Purpose: Research has established that physical and psychological injury prevention training is effective in reducing injuries in youth team sports, but public health impact tends to be limited because such training is not widely, properly, or sustainably implemented. Insufficient involvement of end-users at the individual and organizational levels has been identified as a main barrier to implementation. Against this backdrop, the ‘Implementing injury Prevention training ROutines in TEams and Clubs in youth Team handball (I-PROTECT)’ project was initiated through dialogue between end-users and researchers with the goal of making injury prevention training an integral part of regular practice in youth handball through a series of studies. We have conducted studies within I-PROTECT and identified numerous barriers and facilitators, and address these determinants when designing the intervention.  

BackgroundInterventions that are co-created with end-users, and that are informed by behavior change or implementation theories, support implementation in real world settings. However, injury prevention programs for youth athletes have typically been developed by experts with no, or insufficiently described, end-user involvement and without guidance by theories. The aim of the current study was to describe the development of a holistic injury prevention intervention for youth handball targeting end-users at different levels, through using knowledge from end-users and researchers/experts and applying relevant behavior change and implementation theories.MethodsKnowledge from researchers/experts (sports medicine, sport psychology, handball, physical therapy, strength and conditioning (n = 14)) and end-users (coaches, players, club administrators, n = 16), and applying relevant implementation (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, CFIR), behavior change (Health Action Process Approach, HAPA) and motivational (Self-Determination Theory, SDT) theories, were used to co-design the intervention. Early end-users (coaches (n = 6), players (n = 3) and a club administrator (n = 1)) were interviewed for initial feedback.ResultsThe intervention consisted of end-user-targeted information and training that was made available in a specifically developed interactive mobile application with modules for players, coaches, club administrators, and caregivers. Information for all end-users included benefits and principles of physical and psychological injury prevention training, load-management, motivation, and communication. Information about implementation was developed for club administrators specifically. For coaches, training to do with their teams included handball-specific injury prevention exercises (legs, shoulders, core) combined with psychological aspects (motivation, task focus, body awareness) to integrate within warm-up and handball skills training. Training for players included handball-specific multi-joint strength, power, and explosive exercises (legs, shoulders, core) and sport psychology exercises (self-awareness, relaxation, being in the present moment, prevent and handle stress). To support self-management, adoption, and motivation, programs were provided, and players and coaches could change, add, progress the difficulty of exercises, and build their own programs. Initial feedback from early end-users was generally positive.ConclusionsUtilizing an approach where researchers/experts and end-users co-created injury prevention training specifically for youth handball, an intervention was generated that included information and holistic training targeting end-users at the individual (players, caregivers), team (coaches), and organizational (club administrators) levels.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how the supporters' clubs of the SHL associations view the management of the supporters in order to further connect it to the commercial direction of the SHL-associations. To answer the purpose, two questions have arisen in the form of 1) How do the supporter clubs in the SHL feel that their respective ice hockey associations treat them? and 2) What similarities and differences are there between different SHL associations' handling of the supporters? Information collection took place through semi-structured interviews with respondents active in supporter clubs. The analysis method thematic analysis was used where three main themes in the form of 1) communication, 2) general supportership and 3) the relationship between the supporters' clubs and the association emerged. In the conducted analysis, the theoretical frameworks of McDonaldization and hegemony were followed with connections to the previous research and information gathering. Results that emerged during the study were that in order for the soft values of the supporters to be achieved, they need to feel heard and respected, which shows the importance of a functioning communication between the supporters' club and the SHL-associations. Furthermore, the result emerged that the supporter clubs that have a good communication and relationship with the SHL-associations have an increased understanding of the commercial decisions.

Using the concept of standards and a framework examining strategic responses to institutional processes, this article aims to understand why a municipality has resisted to implement elite football's stadium requirements and, from this perspective, assesses the options municipalities actually have to refuse implementing them. At first, the municipality in focus, Angelholm in Sweden, demonstrated a lack of awareness of the intrinsic power of standards and the ways in which they can influence municipal decisions. However, as it emerged that the standards contradicted other municipal priorities, the municipality became more critical and eventually decided not to follow them. Another finding of the study is that municipalities, as the 'adopters' of elite football standards, cannot affect how these standards are written. Therefore, the options to accept or decline them are perceived to be limited. Consequently, standards constitute a central form of governance within local sport policy.

This article aims to explain why Danish municipalities usually choose to comply with stadium requirements from the Danish Soccer Association (DBU) even though, in most cases, they do not have the supporter base that could fill the renovated or new stadiums to their capacities. Using institutional theory as a theoretical framework, the article shows that coercive forms of isomorphism are part of the homogenization process leading to the municipalities' compliance. It also suggests that mimetic forms of isomorphism are present in the sense that municipalities believe that if they comply with these requirements they will strengthen the conditions of their local clubs. In turn, they have encouraged other municipalities to follow suit. In sum, the analysis shows that the central form of governance through standardizations together with isomorphic forces have contributed to a uniformity among the municipalities.

