Anthropometric profiling of elite junior and senior Australian football players

Purpose: Body structure and physical development must be addressed when preparing junior athletes for their first season in a senior competition. The aim of this preliminary study was to measure the extent of the assumption that final year junior Australian Football (AF) athletes are at a physical mismatch to their senior counterparts.

Methods: Twenty-one male participants (17.71 ± 0.27 y) were recruited from one state based elite junior AF competition and forty-one male participants (22.80 ± 4.24 y) were recruited from one club competing in the senior elite Australian Football League (AFL), who were subsequently divided into two groups; professional rookies aged 18-20 y (19.44 ± 0.70 y; n = 18) and professional seniors aged 21+ y (25.43 ± 3.98 y; n = 23). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans of all participants were completed.

Results: Despite being an average 6.0% and 6.1% lighter in total weight and lean mass respectively, no significant difference was found between the elite junior athletes and their professional AFL rookie counterparts. However, significant differences were demonstrated in comparison with the professional AFL senior athletes (P < .01). Both professional AFL groups demonstrated greater than 0.3 kg total bone mineral content (BMC) than the elite junior athletes (P < .01) and significantly greater segmental BMC and bone mineral density (BMD) results (P < .05).

Conclusion: While the results identify the differences in body composition of the elite junior athletes, development in a linear fashion is noted, providing useful information for the creation of age appropriate expectations and training programs.

Player movement patterns in an elite junior Australian Rules Football team : an exploratory study

This study explored the physical movement patterns associated with an elite Under 18 Australian Football (AF) team. Five field positions were selected with observations recording the number and relative per cent of "working" efforts (jogging, running, and sprinting), "resting" efforts (walking) and the total distances associated with "working" or "resting" efforts. Intra-observer reliability, using test- retest method, showed correlations were r = 0.98 or greater. The Wing position covered 11,877 m, the greatest total distance during an entire game, whilst the HBF and Centre positions both recorded 11,545 m and 11,537 m respectively and the Ruck position covered 9,203 m. The HBF recorded the greatest frequency of 'working' and 'resting' efforts (180 and 182 respectively), whilst the Wing (166 and 158), Centre (162 and 149) and Ruck (161 and 166) showed similarities in their results. The Wing position recorded the longest average distance per 'working' effort (58 m) whilst the Centre position recorded the longest average distance per 'resting' effort (17 m). Results also show the completion of less total efforts and smaller total distances, in Under 18 players, recorded compared to professional senior AF data. The results from this study suggest that further in-depth research is required into movement patterns and game activity demands in this AF playing group.

The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 1) to discriminate elite junior Australian football players

The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery (IR) Test is currently used to assess endurance performance in team sport athletes. However, to date, no data has been presented on its application to an elite junior Australian football (AF) playing group. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (IR1) ability to discriminate between junior AF players at two different playing standards and a group of non-athletic healthy males. Sixty age matched participants (16.6 ± 0.5 years) spread over three groups (20 per group): elite junior footballers; sub-elite junior footballers; and non-athletic healthy males participated in this study. Participants undertook a single Yo-Yo test performance on an indoor basketball court for each group. A one-way ANOVA with Scheffe's post hoc analysis revealed the elite junior footballers covered a significantly greater total distance (p < 0.001) and completed a significantly greater number of high-intensity efforts (p < 0.001) in comparison to their sub-elite counterparts, whilst both AF groups performed significantly better (p < 0.001) than the non-athletic healthy males. This study demonstrates the ability of the Yo-Yo IR1 to discriminate endurance performance between elite and sub-elite AF players, whilst further distinguishing AF players from a non-athletic healthy control group.

Reliability and validity of a reactive agility test for Australian football

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test the reliability and construct validity of a reactive agility test (RAT), designed for Australian Football (AF).

Methods: Study I tested the reliability of the RAT, with 20 elite junior AF players (17.44 ± 0.55 y) completing the test on two occasions separated by 1 wk. Study II tested its construct validity by comparing the performance of 60 participants (16.60 ± 0.50 y) spread over three aged-matched population groups: 20 athletes participating in a State Under-18 AF league who had represented their state at national competitions (elite), 20 athletes participating in the same league who had not represented their state (subelite), and 20 healthy males who did not play AF (controls).

Results: Test-retest reliability reported a strong correlation (0.91), with no significant difference (P = .22) between the mean results (1.74 ± 0.07 s and 1.76 ± 0.07 s) obtained (split 2+3). Nonparametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney) revealed both AF groups performed significantly faster on all measures than the control group (ranging from P = .001 to .005), with significant differences also reported between the two AF groups (ranging from P = .001 to .046). Stepwise discriminant analyses found total time discriminated between the groups, correctly classifying 75% of the participants.

