Extrinsic feedback relating to the outcome of an action with respect to the environmental goal is referred to as Knowledge of results. With comparison to Knowledge of performance, Knowledge of results might be given in terms of the amount of time it took to complete the task (e.g. 25.42 seconds). These forms of results are given to the performer which can be analysed and compared to previous performances. When Jenna completes a race or timed swim, she can compare her current time to a previous race/timed swim to see if she has set a new personal best. If she does not reach a new personal best, she can compare the current time to see how far off reaching the previously set time she is. This feedback allows her to recognise how beneficial her training has been since the last set record time. Overall, feedback is a good method of helping Jenna to improve her weaknesses both through the coach’s input and Jenna’s own knowledge of her performance.
Sexism
Over the years, sporting provision for Women has been supported by the WSF which is the UK's leading organization dedicated to improving and promoting opportunities for women and girls in sport and physical activity. Stereotyping of women has affected the amount of sporting opportunities available to girls in the swimming world. There are a certain amount of activities that girls can’t participate in due to gender. The level of motivation that the coaches have in the women is much lower than that of the men. The men are pushed harder and further than the women as it is believed that the men are more physically stronger than the women.
To accommodate for women’s sport, girls are allowed to train with the men. This allows equal opportunity between the sexes. Within the training, Jenna os equally made to do the same training sets and times however; there are some training techniques that women do not have to participate in. The men are encouraged and depending on the level at which the swimmer competes, is made to attend a certain amount of intense gym sessions a week. This is used to aid the specific pool training yet women do not have the same level of discipline given to them like the men are given. If this was made equal between men and women then the training levels of which women compete would possibly be improved. Training sessions such as the “bucket” test, where buckets are placed on the pool side and the swimmers are placed in the end lanes that are then made to swim to their ultimate maximum which inevitably makes them physically sick hence the use of the buckets, are not required for women to participate in.
Female role models within swimming such as Dara Torres have given women and girls the motivation and determination to continue to improve and train for highly competitive awards. Their level of training and attitude to the sport inspires the youth of women to aspire to these models and achieve their ultimate goals. Jenna feels particularly motivated by watching world championships on television and through the determination of her piers.
The WSF aims to sustain and increase participation (playing, administrating, coaching, managing and officiating) in sport and physical activity amongst those who are under represented in sport, by changing the culture of sports organizations at a national, regional and local level however, this does not cover the South of England. Their role in sport is acting as one voice on collaborative work in relation to sports equity between both women and men and by providing the first point of contact in matters relating to sports equity and signposting enquiries appropriately. Jenna believes that women should be supported more to help maintain fitness levels and give more sporting opportunities to those who are talented. She feels women are let down by sporting provisions and that the men dominate sponsorship deals. She hopes in future women and girls get more support in training and competiton from coaches and organisations.
Training principles
The FITT principle is used to guide the development of fitness plans that cater for an individual's specific needs. Jenna has been following a fitness program to aid her swimming. Following any form of fitness training, the body goes through a process of rebuild and repair to replenish its energy reserves consumed by the exercise. The frequency of exercise is a balance between providing just enough stress for the body to adapt to and allowing enough time for healing and adaptation to occur. The frequency of is dependent upon the particular individual and format of the program. A program that works every body part every session should be completed 3-4 days a week with a day's rest between sessions so to allow recovery. Intensity defines the amount of effort that should be invested in a training program or any one session. Like frequency, there must be a balance between finding enough intensity to overload the body (so it can adapt) but not so much that it causes overtraining. For Jenna’s resistance training, workload is the primary measure of intensity. Workload can have three components:
1. The amount of weight lifted during an exercise
2. The number of repetitions completed for a particular exercise
3. The length of time to complete all exercises in a set or total training session
Jenna can increase workload by lifting heavier weights, or could increase the number of repetitions with the same weight. Finally, she could lift the same weight for the same number of repetitions but decrease the rest time between sets. The third component in the FITT principle dictates what type or kind of exercise she should choose to achieve the appropriate training response. The best form of exercise to stress the neuromuscular system is resistance training. But resistance training does not necessarily mean lifting weights. A session that only incorporates bodyweight exercises could be used as an alternative. The final component in the FITT principle of training is time - or how long Jenna should be exercising for. The common duration of resistance training session is no longer than 45-60 minutes. Intensity has a say and particularly grueling strength sessions may last as little as 20 - 30 minutes.