Athletes between the ages of 16-18 are increasingly migrating to other locations within Sweden with the ambition to continue their athletic careers in parallel with their secondary education, such as through a national sports high school [RIG]. However, migration among such young athletes represents an uncertain investment and is accompanied, from a migration perspective, by several challenges of adjustment, as well as psychological, psychosocial, and academic challenges. The RIG system is intended to ease this transition by offering a good education alongside athletic development. During Covid-19, the migration adjustment that RIG students are expected to make was made more difficult by several restrictions. While some studies have been conducted on the impact of the pandemic on both students and athletes, none have been conducted on individuals who are also pursuing dual careers and migrated during the pandemic, such as RIG students. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine RIG students' experiences and perceptions of the move and adjustment to a new environment during Covid-19, with the goal of understanding how the pandemic affected migration and how individuals were able to overcome the obstacles and challenges they faced. This was made possible by conducting a case study on RIG swimmers from Helsingborg and Jönköping. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with RIG swimmers, which were later analyzed through a thematic analysis. Bourdieu's theoretical framework and concepts of capital, habitus, field, and illusio guided the thematic analysis and subsequent discussion. The results show that RIG swimmers experienced different difficulties in adapting based on the resources and previous conditions they possessed. Different types of capital ownership also meant different types of adaptations, which in the longer term affected motivation positively or negatively. All students, regardless of their capital ownership, experienced challenges in distance learning, discipline and routines, as well as a lack of community. The study therefore concludes that RIG students' adaptation depends on how much capital they possess within the new field and how strong a sense of illusio they have. In the longer term, the study highlights the importance of finding sustainable ways to support career opportunities for young athletes, even during a societal crisis such as Covid-19.

The aim of this study was to do a structured analysis of the literature on biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD) and how these biomarkers may be modulated by physical activity (PA). This with implications for future treatment of mild to moderate MDD with PA. The method was quantitative and followed guidelines for conducting a simplified meta-analysis. The study analyzed 37 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that covered a total of 911 individuals doing PA. Articles on biomarkers that are previously well established in their relationship with MDD were collected in a structured way, following strict criteria. Results were achieved using statistical methods for calculating the average effect size (ES) and average mean difference (Δ%) for the biomarkers as a result of PA. BDNF showed an effect size of 0.81 ± 1.09 and an average mean difference of +61.7 ± 112.20 %. CRP showed an effect size of 0.35 ± 0.28 and an average mean difference of -18 ± 13.69 %. Cortisol showed an effect size of 0.09 ± 0.75 and an average mean difference of -2.9 ± 17.30 %. Serotonin showed an effect size of 0.39 ± 0.54 and an average mean difference of -11.53 ± 21.10 %. Testosterone showed an effect size of 0.59 ± 1.46 and an average mean difference of +6.50 ± 20.04 %. The conclusion was that PA had a large effect on BDNF and can be used as a diagnostic- and follow-up tool for patients with MDD treated with PA. PA has a small but consistent effect on CRP which therefore can be used in conjunction with other outcome measures to diagnose and follow up patients with MDD treated with PA. PA showed no effect on cortisol and can therefore be considered to be irrelevant as a diagnostic- and follow-up tool for patients with MDD treated with PA. PA had a small but relatively consistent effect on serotonin which therefore can be used in conjunction with other outcome measures to diagnose and follow up patients with MDD treated with PA. PA had a moderate and relatively inconsistent effect on testosterone which therefore can be used in conjunction with several other outcome measures to diagnose and follow up patients with MDD treated with PA. On the basis of these conclusions PA can be a valuable tool for improving some biomarkers for MDD (BDNF, CRP, serotonin & testosterone). Hopefully this study can provide a basis for further research as well as an addition to first line treatment for mild to moderate MDD with PA. 

De senaste tio åren har bjudit på ett nästan omåttligt intresse för mindfulness och idrott. Trenden har medfört en mängd skilda användningar av begreppet och ett ökat behov av att få överblick och kunna analysera mindfulnesstrender inom idrottsområdet. I detta sammanhang har olika kunskapsöversikter slagit fast att både experimentella studier och observationsstudier visar på tydliga resultat att mindfulness underlättar för idrottsutövare att prestera bättre, minska ångest och negativa tankar samt att åtnjuta erfarenheter i termer av flow.

Den här forskningsöversikten fokuserar den forskning som uttryckligen använder begreppen mindfulness och idrott (sport). Sökresultatet inkluderar 396 publikationer (peer review-artiklar, böcker, bokkapitel). Mindfulnessforskningen handlar här om prestation och mentala förmågor (det idrottspsykologiska området) samt kroppslighet och subjektiva erfarenheter (det idrottspedagogiska området). Det kan ses i kontrast till hur vi religionshistoriskt kan följa mindfulnessforskningen i relation till nyandlighet och kommersialism och utbildningsvetenskapligt i relation till mental (elev)hälsa. 

Forskningsfältet har expanderade stadigt mellan åren 2006 och 2016 och därefter exponentiellt. Kunskapsöversikter rapporterar även att det skett en utveckling av studierna från 2017 och att senare årens studier uppmät högre kvalitet i forskningsdesign och resultat. För idrottspsykologin har mindfulnessforskningen inneburit att disciplinen rört sig från traditionella psykologiska modeller som bygger på att idrottare upparbetar personlig kontroll över psykologiska processer, till mindfulnessinfluerade modeller som bygger på att psykologiska processer måste mötas med acceptans och ödmjukhet.

