Research

Staff

Sport and Exercise Science staff members are involved in a range of research focus areas: Research at Sport and Exercise Science »

Students

2010 School of Sport and Exercise Science Research Students

Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science - Third Year

Damien Puddle
Project Title: Ground Reaction Forces Involved in Parkour and Traditional Drop Landing Techniques.
Project Summary: Born in France, Parkour is a relatively new physical discipline whereby Parkour practitioners (called traceurs) train to overcome obstacles in their path by adapting their movements to the given environment for the purpose of chase or escape. Typical Parkour movements involve running, climbing, jumping, vaulting and quadrupedal movement. Due to the relative infancy of Parkour there is a lack of literature surrounding it and thus no normative data in which to base specific technique instruction upon. This project will study the ground reaction forces involved in three types of drop landings - standard Parkour landing, Parkour roll landing and a traditional landing - in an attempt to ascertain whether the current prescribed Parkour landing techniques are suitably efficient for safe ground contact.
Supervisor: Peter Maulder

Nathan Smith
Project Title: Athletes intake of carbohydrate drinks on perception of taste and performance.
Project Summary: Information not available.
Supervisor: Camila Nassif
Co-Supervisor: Andrea Braakhuis

Jonathon Hodgson
Project Title: Study of the knowledge Athletes and Coaches have on Sports drinks.
Project Summary: This study aims to gather information on what athletes and coaches know about sports drinks, where they get their information from and what their expectations are in regards to using these sports drinks.
Supervisor: Camila Nassif

Phillip Wilson
Project Title: The kinetic effect of weighted vests during the acceleration phase of sprint running.
Project Summary: Sprint acceleration is the key component in team sport game situations, thus improving athlete acceleration is a major concern to strength and conditioning practitioners. Acceleration performance is determined by kinetic variables such as increased horizontal and propulsion impulses. Manipulation of these variables through training is of interest. This study will examine the acute kinetic changes induced by using a weighted vest as a tool for sprint training. Foot contact kinetics during the acceleration phase of sprinting will be assessed to determine these changes. Kinetic sprint data, taken with and without resistance, will allow an understanding of the forces produced and how they are changed when resistance is applied.
Supervisor: Peter Maulder

Leah Hutching
Project Title: The effect of a weighted vest on the kinetics during a change of direction maneuver performed by Netballers.
Project Summary: Netball is one of the most popular female sports in the world. Success in such an athletic pursuit requires athletes to execute explosive change of direction (COD) movements numerous times. However these COD tasks involve large moments of force around the knee and ankle joints thus increasing the likelihood of injury. Resisted sprint training (RST) is one modality commonly used in the field to meet such requirements. RST can involve wearing a weighted vest with a load portion (5 to 30%) of the person’s body mass whilst performing the movement task. The study in question will investigate the acute biomechanical effects of wearing a weighted vest on the ground reaction forces (kinetics) during a 45 degree cut COD task.
Supervisor: Peter Maulder

Postgraduate

Frans Van Der Merwe (Masters Dissertation)
Project Title: Hypermobility and muscle reflex timing during a drop jump.
Project Summary: Information not available.
Supervisor: Stephen Burden

Sue Beale
Project Title: The effect of fasting on prolonged exercise performance in the heat.
Project Summary: The main objective of this study is to look at the effect of fasting on performance during exercise in the heat with the ingestion on carbohydrate beverages and its possible effects on results of previous studies.
Supervisor: Camila Nassif