Countdown to Singapore

With the clock ticking down to July 6th when the announcement of which city will be hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, the leaders of the London 2012 bid have departed for Singapore confident they can return with the greatest prize in sport. Lord Seb Coe who earlier this year visited SINI at the University of Ulster to outline the spin-offs for sport in Northern Ireland said:

Lord Seb Coe when he visited SINI back in September 2004

If you haven’t already done so why not register now as an official supporter of the bid and join the three million others who have done so, to register please visit the website at http://www.london2012.org

This week saw a useful exchange of thoughts and ideas between SINI staff and several staff from the Scottish Institute of Sport who were holding a two day retreat at the University of Ulster, Areas discussed included:

• Athlete recruitment
• Tools for monitoring and evaluation
• Developing a high performance culture

Mrs Olive Brown has replaced Ms Maura Muldoon on the SINI board. Olive is a Sports Council member who will no doubt contribute greatly to the development of SINI.

This is a very busy period at SINI with many athletes (who are students) having more time available for gym sessions, and to avail of other services. Rugby has just inducted 7 new athletes and Gaelic football has organised 2 pre induction days for potential new athletes in order to make them aware of the services available and commitment required to become a SINI athlete.

New staff have also been inducted and we welcome on board Gary Longwell (High Performance Manager for Rugby), Johnny Bradley (Web placement student) and Declan Gamble (Full-time Physiologist) who has been working part time within SINI up until now.

Finally there have been some encouraging performances from SINI athletes in the past month including Anna Boyle (New 100m record), Lisa Bradley (Judo gold medal) and Stephen Ferris and Garth Steenson at the Under 21 Rugby World Cup. Stephen had an outstanding tournament and Gareth won the golden boot award for the second year in a row. Also the ladies hockey squad had some very encouraging results from their six nation tournament in Korea. The 0-0 draw against China (World ranked 4th) argues well for the forthcoming European Nation Cup in Dublin (August 2005).

Ronnie Smyth

Applications are invited for the Foundation Degree in Science in sports coaching commencing in September 2005. This will be a three-year part time programme based on a modular structure to be delivered at the Jordanstown campus.
Applicants should have 140 UCAS Tariff Points to include Grade C at GCE/VCE A level. Exemptions may be offered to candidates who can demonstrate particular levels of coaching experience. Students who successfully complete the course at commendation level (average 66%) will be eligible to apply for entry to the second year of one of the two full honours degree programmes at the Jordanstown campus (BSc Hons Sports Studies or BSc Hons Sport and Exercise Science)/

The programme will cover a board range of coaching related disciplines and will be ideal for anyone seeking to further their coaching expertise or to pursue a career in coaching.

For further information and application form contact:
Shane Mc Cullough, Course Director, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim BT37 0QB.

Tel: 02890368538
Email: s.mccullough1@ulster.ac.uk

Protein has many essential roles in the body and is a nutrient that is found in many animal and plant foods. Dietary protein has two possible fates – it can either be used in growth and repair (eg muscle, haemoglobin or antibodies) or burned for energy like carbohydrate and fat. About 15% of body weight is made up of protein, and most of this is found in skeletal muscle, which explains the importance of protein for athletes.
The protein we eat is made up of 20 amino acids (building blocks); the process of digestion breaks down dietary protein into its amino acids, which are then absorbed and reassembled to make various kinds of human protein such as muscle, connective tissue and immune proteins.

Protein activity in the body is in a constant state of change; when dietary protein is insufficient, muscle protein can be broken down to provide amino acids for essential body functions such as immune function. This explains why muscle mass is often lost during times of stress, disease or poor nutrition. On the other hand, when dietary protein is in plentiful supply, muscle mass can be maintained or increased.

Do athletes need more protein?

In a word, yes. Strength and power is generated by muscles and strength athletes benefit from maximising muscle mass. Endurance athletes need to maintain sufficient muscle mass as high training volumes increase the use of protein as a fuel. However it is not as simple as just loading up on protein foods or supplements without considering the diet as a whole.