Det är svårt att dra några slutsatser om eventuella skillnader mellan individuell idrott och lagidrott när det gäller mental hälsa och mindfulnessbaserade program. Studier visar även att det existerar individuella skillnader i mindfulnessattityd och att dessa påverkar utövares förmåga att ta till sig olika program för mental träning. Sådana resultat kan exempelvis hjälpa idrottspsykologer med att anpassa olika program för mental träning. Forskningen har även identifierat olika mindfulnessprofiler vilket har potentialen att vägleda insatser och program för mental träning inom idrott.

Då resultaten från meta-analyser visar för stor spridning i design och urval för att kunna fastställa någon kvantitativ syntes av samlade resultat är det vanligt med narrativa synteser. Därtill efterfrågas fler randomiserade kontrollgruppsstudier som fokuserar mental hälsa hos en bred population av idrottsutövare och inte bara elitutövare. Likaså existerar det få studier med ett uttalat syfte att förbättra de vetenskapliga metoderna som används. Då fältet nu uppvisar en exponentiell ökning av forskning blir den här utmaningen extra viktig att lösa. De publiceras väldigt många studier men de genomförs på sätt som gör det omöjligt att ackumulera kunskap. Kunskapen kan sägas bli bredare men inte djupare.

Slutligen har det uppmärksammats att mindfulness i första hand används för att hantera tränares och utövares tankar, känslor och beteende medan forskningen i mindre utsträckning undersökt potentialen för att främja goda idrottskulturer och motverka rasism, mobbning och sexuella trackaserier. 

The concept of health is culturally contingent, and fitness practices provide a venue to gain insights into the construction of health. In this case study-based article, I focus on group fitness instructors' narratives on healthiness and fitness rituals. By combining Foucault's notion of the 'microphysics of power' and the socio-cultural phenomenon healthism, I employ a genealogical approach that reveals how healthism renders a discursive space for group fitness instructors ('local fitness experts') to navigate their understanding of health norms. A qualitative method consisting of 22 semi-structured interviews was used. Group fitness instructors teaching in Austria for a global group fitness distributor (Les Mills) were interviewed. The results show that eliminating risks to health is the highest imperative to the instructors, which is traced back to a dichotomy between 'disciplined training' and 'fun training', where fun training is seen as feminine and risky. Furthermore, instructors underline their health literacy through skeptical consumerism - choosing health for the sacrifice of fun or finding fun in the fatigue.

This mixed methods dissertation employs a survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussionsto investigate the health consciousness of Les Mills International (LMI) group fitness instructors. UsingFoucauldian concepts such as discourse and bio-power, the study examines instructors’ construction of theirprofessional identity, and the link between professional identity and healthism, a discourse that promulgateshealth as an individual responsibility.The findings reveal that LMI instructors' professional identity is anchored in sociability, commitment, andphysical perfection.Two stereotypical LMI instructor profiles emerged. Firstly, “the sociable instructor”, whovalues interacting with participants and colleagues at the gym, as well as engaging with the global LMIcommunity online. Secondly, the “all about being fit instructor”, who teaches LMI to enhance their individualphysique. Moreover, instructors understand themselves as role models and health gatekeepers aiming tocombat inactivity by exercising vigilantly and adhering to LMI regulations. Moreover, the results show thathealthism constitutes LMI professional identity, upheld through social interactions and a collective belief inhealthism's rationality. Furthermore, instructors understand their professional identity through their bodieswhile positioning the body both as a threat and as a solution to health, which reveals how the constructionof health is framed as an individual endeavor. This perspective was fortified during the COVID-19 pandemic,where staying fit became a defense strategy against the virus.Finally, this thesis shows that healthism is inextricably linked to normative femininity and a pathogenicperspective on health. Since healthism masquerades as an apolitical concept through the body, fitnessculture can be used to reinvent suppressive structures, such as patriarchy, via healthism. Accordingly, thethesis manifests that investigating health consciousness provides a means to dismantle genderedunderstandings of health.

Research question and purpose: Les Mills is a New Zealand-based fitness distributor with a community consisting of approximately 140.000 instructors worldwide who teach standardized work- out routines. This paper aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic and related measurements, such as social distancing affect the everyday lives and professions of Les Mills International (LMI) group fitness instructors. The aim was met with the following research questions: RQ1: How are social distancing and social connectedness understood, and how do they condition LMI instructors’ understanding of their profession? RQ2: What do LMI instructors think about the #LesMillsUnited campaign to maintain a strong trainer community in the midst of the pandemic? RQ3: How do LMI instructors think that group fitness will change long term due to social distancing? Research methods: Using qualitative measures and a case-study-based approach, data were gathered through interviews with LMI-certified group fitness instructors. Seven semi-structured focused group dis- cussions with fifteen group fitness instructors from different countries were conducted and audio recorded. The first round of virtual discussions took place in April 2020, and the follow-up talks in September 2020. A thematic analysis was employed to analyze the material. Results and findings: According to the participants, online classes as a means of upholding group fitness in times of social distancing is an insufficient substitute to face-to-face instructing, lacking social connectedness that is normally maintained through successful rituals or social scripts. Navigating “instructorhood” during the pandemic includes emotional labor where not only relationships to clients are challenged, but instructors also experience societal pressure to reinvent themselves as instructors. Implications: With no way of telling how long social distancing needs to be practiced, the group fitness industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Making sense of the group fitness profession currently preoccupies instructors who may now have to redefine to themselves how they can teach, and who for.

