Risk Perception Influences Athletic Pacing Strategy.

PURPOSE: To examine risk-taking and risk-perception associations with perceived exertion, pacing and performance in athletes. METHODS: Two experiments were conducted in which risk-perception was assessed using the domain-specific risk-taking (DOSPERT) scale in 20 novice cyclists (Experiment 1) and 32 experienced ultra-marathon runners (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants predicted their pace and then performed a 5 km maximum effort cycling time-trial on a calibrated KingCycle mounted bicycle. Split-times and perceived exertion were recorded every kilometer. In experiment 2, each participant predicted their split times before running a 100 km ultra-marathon. Split-times and perceived exertion were recorded at 7 check-points. In both experiments, higher and lower risk-perception groups were created using median split of DOSPERT scores. RESULTS: In experiment 1, pace during the first km was faster among lower compared to higher risk-perceivers, t(18)=2.0 P=0.03, and faster among higher compared lower risk-takers, t(18)=2.2 P=0.02. Actual pace was slower than predicted pace during the first km in both the higher risk perceivers, t(9)=-4.2 P=0.001, and lower risk-perceivers, t(9)=-1.8 P=0.049. In experiment 2, pace during the first 36 km was faster among lower compared to higher risk-perceivers, t(16)=2.0 P=0.03. Irrespective of risk-perception group, actual pace was slower than predicted pace during the first 18 km, t(16)=8.9 P<0.001, and from 18 to 36 km, t(16)=4.0 P<0.001. In both experiments there was no difference in performance between higher and lower risk-perception groups. CONCLUSIONS: Initial pace is associated with an individual's perception of risk, with low perceptions of risk being associated with a faster starting pace. Large differences between predicted and actual pace suggests the performance template lacks accuracy, perhaps indicating greater reliance on momentary pacing decisions rather than pre-planned strategy.

The Emergence and Development of Association Football: Influential Sociocultural Factors in Victorian Birmingham

This article explores the interdependent, complex sociocultural factors that facilitated the emergence and diffusion of football in Birmingham. The focus is the development of football in the city, against the backdrop of the numerous social changes in Victorian Birmingham. The aim is to fill a gap in the existing literature which seemingly overlooked Birmingham as a significant footballing centre, and the ‘ordinary and everyday’ aspects of the game’s early progression. Among other aspects, particular heed is paid to the working classes’ involvement in football, as previous literature has often focused on the middle classes and their influence on and participation in organized sport. As the agency of the working classes along with their mass participation and central role in the game’s development is unfolded, it is argued that far from being passive cultural beings, the working classes, from the beginnings, actively negotiated the development of their own emergent football culture.