Conclusions: The RAT used within this study demonstrates evidence of reliability and construct validity. It further suggests the ability of a reactive component within agility test designs to discriminate among athletes of different competition levels, highlighting its importance within training activities.

Survey of contact lens prescribing to infants, children, and teenagers

Purpose. To determine the types of contact lenses prescribed for infants (aged 0 to 5 years), children (6 to 12 years), and teenagers (13 to 17 years) around the world.

Methods. Up to 1000 survey forms were sent to contact lens fitters in each of 38 countries between January and March every year for 5 consecutive years (2005 to 2009). Practitioners were asked to record data relating to the first 10 contact lens fits or refits performed after receiving the survey form.

Results. Data were received relating to 105,734 fits [137 infants, 1,672 children, 12,117 teenagers, and 91,808 adults (age ≥18 years)]. The proportion of minors (<18 year old) fitted varied considerably between nations, ranging from 25% in Iceland to 1% in China. Compared with other age groups, infants tend to be prescribed a higher proportion of rigid, soft toric, and extended wear lenses, predominantly as refits for full-time wear, and fewer daily disposable lenses. Children are fitted with the highest proportion of daily disposable lenses and have the highest rate of fits for part-time wear. Teenagers have a similar lens fitting profile to adults, with the main distinguishing characteristic being a higher proportion of new fits. Orthokeratology fits represented 28% of all contact lenses prescribed to minors.

Conclusions. Patterns of contact lens prescribing to infants and children are distinctly different to those of teenagers and adults in a number of respects. Clinicians can use the data presented here to compare their own patterns of contact lens prescribing to minors.

Oh yes, he is hot : female football fans and the sexual objectification of sportsmen’s bodies

The past decade has witnessed a growing focus on the study of women sports fans within the social sciences and related disciplines. Emerging from and responding to the historical marginalization of women in sport and the bias towards the male fan in literature on sports spectatorship, critical research on women spectators serves the valuable function of illuminating “women’s everyday experiences of being a sports fan” (Gosling 2007: 250). This chapter considers one aspect of women’s participation as followers of male sports, namely, the extent to which female fans partake in the sexual objectification of sportsmen. We aim to assess how looking at male athletes in sexually desiring ways impacts on the individual and collective construction of women’s gender and sports fan identities.

Quantification of physical load in elite junior Australian football players

Results from this thesis provide insights into the physical loads experienced by the elite junior Australian footballer. The information presented can assist in the facilitation of best practice advice for player management and training prescription through the use of training diaries and GPS TMA and HR device technologies.

Warlpiri warriors : Australian Rules Football in Central Australia

Yuendumu, located in the Tanami desert of the Northern Territory, is home to the largest Warlpiri community in Australia. We examine the role of Australian Rules football in this remote Indigenous community. Football is seen to operate on many layers of Warlpiri culture, from the traditional game of ‘purlja’, the introduction of modern football in the 1950s, the growth of sports weekends, community football and the Alice Springs competition to the journey of Liam Jurrah, the first Warlpiri man to make the journey from being a desert footballer to emerging as an Australian Football League star. The importance of football in Yuendumu is revealed as a vehicle for social cohesion, group identity, pride and joy, and as an expression of manhood, enabling its young men to see themselves as modern-day Warlpiri warriors.

Alcohol sponsorship of community football clubs : the current situation

Issue addressed: There is accumulating evidence supporting a link between alcohol industry sponsorship and alcohol-related problems in both community and elite-level sports. Little is known, however, about the current status of such sponsorship, particularly of community sport. This study aimed to assess associations between alcohol industry sponsorship and different community football clubs in Australia.

Methods: The study involved 101 community football clubs across New South Wales, Australia. One representative from each club took part in a cross-sectional telephone survey designed to assess club (football code, number of players, socioeconomic and geographic descriptors) and alcohol industry sponsorship (money, equipment, free alcohol or discounted alcohol) characteristics. Chi-square analysis was used to test associations between club characteristics, and: i) any alcohol industry sponsorship; and ii) type of sponsorship.

Results: Eighty-eight per cent of clubs reported receiving sponsorship from the alcohol industry, and most clubs (82%) were sponsored by a licensed premises. There were no significant associations between club characteristics and source of alcohol industry sponsorship. However, small clubs were found to be significantly more likely to receive free or discounted alcohol sponsorship than larger clubs (p=0.05).

Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests a significant presence of alcohol industry sponsorship among community football clubs in Australia.