Sports can strengthen social inclusion and tackle various economic, social, and environmental challenges, bind individuals and communities together and promote objectives such as health, education, climate action, sustainability, and social development. Nonetheless, organised sport at the grassroot level in Europe is facing severe challenges: declining membership rates, reduced levels of physical activity among adolescents and difficulties in recruiting volunteers. Sport organisations, in particular in the non-profit sector and with limited resources, are struggling to find time and resources to create new sustainable, inclusive and innovative ways to work. 

The Erasmus + project CHANGE – Cooperation for Change Management and Innovation in Sports (CHANGE) has been created to equip sport’s governing bodies, sport organisations, and sport leaders with new, innovative, and sustainable tools to support sport at the grassroot level. Coordinated by ENGSO, it consists of eleven partners from nine countries: 1) research (Malmö University & EASM), 2) sport organisations (UFEC-Catalonia; Basics Sport Club, Belgium; World Snowboard Federation, Austria; Latvian Sports Federation Council; DIF, Denmark; and Opes, Italy) and 3) experts in the field of sport and digitalization, inclusion/engagement and sustainability (SandSI, N3XT Sports and ENGSO).  

Within CHANGE, the Department for Sport Sciences at Malmö University is responsible for background research regarding change management and innovation in contemporary grassroot sports in Europe. In this report, we summarise research activities carried out in 2023 and insights from 3 workshops with stakeholders from sport organisations and academia. 

The overarching research questions in this report are: 1) What challenges are the grassroot sport movement/organisations facing today? 2) Are the grassroot sport organisations equipped to handle the challenges? Do they have change readiness? 3) How can we understand the results?   

IntroductionSport and trust-based governance is a cornerstone of Swedish sport management. There are more than 20,000 sport associations, and the sport sector receives approximately USD 20 million in public funding yearly. The Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) is a non-profit umbrella organisation that coordinates the management of Swedish sport. SSC’s “what sport wants” is an appropriation document on the vision of the Swedish sport movement wherein SSC advise sport clubs to focus on inclusivity, hard to reach societal groups, and sport for the masses rather than the fostering of elite players. Concurrently, it is problematic that there is no research on what motivates sport clubs to apply what sport wants (Book, Hedenborg & Andersson, 2022). Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to contribute new knowledge on what influences Swedish sports clubs in carrying out what sport wants’s national goals for sport participation.

MethodsThe data consists of self-rated answers (N = 1,937) from a questionnaire, distributed to all non-profit sport organizations in southern Sweden in 2017, 2018 and 2020. The questionnaire focused on sport organizations’ 1) perceived support from SSC, 2) perceived trust in SSC, 3) competence in what sport wants and, 4) how frequently the sports associations worked with equity (including anti-discrimination and inclusion). X2-test and regression analyses were used to analyze differences between the years 2017, 2018 and 2020, and the relationship between perceived support from SSC, perceived trust in SSC, competence in what sport wants, and how frequently the sports association worked with equity. Effect size measurements were calculated and interpreted based on established guidelines.

ResultsPreliminary results indicate that sport organizations’ perceived support from SSC has decreased significantly and continuously between 2017 (M = 3.0), 2018 (M = 2.9), and 2020 (M = 2.8). It does not seem to be any differences in perceived trust in SSC and equity. The results also show that, competence in what sport wants (β = .225), and perceived support from SSC (β = .278) can predict to which extent sport organizations work with equity (R2 =.278).

DiscussionPreliminary results indicate that more support and trust in SSC lead to increased realization of what sport wants. However, since the results show that perceived support for SSC has decreased between 2017, 2018, and 2020, this study illuminates an urgency of maintaining a strong relationship between Swedish sport clubs and SSC. Moreover, the results confirm the efficiency of the trust-based management model used in Sweden, which seemingly leads to deliverables among the participating associations.

Book, K., Hedenborg, S., & Andersson, K. (2022). New spatial practices in organised sport following COVID-19: the Swedish case. Sport in Society, 25(7), 1343–1357. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2022.2031017

Introduktion

Idrotten Vill är idrottsrörelsens idéprogram, och inbegriper den svenska idrottsrörelsens vision och idéverksamhet, idag och i framtiden (e.g., värdegrund, hälsa, utveckling, organisation). Idrotten Vill ska vägleda Riksidrottsförbundet och SISU Idrottsutbildarna regionalt i Skåne (RF-SISU Skåne) i sitt arbete och uppdrag gentemot idrottsföreningar. Men det är oklart i vilken utsträckning RF-SISU Skåne medverkar till att Idrotten Vill omsätts, och dess betydelse för Skåneföreningars vardagliga utövande. Följaktligen är det av stor betydelse att undersöka hur, och i vilken utsträckning, RF-SISU Skåne medverkar till att idrottsföreningar integrerar Idrotten Vill i sina verksamheter. En bristande kunskap kan leda till felaktiga slutsatser om hur, och i vilken grad Idrotten Vill omsätts i praktiken, samt i förlängningen en obalanserad svensk idrottsrörelse där föreningar avviker från nationellt eftersträvansvärda gemensamma principer. 

