The purpose of Inside Sports Science is to expose secondary school students to key scientific and technological developments in sports and exercise science in a hands-on and accessible manner. Students will engage in discussions and problem solving to develop a research question to answer a challenge faced by athletes. Challenges for the athletes to investigate will include:
– Can the Women’s Hockey Team effectively hydrate during matches?
– How can Jason Kenny train optimally to produce the best performance?
– How can Andy Murray cope better when umpires calls go against him?
To answer the questions the students will have devise and carry out a project in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Laboratories. This will involve developing a method, carry out data collection and analysing data. They will present their findings at a special sports science conference in front of other competing schools, scientists and members of the partnership team. Prizes will be given to the student groups with the best research project and presentation.
The project will consist of four visits to the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences (SSES) at the University of Kent:
- Visit 1
09:30-14:30 on either 11 or 18 October*
School students visit SSES and take part in Inside Sport Science workshops (consist of Exercise Physiology, Sports Nutrition, Sports Psychology, and Biomechanics). Students also develop their projects research method. - Visit 2
09:30-14:30 on either 1 or 8 November*
School students visit SSES to conduct their project data collection - Visit 3
09:30-12:20 on either 15 or 22 November*
School students visit SSES to analyse their data and develop their research poster (0.5 day visit). - Visit 4
Week beginning 4 December*
Students present poster at a Student Presentation Evening held on University Campus. The presentation evening will include a talk from a notable elite athlete/coach (evening event).
*Dates are provisional and may change
Booking details
Inside Sports Science is aimed at students in years 10, 11, 12 and 13 and schools are able to bring a maximum of 12 students (6 per research group). Priority will be given to the University’s Partner Schools and KMPF Schools.
Schools wishing to participate should contact Dr John Dickinson (J.W.Dickinson@kent.ac.uk) or Dr James Hopker (J.G.Hopker@kent.ac.uk).
You will need to confirm which of the topics you would most like your students to investigate (from Sports Physiology, Biomechanics, Sports Psychology and Sports Nutrition) and indicate which dates you would like to book for visits 1, 2 and 3.