News & Events
Current news and events within the Department of Sports Studies
The British Olympics at the University of Winchester
14th November
On 4th November, Dr Martin Polley, Senior Lecturer in Sport at the University of Southampton, gave a lecture on Olympic history as part of our 12 for 12 Project. Martin, a sports historian who used to lecture in the History and Sport Studies departments here at Winchester, has recently written The British Olympics: Britain’s Olympic heritage 1612-2012 for English Heritage’s Played in Britain series, and he spoke to an audience of sport students and staff about some of his findings. Taking next year’s Olympic Games in London as his starting point, he looked at the two previous London Olympic Games, those of 1908 and 1948, and at the role of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the birth if the Paralympics. He then moved on to explore some of the older sporting events in Britain that were called Olympic, Olimpick, or Olympian, like the Cotswold Olimpick Games that started in the early seventeenth century, and the Much Wenlock Olympian Games, the Liverpool Olympic Festivals and Morpeth Olympic Games of the Victorian period. The illustrated lecture raised questions about the word ‘Olympic’, and about what planners for 2012 can learn from the past. The lecture was followed by a book signing, with the University’s booksellers P & G Wells providing copies of The British Olympics.
For more about Played in Britain, visit: http://www.playedinbritain.co.uk/index.php
For Martin’s website, visit: http://martinpolley.co.uk/GB Fencing Demonstration
The talk was part of the 12 for 12 celebrations.
GB Fencing team at the University
31st October
On Monday 7th November 2011 the 12 for 12 Project hosted the GB Fencing team at The University of Winchester.
Former Winchester University sports science student, Jon Rhodes began the fencing demonstration by providing students with information about his successful career path and how he achieved his goals of working in elite sport. Jon is now the Lead conditioning coach for British SABRE World Class Programme (Performance Consultant).
Katie Dolan, Junior Commonwealth gold medallist and Events Coordinator for LOCOG, and Tom Bennett, currently ranked 3rd in UK in EPEE and on the development programme as a 2012 Olympic hopeful, then delivered a demonstration of fencing to students and staff. In addition to this, they also offered students to have a go at fencing, with over an hour dedicated to a ‘have a go session’. With over 15 students taking part in the 'have a go session', the event was a huge success offering students the opportunity to take part in a sport they may have not previously tried.
University of Winchester Staff offer Physiological Support to Portsmouth FC Academy Team
29th September 2011
James Wright and Helen Ryan (SSCU) have recently started working with Portsmouth Football Club Academy offering physiological support. The team have spent a number of days over the summer visiting the physiology lab in order to gain a deeper understanding of their player’s current fitness levels. Head of Medical Services at Portsmouth Football Club, Sean Duggan said “Sport Science support is increasingly being used by professional football clubs in order to maximise the potential of their players. We are very pleased to be working with the team at Winchester University”.
Sports Lecturer completes Coast to Coast challenge
28th September 2011
James Wright and Helen Ryan had both competed in the 2010 Nokia Coast to Coast race in Scotland so following in their footsteps Richard Cheetham decided to follow suit this year. After two days of cycling, mountain biking, running (including the treacherous ascent of Ben Nevis) and kayaking he completed the course in 10th place from a field of 750.
Staff Present at the World Congress for the Sociology of Sport in Havana, Cuba (12-15 July, 2011)
23rd August 2011
Dr Jason Tuck presented his research on media representations of the Team GB track cycling team. He conducted content analysis of British newspaper coverage of the team during the Beijing 2008 Olympics and semiotic analysis of recent advertising campaigns featuring Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton. Findings suggest that there are some interesting intersections now developing between representations of gender, national, individual and team identities. In addition, the increased influence of Sky’s sponsorship of British cycling has added a new corporatist identity into the mix. In summary, the media have successfully built a ‘conceptual map’ of codes, messages and meanings to define the Team GB track cycling team that blends traditional/stereotypical and progressive identities. This ‘map’ is likely to continue to develop and will undoubtedly be used to help the British audience feel more closely affiliated with ‘their’ heroes and heroines in the velodrome in London 2012.
Professor Eric Anderson presented his research on the cultural reduction of homophobia in American teamsports. He compared research with 26 athletes from 2002 to 2010, showing that today’s openly gay male athletes are better received by their teammates. Results show that when athletes come out of the closet today, it binds their teams closer together and permits heterosexual men to develop closer relationships with each other. Finally, Professor Anderson found more contact sport athletes coming out than in his previous sample.
Sports Science Consultancy Unit supports future British Olympic hopefuls
August 2011
Jo Batey, Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology and a BASES-accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist, has been working with the British national archery team; since May 2010, Jo Batey has been providing sport psychology support to the Olympic development recurve squad. Squad members range from 15 to 20 years old and are potential future Olympic hopes for 2016 onwards. In July, Jo Batey accompanied the squad to the second leg of the European Junior Championships in Cyprus, where one of the young archers won gold in the cadet boys category.
Jo Batey's work, carried out through the University's Sports Science Consultancy Unit, involved supporting the archers at their training camps at the National Sports Centre in Lilleshall for a number of weekends throughout the year. "It has been very interesting and rewarding", she commented. "I knew nothing about archery before working with the squad and therefore learning about the sport and the culture was a steep learning curve for me."
Much of her work involved helping the archers to cope with the demands of competition by equipping them with the appropriate mental skills such as imagery, relaxation, concentration, emotional control etc. It involves delivering workshops on developing confidence, how to prepare effectively, using performance routines etc., as well as spending time with the athletes on a one-to-one basis. "Thinking clearly under pressure is not always easy for athletes", explained Jo Batey, who has previously provided similar support to another Olympic promise, the pentathlete Natasha Hunt. "Therefore brief, directive reminders about what they need to remember or to keep doing can be helpful for them, as can the use of motivational or directional cue words that have previously been agreed with them. Helping athletes deal with underperformance and regaining perspective is also an important role at competition as well as ensuring the support team are operating smoothly in order to best support the athletes. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope to be able to travel with the squad again."
Coaching Insight comes to Hampshire
27th July
Sport Hampshire and Isle of Wight is showing its commitment to developing the people who deliver the “sports” in “county sports partnership by teaming up with a leading industry magazine to provide the county’s developed coaches with a chance to get out of their work and sport silos, share experiences with their peers and hear what coaching experts have to say around the theme: “’Right coach, right place, right time: the coach as an agent of change”.
The Leisure Review Coaching Insight will be hosted by Winchester University on 23rd November and will bring together coaches working at Level 2 or above from a variety of sports to discuss the challenge of developing the right skill-set for specific age groups, environments or outcomes.