Syfte och teoretisk ram

Syftet är att bidra med ny kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar Skånebaserade idrottsföreningars arbete med de gemensamma principer som beskrivs i Idrotten Vill (e.g., värdegrund, hälsa, utveckling, organisation). 

Ett teoretiskt ramverk kring förtroendebaserad styrning (trust based governance) i kombination med ”Hawthorne effekten” (Mayo, 1930) används för att tolka det empiriska materialet. Utifrån trust based governance är det en viktig utgångspunkt att individer väljer att följa Idrotten Vill eftersom de känner tilltro till RF. Utifrån det här perspektivet är tilltron till en välmenande stat en stark drivkraft för såväl agerande samt genomförande av ideell idrottsverksamhet (Bringselius, 2018). Tilltro i kombination med uppskattning från RF kan resultera i ”Hawthorne effekten” (en ökad produktivitet).

Metod

Under våren 2021 skickade RF-SISU Skåne ut en online-enkät till 2,128 ideella idrottsföreningar i Skåne. 652 föreningar (31 procent) besvarade enkäten. Enkäten distribuerades via e-post mellan 2021-02-12 – 2021-04-01 och bestod av 142 frågor/påståenden, exempelvis rörande jämställdhet och kunskap/utbildning. Metoden bygger på statistiska analyser i form av deskriptiv statistik, t-test, effektstorlek och regressionsanalyser. 

Resultat

Sammanfattningsvis kan man säga att enkäten visar att föreningar som uppger att de under det senaste året fått stöd, kunskap eller utbildning i Idrotten Vill eller i RF:s anvisningar för barn och ungdomsidrott även upplever mer stöd och förtroende för RF-SISU Skåne. Dessa föreningar uppger vidare att de under det gångna året aktivt engagerat sig mer i sin förenings värdegrund, jämställdhetsfrågor och innovativa verksamhetsfrågor. 

Diskussion och slutsatser

Baserat på enkäten kan man säga att de föreningar som fått stöd, kunskap eller utbildning i Idrotten Vill och RF:s anvisningar för barn och ungdomsidrott, också har en starkare samhörighet till RF-SISU Skåne. En ytterligare implikation, tagen från industriell sociologi, som skulle kunna appliceras är ”Hawthorne effekten” (Wickström & Bendix, 2000). Den bekräftar att arbetarens produktivitet är knyten till extern uppskattning (e.g., att en RF medarbetare för en dialog med föreningar om deras vardag och utmaningar). 

Introduction

According to accumulated data, COVID-19 related restrictions can lead to considerable inactivity and sedentary lifestyles. The Swedish COVID-19 response consisted of guidelines rather than restrictions, which could possibly have a positive impact on activity levels remaining high. To investigate to which extent self-rated physical activity changed during the Swedish COVID-19 response, two cross-sectional surveys (N = 10,560) were conducted. The data constitutes the most comprehensive material on COVID-19 and physical activity extracted from Sweden. The aim is to contribute with new knowledge about general trends in physical activity during the Corona-pandemic in Sweden.

Methods

The method used is based on a quantitative cross-sectional retrospective approach. This approach makes it possible to clearly illustrate how the respondents’ (N = 10,560) answers differ depending on whether the questions referred to physical activity “before COVID-19” or “during COVID-19”. The data was collected on two different occasions (dataset 1 & dataset 2). Both surveys were digital questionnaires. The first dataset was distributed through social media, and The Swedish Research Council for Sport Science, whereas the second survey was distributed via e-mail. Dataset one was collected between 8 April 2020 to 14 august 2020, while dataset two was gathered from 8 December 2021 to 22 January 2021. The analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlations, and ANOVA. Cohen’s guidelines were used to establish what should be considered small, medium, and large differences.

Results

Overall, the results convey that there are significant differences for many people in everyday exercise performance during COVID-19. The most striking result is that many respondents report the same amount of everyday exercise, however, less physical training, and more sedentariness. Moreover, the result shows that elderly respondents were more affected than younger people, yet younger people reported more increased time sitting down. In terms of gender, although the Cohen guidelines categorize the difference as small, women had higher scores on sedentariness and reduced physical activity. 