Research has shown that even though protein requirements of athletes are higher than those of sedentary people, there is a limit to the amount of protein that the body can use to increase muscle strength – amounts above about 1.8g/kg body weight will generally be stored as fat. What is more important is the timing of protein intake, that is, when protein is eaten in relation to training schedules.

Protein requirements:

Ready reckoner of protein foods

Food portions containing approximately 20g of animal protein

Foods portions containing 10g of vegetable protein

Timing of intake

Straight after hard training is when muscle protein synthesis is increased. Therefore it is important that the right raw materials are available to maximise this. However increasing protein intake at the expense of carbohydrate is a bad strategy for athletes in heavy training, because without sufficient carbohydrate, the muscle glycogen stores cannot be refuelled and energy available for the next exercise session will suffer. So the ideal recipe is to take both carbohydrate and protein straight after hard sessions, to maximise muscle conditioning and start refuelling. Athletes should aim to consume 1g carbohydrate per kilo body weight and 0.25g high quality protein per kilo body weight within 30 minutes of finishing training. In addition to this plan, athletes should include protein at all other meal times to ensure a steady supply of amino acids to body cells.

Type of protein

There is much debate on what the ‘best’ type of protein is. Whey protein and casein are the two major types of protein found in milk, and are often the ones used in protein supplements. All animal protein (from milk, eggs, meat, fish and poultry) provide the highest quality rating of food sources. However plant proteins (breads, cereals, peas, beans, pulses, nuts) also contain significant amounts of protein, but need to be combined to produce the same quality as animal sources. A food-based approach to meeting protein requirement should be the focus for athletes.

Protein supplements

These are popular with athletes trying to increase muscle size. Whereas it is accepted that athletes need more protein than non-athletes, there is no evidence that supplements offer advantages over dietary sources of protein. The mistake athletes often make is to take a protein supplement at the expense of carbohydrate straight after training; what is needed at this time is both protein and carbohydrate. This can be taken as ordinary food or as a liquid supplement (that includes both high quality protein and carbohydrate). For athletes who are liable to be drug tested, remember taking any supplement is at their own risk.

Are very high protein intakes harmful?

There is not much evidence to show that high protein intakes are harmful, but there are concerns around the effects they can have on hydration and bone health. Very high protein intakes increase water and calcium loss due to the increased excretion of protein waste products. Often high protein intakes result in athletes not consuming enough carbohydrate foods to support their fuel needs for intensive training.

Ruth Wood-Martin
Accredited Sports Dietitian

This month Performance Lifestyle Manager Peter McCabe recommends the newly launched ATHLETE’S FINANCIAL ADVICE SITE, put together by UK Sport and the British Athletes Commission, to enable athletes to make better use of their finances. This site has good information on how to budget properly, how to get out of debt and how to make the best use of your money. There is also a lot of good, general advice on many other topics including pensions, mortgages and taxation to name a few.

Section 1 focuses on BASIC BUDGETING.
This section shows how to get your finances in order by learning how to make a balanced budget, firstly by showing you how to control spending month by month, then applying this to a yearly budget in the GOING FORWARDS portion. There is also a worked example of how to balance your bank statements to ensure that you always know how much money you have available - a valuable tool for anyone. Having a budget that details all your income and expenditure will help you to maintain control of your finances and, if necessary, help to illustrate the problems you may be having with your creditors (people you owe money to).

Section 2 is entitled DEALING WITH MONEY.
This section gives good advice on how to look after your money day to day and ensure that you are making the right decisions with regard to Banks, Credit Cards, Loans and Debt. It highlights things to avoid and how to access additional advice about a specific issue.

Section 3 Challenges the athlete to consider PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.
The content gives good general advice on what to look for when choosing mortgages, pensions, savings and investments. However it is important to realise that for specific information that you may need and advice on products it is necessary to consult a qualified financial adviser. The site gives a method of locating an unbiased adviser in your locality and comments on things to look out for as well as illustrating typical fee basis. In one particular portion of this section called the ‘Cost of Delay’, the consequence of a young person putting off planning for retirement is illustrated dramatically.

