Introduction: Puberty has been identified as one of the main contributing factors for girls dropping out of sports during adolescence. Knowledge and social support can, however, help athletes navigate the biopsychosocial (BPS) puberty-related changes associated with this period. Yet, research on female athletes' knowledge about BPS puberty-related topics is lacking. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine female athletes' perceived knowledge and knowledge needs of BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence, explore interconnections across BPS domains, and investigate differences between athletes in team and individual sports.

Method: A total of 1,323 Swedish and Norwegian female athletes (M age 18.7 ± 2.3 years, range 16–24) from ten sport disciplines [n = 657 (49.7%) team sport athletes; n = 656 (49.6%) individual sport athletes] completed an online survey in 2024 on perceived knowledge and knowledge needs regarding BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence.

Results: Findings revealed low perceived knowledge and high knowledge needs among female athletes. A Mann–Whitney U test revealed higher perceived knowledge among team sport athletes regarding individual differences, social cohesion, social comparison, acceptance within the group, and recovery, compared to individual sport athletes. Additionally, team sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding social comparisons, sports nutrition and recovery, while individual sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding changes in sex hormones, individual differences, and changes in body composition. A network analysis identified clusters of biological, psychosocial, and behavioral topics in perceived knowledge and knowledge needs, indicating that knowledge is concentrated within domains.

Discussion: The findings highlight gaps in knowledge among female athletes regarding BPS puberty-related topics across various sporting contexts. The results also underscore the urgent need for holistic and interdisciplinary educational programs addressing these knowledge gaps in the sporting context of female athletes.

Little is known about the taxation of professional athletes. Against this background and in relation to tax legislation and tax policy in the European Union, this study analyzes how sport clubs in Sweden—in particular football and ice-hockey—can use Swedish tax legislation to create better economic and also better sporting conditions for their organizations. Our study shows that there are possibilities for tax optimization in Swedish sport. Currently there are two tax solutions available: the A-SINK and the expert tax relief. However, due to the design of these solutions, they are in practice not available to all sport clubs in Sweden. For example, this year (2024), athletes need to have a monthly salary of at least SEK 114,600 for the expert tax relief to apply, which means that this solution is largely limited to the top-tier sport clubs in men’s football and ice hockey.

This study aimed to formulate the characteristic features of Scandinavian successful high-performance coaching. We took our point of departure in the works of C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009, 2013) concerning the knowledge possessed by high-performance coaches. We interviewed 18 successful Scandinavian coaches who were deeply committed to their respective coaching assignments and had achieved great success through the performances of their practitioners at major championships. We then conducted a thematic analysis of the interview data, identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes). Our results show that Scandinavian high-performance coaching is a value-based and sensitive balancing act between four knowledge dimensions: analytical and systematic, authority and stability, relational and communicative, and innovative and creative development. The four dimensions, together with an ethical core, form the link between C & ocirc;t & eacute; and Gilbert (2009) categorisation of high-performance coaches' knowledge base and how this knowledge is put into practice.

Doktorander har en viktig roll i den akademiska världen. De är framtidens forskare och bidrar med vetenskapliga framsteg. Forskarutbildning, både igår och idag, bjuder på en blandning av utmaningar och möjligheter. I detta kapitel fokuserar vi på att belysa doktoranders erfarenheter och upplevelser av forskarutbildning i idrottsvetenskap och idrottsvetenskapligt närliggande discipliner – vilket är områden som genomgått betydande förändringar de senaste 50 åren. Vi undersöker både tidigare och nuvarande doktorander inom idrottsvetenskap och närliggande discipliner och utforskar deras akademiska bakgrund, motivationer, samt hur de uppfattar sin utbildning. Har förutsättningarna förbättrats över tid? Har nya utmaningar uppstått? Genom en enkätstudie som inkluderar frågor om arbetsbelastning, handledning, finansiell säkerhet och arbetsmiljö ger detta kapitel insikter i doktorandernas resa. Målet är att öppna upp för en bredare diskussion om hur forskarutbildningen kan utvecklas och förbättras för att möta framtidens krav och behov.

Most sports science research revolves around male subjects. As a result, most of the knowledge and practices within sports are male-centric. Failing to take the biological, psychological and social (biopsychosocial) particularities of females into account is believed to hinder optimal sports participation, development and performance, with potential negative effects on the health and well-being of females. To close the knowledge gap and alleviate these issues, we aim to develop and evaluate a 12-video educational intervention that addresses female-specific subject matter: the FIDES Athlete Development Programme. The study is designed as an embedded multiple case study where at least 1320 Swedish female athletes aged 13-16 will participate, in addition to their parents and their coaches. The girls will be recruited through their sports clubs, with half being exposed to the FIDES Athlete Development Programme and the other half serving as control cases. The primary outcomes are well-being and sporting experience. To further increase our understanding of the intervention and its implications, interviews and focus group interviews with a reference group of girls and focus group interviews with a randomly selected subsample of coaches and parents will also be performed. The project is approved by the Swedish ethics committee (number: 2023-05264-01) and will be carried out in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results from the project will be published open access in peer-reviewed journals, at national and international conferences, in mass media, and a PhD thesis. The anonymised data will be made openly available in a data repository.

This study aims to explore police students’ self-rated mental health and physical activity levels and the relationship between them. Based on longitudinal and cross-sectional data (N = 722), two scales on mental health orientation were developed. The scales and levels of physical activity were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and X2. During police education, (1) the level of physical activity decreases for men, (2) there is a decline in positive health orientation for both sexes, and (3) women report a more negative health orientation. This raises questions regarding whether “enough” is done to provide police students with sufficient conditions for improving their health.