Discussion

Both datasets reveal that patterns of physical activity have changed during COVID-19. However, contrary to what some studies conducted in Sweden have argued, within our datasets, differences across gender and age yielded only small differences. This deviates from studies that report that COVID-19 had a substantial negative impact on certain demographic groups. We conclude that respondents report less physical training regardless of demographic specificities. That elderly report less movement aligns with the outcomes of similar large-scale studies conducted in other countries. Finally, we suggest that one reason for differing results could be the use of different definitions when employing questionnaires to gain information on perceived physical activity. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related measurements have challenged physical activity in various ways, ranging from closed fitness facilities to virtual curfews. Correspondingly, there is currently a rising scholarly interest in investigating how people have navigated their physical activity during the pandemic, and, especially, if physical activity has decreased or not. Accordingly, surveys and studies are rapidly accumulating. Therefore, the purpose of this literature review is to summarize, categorize, and map literature published before May 2021 on physical activity amid COVID-19.This study consists of a mixed methods explanatory sequential design, based on an outcome-oriented pragmatism of the middle. Firstly, a systematic literature review on Scopus was conducted, followed by a VOS-viewer bibliometric analysis. Subsequently, a focused literature review was written. The point of integration of methods was embedded. The systematic review resulted in 1,335 articles, which were used for two separate VOS-viewer visualizations. The illustrations reveal where research comes from, which journals have published most on physical activity during COVID-19, and how the research is globally cited. Furthermore, based on the review, three clear topical trends of research emerge; spatial transitions, frequencies of physical activity, and motivations to exercise during COVID-19. The bibliometric data demonstrates that research from only a few countries seem to be impactful, whereas the review portrays that conclusions in regard to whether physical activity has decreased or not lack agreement, possibly as a result of disclosing different definitions of physical activity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects both for the global sport community as well as for individual exercisers around the world. Due to a wide range of imposed measurements to prevent the disease, day-to-day physical activities for entire populations are restricted by physical distancing, cancelled tournaments, and closed gyms. Sweden has chosen to apply recommendations instead of restrictions, however, little is known about how individuals in Sweden reason around, and act out their personal sport participation. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to increase knowledge of how sport participation was motivated from a micro perspective during the first wave of COVID-19. The paper is based on a mixed-methods-study with data from a questionnaire (N = 1,141) and material from semi-structured interviews (N =90). The results indicate that respondents who were already active before the pandemic remained active or even increased their activity levels. To investigate this further, the interviews were analyzed with critical discourse analysis to uncover how respondents justified their continued/increased personal sport participation. These could be summarized as (discursive) strategies of perpetuation based on (i) specific contexts, (ii) scientific and (personal) experienced knowledge of covid-19, and (iii) trust in others’ ability to follow recommendations to prevent the spread. Accordingly, this study contributes with new knowledge of how sport participation in Sweden was motivated, and, from a larger perspective, how a pandemic may influence attitudes toward health and exercise in an advanced Western capitalist society.

On the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the coronavirus to be a pandemic, which is followed by strict measures to contain a spread of the disease.  Yet, COVID-19 is a distinctively different pandemic to the one that was declared in 2012, namely, physical inactivity (Hall & Laddy & Philipps et al. 2020, 1). During the corona related lockdowns, exercising at home employing (online) on-demand services has become increasingly popular. One of the suppliers are the New Zealand-based Les Mills International; currently the worlds’ biggest provider of standardized fitness workouts. With their altruistic motto — for a fitter planet — their exercise routines were taught in more than a hundred countries by approximately 130.000 instructors before the pandemic. Although their virtual alternatives seem successful, group-fitness instructors face severe professional consequences due to corona-restrictions; resulting in the immediate closure of gyms as well as social distancing. By conducting focused group discussions online with Les Mills instructors active in six different countries, this chapter will provide insights into how group-fitness instructors negotiate their roles as fitness professionals during a crisis that challenges/threatens both personal and global health. Respondents discussed how the pandemic has changed their ability to perform their professions, and how they continue to live out their instructorhood in new and alternative ways.

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated numerous changes in daily life, including the cancellation and restriction of sports globally. Because sports participation contributes positively to the development of student-athletes, restricting these activities may have led to long-term mental health changes in this population. Using a repeated cross-sectional study design, we measured rates of depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 scale in student-athletes attending elite sport high schools in Sweden during the second wave of the pandemic (February 2021; n = 7021) and after all restrictions were lifted (February 2022; n = 6228). Depression among student-athletes decreased from 19.8% in 2021 to 17.8% in 2022 (p = .008, V = .026), while anxiety screening did not change significantly (17.4% to 18.4%, p > .05). Comparisons between classes across years revealed older students exhibited decreases in depressive symptoms, while younger cohorts experienced increases in symptoms of anxiety from 2021 to 2022. Logistic regressions revealed that being female, reporting poorer mental health due to COVID-19, and excessive worry over one's career in sports were significant predictors of both depression and anxiety screenings in 2022. Compared to times when sports participation was limited, the lifting of restrictions was associated with overall reduced levels of depression, but not anxiety.

In 1920, the year ice hockey was introduced to Sweden in connection with the Olympic Games in Antwerp, the traditional British bandy was already a well established team sport on ice in the country. In the early 1900s it had become popular among the upper classes, both men and women, since its deep connection with nature applied to the time’s sense of nostalgia. The Swedish male bandy cup final, which was first played in 1907, is still the country’s oldest large-scale annual sports event. In the press, comparisons were constantly made between the two sports and bandy and ice hockey were seen as contrasts. This resulted in bandy being regarded as truly Swedish and part of the native culture. Concurrently, the sport spread to the working people in Sweden’s rural manufacturing towns while the capital Stockholm established itself as the centre for ice hockey. Elaborating on Allen Guttmann’s theories on modernization, ice hockey’s higher degree of modernity is presented. Adjusting to the modern world was a struggle for bandy and therefore followers of ice hockey predicted its early demise. Still it survived, however surrounded by an even stronger atmosphere of nature-centred nostalgia. The increasingly Americanized sport of ice hockey, on the other hand, became the main player in the growing commercialization of Swedish sport.

