical complications as a barrier to participation. However, many reported low confidence in key areas: awareness of local disability sport organisations (53.6%); guiding patients (49.4%) and identifying relevant medical complications. Only 15.5% (of 58) had experience with pre-participation assessments. Limited awareness of disability sports, identified as a major barrier, and increasing awareness was the most frequently suggested strategy to enhance doctors’ involvement.ConclusionAlthough medical doctors recognised the benefits of sports for people with disabilities and their role in promoting and supporting participation, many reported low confidence in their knowledge of disability sports and in identifying potential medical complications that may hinder sport participation. Development of methods and materials is required to provide doctors with the knowledge and confidence to effectively promote sport participation among people with disabilities.

Female athletes are more susceptible to sports-related concussions and experience greater and prolonged symptomatology. Changes in the cervico-vestibular systems have been observed in the acute phase post-concussion, but it is unknown if residual impairments persist in the following 12 months. To determine if there was an association between baseline screening of the cervical spine, vestibular and oculomotor systems in female athletes with and without a history of concussion. Cross-sectional study. 94 elite and pre-elite female athletes participating in soccer, water polo and rugby-7s were recruited from the Queensland Academy of Sport, Australia. Athletes completed the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT6), Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS), and assessment of the cervical spine (manual examination and joint proprioception). History of concussion (yes/no) in the last 12 months was self-reported. A history of headaches, findings on manual examination of the cervical spine (altered segmental mobility and tissue resistance) and symptom provocation on the VOMS were significantly different between groups for those with and without a history of concussion (all p<0.05). Unadjusted odds ratios were 4.2 (95% CI: 1.3-13.4) for history of headaches, 3.8 (95% CI: 1.2-11.8) for abnormal VOMS and 3.2 (95% CI: 1.1-9.3) for increased tissue resistance on manual examination of the cervical spine, suggesting that players with these findings on clinical examination are more likely to have a history of concussion. The results of this study suggest that athletes with a history of concussion should undergo manual assessment of the cervical spine and vestibulo-ocular system screening regardless of baseline self-reported symptom profile.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to (a) establish the test‐retest reliability of the water polo intermittent shuttle test (WIST) in elite female water polo players, (b) investigate the validity of the WIST to determine positional differences in WIST scores within this population and (c) distinguish between competitive female playing standards. Part one involved 14 elite female water polo players (24.2 ± 3.2 years, experience > 5 years) completing the WIST on two separate occasions, separated by 48 h. In part two, 18 elite (24.4 ± 3.5 years), 7 highly trained (21.6 ± 3.2 years) and 34 trained (13–17 years) female water polo players completed the WIST. The coefficient of variation (CV), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), smallest worthwhile change (SWC) and minimal detectable change 90% CI (MDC90) were calculated. The WIST demonstrated acceptable reliability (ICC = 0.93, CV = 6.7%) and usefulness to detect performance changes with SWC0.2 (22.3 m) > TE 90% CI [(17.5 m (11.6, 23.3))], quantifying practically meaningful changes in performance (MDC90 = 54.8 m or ∼ 4 shuttles). No significant positional differences were evident. Very large, positive, statistically significant differences were found between highly trained and trained (U14 to U17) players (p < 0.01, g = 3.1) and between elite and trained (U14 to U17) players (p < 0.01, g = 2.4). The WIST is a reliable and useful high‐intensity intermittent performance test suitable for elite female water polo players. Differences across standards of competition confirmed the sensitivity and validity of the WIST. Practitioners can quantify practically meaningful changes in WIST performance using MDC90.

Parsonage, J, Webster, H, Keogh, JWL, Gosney, S, MacDonald, LA, and Minahan, C. Relationships among sprint-paddling performance, shoulder function, and upper-body strength, in female surfers. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2025-The aim of this study was to establish the intrasession and intersession reliability of 2 water-based tests to determine sprint-paddling performance and the relationships of water-based sprint-paddling performance, upper-body strength, and shoulder function in female surfers. Ten female surfers (age = 30.0 ± 6.3 years, mass = 65.5 ± 8.7 kg, height = 170.0 ± 6.0 cm) completed 3 trials of an 8-s "tethered" and a 15-m "free" sprint-paddling test during 2 independent sessions. Dryland assessments included shoulder range of motion, shoulder isometric peak force (internal and external rotation at 90° abduction), and 1 repetition maximum pull-up. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (%CV), and typical error (TE). Excellent intrasession (ICC = 0.97, CV% = 2.98, TE = 0.04) and intersession (ICC = 0.97, CV% = 3.11, TE = 0.04) reliability was established for average force during tethered paddling, with moderate intersession (ICC = 0.59, CV% = 9.74, TE = 0.21) reliability established in measures of peak force. The 15-m free sprint-paddling test demonstrated good-to-excellent intrasession (ICC = 0.76-0.94, CV% = 1.55-2.52, TE = 0.16-0.33) and moderate-to-good intersession reliability (ICC = 0.58-0.76, CV% = 2.58-3.32, TE = 0.21-0.37) across 5, 10, and 15 m. Significant inverse associations were found between shoulder external range of motion and average sprint-paddle force (r = -0.65 to -0.69, p < 0.05), and between the nondominant arm's external shoulder rotation strength at 90° and time to 5, 10, and 15 m (r = -0.63 to -0.65, p < 0.05). Maximal pull-up strength was not associated with either paddle assessment. This study demonstrates that tethered and free sprint-paddling tests are reliable methods of assessing sprint-paddling performance in female surfers and that assessments of shoulder function require further investigation with a larger sample of strength-trained surfers.