The final section, which is number 4, deals with TAXATION.
Taxation is one of the main causes of stress and confusion for certain highly funded athletes, for the simple reason that it can be very difficult to understand whether or not you should be paying any.
This section helps to identify firstly whether or not you are liable for any form of tax in your current situation. If you are, then it looks at the different types you may have to pay and how to avoid paying too much. If you are not liable at the moment the site looks at case studies to see how a change in your circumstances may make you liable for tax in the future. For example if you actively seek and earn an income from competing in your sport (e.g. through sponsorship, prize money, playing contract, appearance fees, etc), then you are likely in the eyes of the Inland Revenue to be a professional athlete and your Lottery award will therefore be taxable. This would be the case even if you didn’t make a profit every single year. Finally the advice section explains what you should do next if you think you are going to be liable for tax, how to maintain records for tax purposes and how UK Sport can help you with the cost of an accountant to help with your tax returns.

“This is a very useful addition to the bank of resources available to support the personal development of high performance athletes” said Peter “The site can be accessed via the URL stated at the end of this article, and if any athlete has additional queries I am available to discuss these on an individual basis”.

Managing your Finances: Athlete’s Guide http://afa.uksport.gov.uk

Peter McCabe

This years Under 21 World Cup in Argentina has just drawn to a close with the Irish side finishing in ninth place after narrowing loosing to South Africa and France.

In last years final the Irish side lost to New Zealand, and when you look at the team sheets for that day they make an interesting comparison.

From the New Zealand side that day, four players are now capped internationals while a further eight are regulars on the New Zealand in their respective Super 12 team. These figures are in sharp contrast to that of Ireland’s, where just eleven players are regulars in their All Ireland League teams and only four are on full contracts at their provinces.

The saying “if you’re good enough you’re old enough” appears to be more accurate in the Southern Hemisphere with players regularly breaking into international teams before their 21st birthday.

The notable exception within Ireland has been Tommy Bowe who missed the World Cup final because of injury in 2004. When Tommy became a regular on the senior Ulster team last year my first thought was that Coach Mark McCall had made an error, that Tommy was too young and just too inexperienced to be playing provincial rugby. Another year of club rugby would be beneficial for his future development. Tommy has since proved Mark right and me wrong by not only playing brilliantly for Ulster but also making his Irish debut and looking very comfortable in the green shirt.

The question is when is the optimum time for a young player to break into his provincial and national side? In New Zealand while they start much younger they also in general retire much earlier, so the average professional lifespan is very similar.

Rugby has evolved from being a contact sport to being a collision sport so it would seem sensible for young players to have the opportunity to develop physically and mentally before making the step up. In another collision sport, American Football it is common practice for players to play at university before joining the professional ranks, letting them develop gradually against their peers before the elite are drafted into the professional teams.

The solution would be to take a long-term view. If a potential elite athlete can be identified at fifteen, educated in nutrition, given an individual strength and conditioning programme, then he should have the physical attributes by twenty to compete with older athletes. If he is carefully and gradually integrated into the professional set up we can achieve the best of both worlds, young professional players with long successful careers.

Gary Longwell

The best athletes in sprints can have it tough. Dedicating themselves to training hard all winter, peaking for the best races during the summer; and then to a large extent having to rely on ‘lady luck’ to assist their seasons performances. 100m/200m runners suffer a Double- Jeopardy. A strong headwind negates any chance they have of running a good time, whilst a strong tailwind makes their runs almost meaningless.

Performances which have the assistance of the wind at speed greater than 2metres a second(+2m/s) are not counted as eligible performances. During 2002 Northern Ireland’s top two sprinters (Paul Brizzel and John Mc Adorey) had 90% of their races severely affected by the wind. This is obviously a nightmare for the athletes, and takes careful planning and a knowledge of venues normative weather conditions to help get eligible performances.

Obviously the same problem occurs for horizontal jumpers. Nevertheless, environmental conditions are not always the sprinters/jumpers enemy as a slight tail-wind, within the legal limits, can dramatically enhance performance.

David Reid