The text deals with the history of Swedish football's most classic club rivalries. These are the rivalries in Gothenburg (between IFK Göteborg, Örgryte IS and GAIS), Stockholm (AIK, Djurgårdens IF, Hammarby IF), and in the county of Scania (Malmö FF, Helsingborgs IF, Landskrona BoIS). The rivalries in Gothenburg have revolved around social class and political preferences, while those in Stockholm have focused on geography. The Scanian ones have been based on traditional rivalries between nearby cities within a distinct region. During the 2000s, a strong supporter culture has worked glocally to preserve a relatively non-commercial football culture, while rivalries at the same time have become fiercer. The heightened passion around the matches has in turn led to strengthened networks around the clubs, including better press coverage, increased sponsoring and the construction of better stadiums. The analysis summarises a qualitatively based research project on the relationship between club football and local identity in 11 different cities during the period 1950 up to the beginning of the 2000s.

The Swedish sport of bandy has been declared dead for a hundred years. Still, the sport survives as an ancient Swedish treasure. Neither the modernity of ice hockey, nor floorball, nor climate change has managed to knock it out. The exoticism of bandy is similar to that of the sour herring. Bandy started in the country’s most exclusive milieus – among the aristocracy and university elites – but today represents sparsely populated working-class areas. The Swedish Championship final, played since 1907, has retained its magic as Sweden’s oldest major annual sporting event. The supporter culture around the final has a long history. Not even football has been able to show as large a number of traveling supporters to a match. Nostalgia has long been the hallmark of the sport. Women’s bandy has an equally long and exciting history. During the 2000s, the sport of bandy was substantially modernized. In a short time, it left its dependence on nature and moved into indoor halls, arenas that guaranteed a good ice surface. Fans, however, did not quite accept the changes out of a sense of nostalgia. This study focuses on the sport of bandy and its complex relationship to modernity, the natural environment, nationalism, and nostalgia.

This essay addresses the rise and fall of the Swedish women's club Umea IK. The question is how a team from a city almost devoid of any football culture suddenly could become one of the most successful clubs in the world during the early 2000s? The theoretical basis consists of the concepts of local identity, glocalization and Manuel Castell's analysis of the network society. The source material is a study of Umea's largest daily newspaper and eleven interviews. Umea IK worked energetically to create a strong local network for a women's club (consisting of good contacts with the municipality, high income from sponsors, good media coverage and high attendances). The university city of Umea was dynamic and progressive, with a strong middle-class character. The population could identify with the team. However, the city's volatility meant that the team did not get long-lasting significance in terms of the city's identity.

This chapter looks at how globalization has affected and shaped the domestic elite level male football cultures of Scandinavia since the game turned more professional in the region. By drawing on empirical examples from the recent histories of Norwegian, Swedish and, to a lesser extent, Danish football, the authors analyse how the sporting cultures of these countries have changed since the 1970s. The amateur ideologies which had previously dominated football in Scandinavia faded during a period when influences from international and especially professional English football intensified. These influences stretched from playing styles to spectator cultures. While these influences initially made clubs and teams from Scandinavia more competitive in international football, the ‘hypercommodification’ which has dominated top level European football in the new millennium has to a large extent affected Scandinavian football in a negative way in term s of sporting competitiveness. Simultaneously the authors argue that global influences have injected significant fuel and new energy to the spectator cultures evident in a large number of Scandinavian football club communities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the goalkeeper’s involvement in the game for an elite development U17-team, and to analyze if increased involvement of the goalkeeper in the game, statistically leads to more or fewer offensive ball controls, goal chances, and goals. Method: The study was performed based on a structured data analysis with a non- participation observational study. To the analysis, a simple coding scheme was created. The data analysis was based on four factors connected to the goalkeeper’s involvement during the initial play. After the processing, a thematic analysis was applied to the results with the purpose of identifying similar themes connected to the goalkeeper’s involvement. The data was analyzed from the program HUDL where all 26 relevant games from the 2020 season existed. Theory: The studies theoretical framework was decision-making theory. It is based on decision field theory which was developed by Busemeyer and Townsend (1993) which from the start is a game theory. Results and conclusion: During the season, the team advanced to the offensive half with ball control 1050 times, which indicated 40,4 on average per game. The goalkeeper was directly or indirectly involved in 44%. The team advanced to the last third of the field 596 times (22,9 on average) and the goalkeeper was involved 40%. Furthermore, the goalkeeper was directly or indirectly involved in 42% out of the teams 313 goal chances (12 on average) and 28% out of 36 goals (1,4 on average). There is also a psychological and position-based advantage being created by involving the goalkeeper in the game. By using the goalkeeper as an extra central defender, is enables less ball losses, increased possession, larger control of the game and thereby possibility to control the game structure.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur arbetet med digitala verktyg stärker elevernas lärande och kreativitet inom ämnet idrott och hälsa och arbetsområdet dans. Studien utfördes på en skola belägen i Malmö som även är min arbetsplats. Urvalsgruppen är mina elever som jag undervisar i årskurs 9. Metodvalet är aktionsforskning där jag genom ett praktiknära arbete undersöker hur eleverna upplever videoinspelning i arbetsområdet dans, främst inom de området eleverna upplever är jobbiga. Vidare har resultatet analyserats med utgångspunkt i det sociokulturella perspektivet och ställts i relation till tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar att de flesta elever upplever dansprojektet som kreativt och positivt för att de vågar mer och att de får vara med och ta del av sin egen dans. Resultatet visar också att elever som vanligtvis inte tycker om dans upplever uppgiften positiv eftersom de fick jobba med digitala verktyg vilket de känner sig säkra i. Däremot fanns det elever som upplevde att dansen tog längre tid när man arbetar med videoinspelning och att de var oroliga över att det blev mycket skärmtid eftersom de redan jobbar med digitala verktyg i andra ämnen.