Energy Systems
The different strokes and distances in swimming have different energy demands on the body.
When performing exercise the body requires energy to function. This energy is supplied by taking in fuel in the form of food. Breaking down food releases chemical energy which is stored in the body’s cells as a high energy compound called Adenosine-Triphosphate or ATP. ATP is needed to supply energy for muscular contractions. Energy is released by the breakdown of ATP which must then be re-synthesised so that the process can start again. This is due to ATP not being stored in large amount in skeletal muscles, meaning that it has to be continually made in order for our muscles to continue contracting.
There are three energy systems in the human body which produce ATP and energy demands will vary according to the type of activity the body is undergoing. These systems are:
- The ATP-PC system
- The Glycolytic system
- The Oxidative system
The energy system that creates ATP the quickest is the ATP-PC system. The body stores an energy rich compound in the muscles called phosphocreatine (PC). This is broken down and the free phosphate joins with Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) to form ATP. Due to the limited amount of PC in the muscle, it can only be used for short bursts of rapid high intensity contractions, such as sprinting or jumping. These contractions can only last for about 10 seconds due to the limited store of PC. With regard to swimming the ATP-PC system is used during the explosive dive start at the beginning of any race and during a sprint finish. Elite sprint swimmers swimming the shortest race distance swim for at least 25 seconds, therefore a further supply of energy is needed.
The Glycolytic system is also known as anaerobic glycolysis, which means the breakdown of glucose in the absence of oxygen. This system is more complex than the ATP-PC system and so takes longer to use ATP for energy. A limitation of this system is the accumulation of lactic acid. Lactic acid is a bi-product of glycolysis and can cause fatigue. The body uses the Glycolytic system to supply energy for bouts of exercise lasting around 2-3 minutes. Most sprint swimmers will mainly rely on this energy system to supply the majority of their energy during a race. This means that swimmers often acquire large amounts of lactic acid. Maximising performance in swimming requires overload training that results in high levels of lactic acid being produced. Physiological adaptations result in a greater tolerance to these high lactic acid levels. Training this system involves repeated bouts of high intensity exercise for up to 60 seconds, with only short recovery periods in between. As using the anaerobic system rapidly uses up the glycogen stores in muscle tissue, one of the initial adaptations that results from repeated bouts of anaerobic exercise is an increase in the amount of glycogen stored in the muscle and an increase in the enzymes that break down glycogen to produce glucose . This means glycolysis can take place more quickly and the glycogen stores can be used more efficiently.
After the Glycolytic system the oxidative system is used to supply ATP. The oxidative system involves breaking down ATP with the aid of oxygen. The oxidative system uses glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain to produce 38-39 ATP molecules. Any exercise lasting longer than 2-3 minutes has its energy supplied mainly from the oxidative system. Long distance swimmers mostly use the oxidative energy system to supply energy. Training the oxidative system would involve sustained periods of low intensity swimming. Many of the adaptations to aerobic activity result in a more efficient delivery of oxygen to the muscle fibres, so that the power output of the exercise can increase and performance can improve. However, there are drawbacks to a training regime that contains no high intensity exercise. It actually reduces the amount of ATP and PC stored in the muscle, and lowers the tolerance to lactic acid. This would mean a swimmer only doing low intensity training would not have an explosive start or be very good when needing to sprint i.e. at the end of a race.
Different activities will require different energy systems although the three energy systems used by the body do not work in isolation. All three energy systems are always working to supply the body with energy and during different intensities and durations of exercise the relevant energy system is recruited to supply the largest percent of the energy.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is an arrangement whereby a commercial company buys the right to have their company name or logo linked to a sporting club, performer, team or competition. The name may appear on the kit, equipment, in the competition name or in the stadium. With relation to the performer, their dry kit they wear on poolside after a race or training such as fast dry t-shirts, tracksuit bottoms and jackets has the sponsorship name, Wella, printed across the sleeves of the arms and back.