In high-performance sport, coaching decisions must blend skilled intuition, honed through decades of experience, with an ever-expanding availability of augmented information obtained from a range of performance and practice monitoring systems.Expert intuition, though crucial, is susceptible to cognitive biases like representativeness and availability, especially in unfamiliar contexts, leading to an "illusion of validity".Conversely the influx of objective data from athlete training and performance monitoring technologies aims to augment these judgments.In this current opinion we debate the impact of the ever-growing availability of augmented information on the development of 1 coaches' skilled intuition.In this current opinion we argue that augmented information, while not a replacement for intuition, can either hinder expertise by fostering dependency or enhance it by serving as a calibration point for reflective practice.By challenging biases and refining internal models, objective data can lead to more accurate a priori judgments.Therefore, we contend that the central challenge lies in fostering a symbiotic relationship between intuitive expertise and augmented information, moving beyond a "man vs. machine" debate to leverage both for optimal coaching efficacy and athlete development.

This study primarily aims to establish current practices to tailor support for female athletes, including menstrual cycle tracking, health screening, female-specific education, and other practical supports to address concerns related to menstruation. A secondary aim was to explore the relationships between the participant characteristics and practices implemented to tailor support for female athletes. One hundred and forty-one practitioners (i.e., coaches, athletic trainers, high performance managers) working with female athletes responded to an online survey between March and December 2023. Frequency analyses demonstrated that it is more common for practitioners to avoid discussing menstrual cycle tracking with athletes than to either encourage or require them to undertake tracking. Tracking was most often undertaken to establish and identify changes to athletes’ usual menstrual characteristics, and to identify and manage menstrual symptoms. In terms of health screening, disordered eating and iron deficiency were screened for most commonly, while screening for pelvic floor dysfunction was least common. Female-specific nutrition, relative energy deficiency, and menstrual cycles were the topics most commonly included in female athlete-specific education targeted at athletes and practitioners. Further analysis revealed that respondents’ tracking and education practices were closely associated. This study provides a snapshot into the practices that are currently implemented to tailor support to female athletes around their menstrual cycle.

We explore the use of Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting with large language models (LLMs) to improve the accuracy of granular sentiment categorization in app store reviews. Traditional numeric and polarity-based ratings often fail to capture the nuanced sentiment embedded in user feedback. We evaluated the effectiveness of CoT prompting versus simple prompting on 2000 Amazon app reviews by comparing each method's predictions to human judgements. CoT prompting improved classification accuracy from 84% to 93% highlighting the benefit of explicit reasoning in enhancing sentiment analysis performance.

IntroductionAdductor-related groin pain is the most prevalent injury in football and ice hockey. Targeted hip adductor strengthening exercises are effective at reducing the risk of groin problems. However, little is known about the muscle forces of individual hip adductor muscles during different resistance exercises.Materials and MethodsFifteen injury-free individuals with resistance training experience performed exercises with approximately eight repetitions maximum weight (squat, conventional deadlift, sumo deadlift, step up, lateral slide, lying leg lift, and Copenhagen adduction exercise in the short and long lever positions). Three-dimensional motion capture, ground reaction forces, and surface electromyography (EMG) from 15 lower limb muscles were collected and used as inputs to an EMG-assisted neuromusculoskeletal model. Exercises were ranked based on adductor longus, brevis, magnus, and gracilis muscle forces and fibre lengths, fibre velocities, and activations were compared.ResultsThe long-lever Copenhagen adductor exercise had the greatest peak muscle force for the adductor brevis, longus, magnus adduction portion, and gracilis. The peak adductor magnus hamstring portion muscle force was greatest during the squat, and deadlift, followed by the sumo deadlift (all within 5%). The lateral slide resulted in the greatest adductor longus and brevis muscle fibre lengths, while the squat and deadlift variations generated the greatest adductor magnus (hamstring portion) lengths.ConclusionExercise selection has a substantial impact on individual hip adductor muscle forces and the underlying muscle fibre dynamics. These findings may be useful for preferentially targeting specific hip adductor muscles in training or promoting specific muscle adaptations for injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Surfing bottom turns underpin the quality of subsequent maneuvers, and surfing performance overall. Despite this, no study has investigated coaching cues to determine their association with performance. This study investigated the frontside bottom turn, to identify critical features associated with quality performance, and second to determine whether any of these features could predict whether a surfer would subsequently perform either a cutback or a top turn maneuver. Videos of every frontside bottom turn from all finals heats of the 2017 World Surf League, Corona Open Jeffrey's Bay event were analyzed. A total of 199 frontside bottom turns were identified and categorized as either a bottom turn leading to a cutback maneuver (n = 106), or a bottom turn leading to a top turn maneuver (n = 93). A checklist of 47 potential critical features was developed after consultation with coaching and competition judging experts, thereby enabling a systematic analysis of each turn to determine the expected and actual frequency of occurrence for each potential feature. Consequently, an extensive list of critical features of the frontside bottom turn was identified and associated with a high level of performance, being executed successfully by professional athletes during high-stakes competition. Several features, particularly during the exit phase of the bottom turn, also helped predict whether these athletes subsequently performed either a cutback or a top turn maneuver. The findings of this study provide surf coaches with cues that can be used as a guide to effectively coach two main frontside bottom turn variations.