Background Studies investigating postural orientation in uninjured youth athletes are scarce. Understanding how postural orientation during functional performance tests change with age in uninjured athletes has the potential to enhance awareness of changes in performance after injury and to set realistic goals for injured athletes. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore postural orientation during functional tasks at early adolescence, and changes in postural orientation from early to middle adolescence and relate this to sex, type of sport and right leg lean body mass (RLLBM). Methods In this cohort study 144 (38% female) youth athletes (mean age 13.5 years, SD 0.3) were included at baseline and 86 of these at follow up 2 years later. Four functional performance tests were visually evaluated for Postural Orientation Errors (POEs) with an ordinal scale, ranging from 0 (good) to 2 (poor), yielding a maximum total POE score of 51, and RLLBM by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results Improvements were observed in the total POE score from baseline to follow-up, median difference - 10 and - 7 (p < 0.001) for female and male athletes, respectively. At follow-up, female athletes had lower total POE score (median 18) than males (median 24) (p = 0.01). There were no differences in POE scores between sports type (team, individual, aesthetic) (p = 0.20-0.98) and no relationship between total POE score and RLLBM (r(s) = 0.09, p = 0.42). Conclusions POEs appear to be quite common in young athletic population, but improvements are achieved over time. At mid-adolescence, female athletes seem to have less POEs than males. Neither sport type nor RLLBM seem to influence postural orientation.

Teaching outdoors is an obligatory part of physical education (PE) in most countries; therefore, PE holds great potential to contribute to learning about nature, the environment and environmental sustainability (ES). This paper reports the investigation of whether Swedish PE teachers perceive ES as part of their subject, and if so, how do they implement it? Drawing on 60 PE teachers' answers to five opened questions (53 written answers and 7 oral interviews), and using British sociologist Basil Bernstein's concepts of classification and codes, this study have asked the following research questions: 1. What influences the position and legitimisation of ES in PE? 2. How does the subject culture of Swedish PE influence the introduction of ES? The result from the study shows a complexity regarding the strength of the boundaries that surround ES in PE and what this complexity might offer in terms of enablers and constraints. The result also displays a strong connection between outdoor education and its potential for teaching ES. Various options are discussed with regard to where (in what content areas in PE) and how to implement ES.

Environmental sustainability in sport is an increasingly important issue. In this paper, we want to highlight a specific phenomenon, namely artificially constructed landscapes and the outdoor sport activities that take place therein. More specifically, we are interested in the logics that govern peoples’ practice of sport in such artificial landscapes and what challenges with regards to environmental sustainability that follow from these logics. The purpose of this paper is to identify what individual athletes perceive as meaningful logics when practicing sport in artificial landscapes and to analyse and discuss potential environmental consequences of these logics. The sports we focus on are cross-country skiing and canoe slalom, two sports that historically have been dependent on specific geographies and contexts. We build on two research questions: What logics of practice govern individual athletes’ practice of sport in artificial landscapes? And what environmental challenges are potential consequences of the logics that are expressed by the athletes? Our findings indicate that the logic of performance is dominant for the sport practitioners who train in artificial landscapes, at the expense of perspectives such as nature experience and environmental sustainability. If performance is key, then the role of the training landscape is also first and foremost to present the best possible conditions for performance. But if the athlete/exerciser see their training as a means of experiencing nature, then other values than performance and comparability can become more important. When the environmental impact of individual athletes and of the artificial landscapes in which they do their training come under increased scrutiny, the role of logics of practice in the sport and movement culture needs further attention. Being aware of nature and the environment is also a logic that could be found meaningful in the process of making sports more sustainable.

The environmental impact of sports facilities has received increasing attention over the last decades. However, studies within this area primarily deal with how the actual construction of sports facilities affects the environment. We know far less about how an active presence in sports facilities influences sporting practitioners’ thoughts about their own environmental impact. Therefore, this chapter critically discusses environmental issues connected to sports facilities generally and more specifically in relation to artificial sports facilities. We use several theoretical concepts to discuss the current research with examples taken from the artificial landscapes of cross-country skiing, canoe slalom, and turf-based sports. What makes artificial sports facilities especially interesting from an environmental perspective is the ambiguity they involve. On one hand, the actual constructions involve direct interventions in nature. On the other hand, there is a lack of knowledge about the impact these facilities have on health, environmental awareness, and travel. We argue that future sports facilities will need to stimulate more logic than competition if sport and outdoor recreation is to be environmentally sustainable. The process of sportification, which has prioritised the growth of sport economies and encouraged ever higher performance levels, would need to shift its focus to incorporate environmental concerns.