Sponsorship is beneficial to the performer in many ways. Sponsorship provides financial support with equipment costs, competition entry and race fee’s, travel and membership of organisations. This financial support takes the pressure off needing to provide income solely from performance.
The disadvantages of sponsorship may be that the sponsor involves having a link to an unethical or poor quality product such as the company Nike and the report of using underpaid children for sweatshop labour. An athlete can also lose their sponsorship as the company sponsoring them may go bust and therefore lose their sponsorship deal and financial support. If the performer loses their financial support, this can affect their sporting opportunities if funds aren’t available to enter or travel to meets.
Swim 21 is the ASA's Club Development Programme, aimed at providing appropriate opportunities for swimmers, in order that they will attain their full potential. Swim 21 is, therefore, all about the needs of swimmers. Swim 21 is one of the ASA's most significant national programmes, the outcome of which will be critical in shaping the future direction of club development in swimming. Playing a proactive role will also mean gaining help from the Sport England's Active Sports programme, funded by the Lottery Sports Fund. One of Active Sports' main aims is the identification of ability and potential in young people and, by providing the opportunities as well as granting aid to Local Authorities they help to develop sound sports programmes for the club.
Sponsorship enhances the opportunities for elite performance as it allows the performer to alter their main focus from external factors such as travel and other expenses to their sporting performance and training sessions. Sponsorship allows support, when needed, to create new opportunities and allow optimum competitive experiences. Jenna isn’t individually sponsored by a financial company but the club’s sponsorship is divided into the different team sectors which improves the level of coaching she receives, the cost of travel to each swim meet, the annual ASA member fee the club has to pay and other small, yet worthy costs. Without the sponsorship the club gains, Jenna’s parents would have to fund the cost of travel to each meet and to fund the swimming competition entry fee’s. Jenna also wouldn’t have such a high level of coaching available to her and therefore her swimming ability wouldn’t be enhanced, inevitably causing a decline.
Anxiety
The psychological factor that seems to be affecting Jenna’s swimming during competition is the issue of anxiety. Anxiety is a state characterized by , , , and components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). These components combine to create the feelings that we typically recognize as , , or . Anxiety is often accompanied by physical sensations such as , , , or . The cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. Externally, somatic signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and the pupils dilate. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic and physically causes nausea, and chills. Jenna participated in a Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and produced a particularly high score of 24 with the maximum being 30. This shows that in competition, Jenna has a fairly high state of anxiety and a low self efficiency would be present. The cognitive anxiety showed a result of perceptual narrowing which makes the performers spatial attention to shift. Instead of looking at the full picture, of each stage of her dive or backstroke start, she focuses on what she believes to be her weakness and therefore the other elements of her dive or backstroke start are weakened in ability. Peripheral cues closer to the performer generated a stronger effect when they were perceived at a different perceptual depth. The easiest option, creating a legal yet not so effective dive was chosen instead of pausing and thinking about future opportunities such as distance covered. The somatic anxieties, which could be defined as a physiological aspect, would be identified, the majority as muscle tension predominantly in the quadriceps and hamstrings. This sign of anxiety was obvious through slow movement of the legs during warm up practices. The increased number of stretches also was a clear sign of muscle tension. Jenna tended to clutch their legs so to relive tension. Once the warm up had concluded, the mobility seemed to be increased. The tension was identifiable due to Jenna’s facial expressions when on the starting blocks. They appeared to not be relaxed in the game and therefore affecting their performance. Previous injury may result as a somatic anxiety symptom. The performer was clearly favouring the left leg and it was obvious they weren’t putting in full effort with particular movements. This injury is psychological not just physical as she was thinking about how the injury could effect the time of her swim and how it could cause a level of discomfort. This discourages Jenna into not putting full effort into the competition. This could be a subconscious choice which could cause worry throughout the race.