Experts in Sport Loughborough University

Racism is an integral issue in the arena of sport, but how can its history and mediated culture assist in breaking down barriers for athletes moving forward?
In this episode of the Experts in Sport podcast, hosted by Martin Foster, Dr Nik Dickerson, from Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, features as a guest to discuss the wider issues surrounding racism and its entwinement with masculinity in sport media.
Highly contested issues within sport are decoded, including Colin Kaepernick’s explicit protest (taking the knee during the national anthem at an NFL game) to highlight racial injustices facing African American men, as well as incidences of police brutality.

Dr Enora Le Flao (Postdoctoral Scholar, The Ohio State University), Dr Lizzy Williams (Senior Lecturer, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Swansea University) and David Powell (PhD student, Swansea University) discuss concussions in Rugby Union and instrumented mouth-guards, which have embedded sensors to measure linear and angular kinematics of the head.

Time Stamps:
0:00-4:20 Intros
4:20-5:09 What is the rationale behind all this?
5:09-11:23 How has this been previously done and where are we now?
11:23-12:59 Is the mouthguard a replacement for visual monitoring – medical threshold?
12:59-14:44 False positives and negatives
14:44-17:59 What causes concussion?
17:59-22:58 How do the mouth guards work? What are they monitoring?
22:58-26:17 Training and workload
26:17-30:25 Sex differences
30:25-32:03 Misconceptions and eventual aims
32:03-40:00 Further research
40:00-42:52 Other sports
42:53-46:20 Further information
46:20-47:28 Outro and goodbyes

Joanna Czutkowna, Doctoral Researcher at Loughborough University, joins Experts in Sport host Martin Foster to discuss sustainability of the fashion and sport industries and the big problems that future generations will potentially face as a result of waste.

Time Stamps:
0.00-2.30 – Introduction to guest & work
2.31-5.32 – Overview of sustainability
5.33-6.54 – Issues within the fashion industry
6.55-8.54 – Charity shops, markets and clothing waste
8.55-13.20 – Sports industry’s contribution
13.21-16.51 – UEFA leading the way
16.52-21.45 – Scope 3 emissions
21.46-24.09 – What are the most sustainable materials?
24.10-26.15 – Circular business models
26.16-28.28 – Grassroots sport
28.29-33.50 – Culture of repair & the modern education system
33.51-37.00 – Neurodiversity’s part in sustainability
37.01-39.26 – Cricket kitting out
39.27-44.52 – Fans & participants facilitating change
44.53-45.28 – Outro & goodbyes

Dr Rob Gray (Associate Professor in Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University) talks about coaching in sport as well as skill acquisition in baseball and the future of virtual reality in sport

Timestamps
00:00 - 03:41 - Introduction to guest, background and topic
03:42 - 09:49 - What is skill acquisition?
09:50 - 14:08 - Consistency vs improvement
14:09 - 20:39 - The role of the coach in skill acquisition
20:40 - 24:19 - What would a typical study consist of?
24:20 - 35:10 - Virtual reality in coaching and skill acquisition
35:11 - 41:15 - The variability of the virtual world compared to the real world
41:16 - 48:35 - Where is research and coaching going in the next few years
48:36 - 51:42 - Where to find out more about the topic in the episode

Jo Maher (Pro Vice-chancellor for Sport), Lamonte Winston (Head of NFL Academy at Loughborough) and Steve Hagan (Head Coach at the NFL Academy at Loughborough) talk about the NFL Academy, Super Bowl and the future of American football in the UK.

Timestamps

00:00 - 02:24 - Introductions to guests, topic and backgrounds
02:25 - 09:25 - How did the partnership between Loughborough and the NFL Academy start?
09:26 - 12:21 - The transferable skills from other sports
12:22 - 24:33 - Where are we today with the standard of the NFL Academy?
24:34 - 28:59 - When will we see a Loughborough student at the Super Bowl?
29:00 - 41:19 - How is the partnership going and what can be achieved in the future? 41:20 - 42:27 - Final thoughts, thank you and goodbyes.

Dr Mark Doidge (Reader in Sociology of Sport), Katie Cross (Founder of Pledgeball) and Jenny Amann (PhD student at Loughborough University talk about the impact of climate change on sport.

Timestamps
00:00 - 06:03 - Introduction to guests, background and topic of the episode
06:04 - 09:02 - What is Pledgeball now and how do people get involved?
09:03 - 15:06 - Loughborough University's involvement in this topic
15:07 - 17:00 - Personal appreciation of the sport and reasons for involvement
17:01 - 20:39 - How does Pledgeball attempt to mobilise fans into making climate-related changes?
20:40 - 39:54 - What are common pledges and types of pledges
39:55 - 51:47 - “I hadn’t realised change is NOT a difficult thing, mobilising football fans on climate change”
51:48 - 54:32 - Cultural change in football
54:33 - 58:28 - Where is research regarding climate action and nature?
58:29 - 01:01:09 - The power of sport to be agents of change, Thank you to the guests and final thoughts