Sports Science underpins elite performance in sport. From the use of GPS to track the speed, distance, accelerations and decelerations of team sport athletes, through to the changes in an athlete's physiology as a result of altitude training; sports scientists apply scientific knowledge and techniques to the training and rehabilitation of athletes with the aim of improving their performance. An increase in performance of 1-2% can be all that's needed for an athlete to achieve the ultimate success and the application of sports science can make this difference.
Sports science includes a number of different fields of study including:
BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics is the study of human motion. Applied sports biomechanics incorporates methods and knowledge from physics, human anatomy, mathematics, computing and engineering to analyse an athlete's to prevent injury and to improve performance.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/ais_movement_science/faq#is
PHYSIOLOGY
Exercise physiology is the study of the effects of exercise on how an athlete functions (physiology) and on chemical processes (biochemistry) that take place within the body in response to exercise.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/physiology/faqs#1
NUTRITION
Sports nutrition is the study and practice of nutrition and diet as it relates to athletic performance. It is concerned with the type and quantity of fluid and food taken by an athlete. Sports nutrition also deals with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic substances such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
The goals of Nutritionists at the Australian Institute of Sport are to:
Feed athletes today and educate them for tomorrow; help all AIS athletes maximise their performance through the benefits of cutting edge nutrition practices; undertake or interpret new research to ensure that our sports nutrition practice is evidence based and to provide education that is dynamic and sports-specific.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition
MOTOR CONTROL
Motor control are information processing related activities carried out by the central nervous system that organize the musculoskeletal system to create coordinated movements and skilled actions.
PSYCHOLOGY
Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from the fields of kinesiology and psychology. It is both the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. Applied sport psychology focuses on the instruction and training of psychological skills for performance enhancement. Examples of psychological skills taught include imagery, energy management, goal setting, and self-talk.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/psychology/performnce_psychology_stream
SPORTS TECHNOLOGY
The design, development and testing of improved equipment such as helmets, bats and balls to enhance sporting performance. This branch of sports science also encompasses advancements in technology used for athlete testing including motion capture equipment and software, as well as advanced computer simulations for data analysis.
KINESIOLOGY
Kinesiology is the study of human movement, performance, and function by applying the sciences of biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, psychology, and neuroscience.
SKILL ACQUISITION
Skill acquisition specialists use their knowledge of how the brain handles information through the learning process - from conscious efforts to master a task to the point when decision making required to complete that task becomes automatic.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/ais_movement_science/skill_acquisition
PERFORMANCE RECOVERY
Recovery after training and competition allows athletes to return to their normal physiological and psychological state as rapidly as possible. This is employed so that performance in their next competition or training session will not be unduly compromised by muscle soreness and/or fatigue. There is now increasing scientific evidence supporting the benefits of recovery (particularly hydrotherapy) to enhance exercise performance in a number of domains.
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/sssm/fatigue_and_recovery
Definitions adapted from Wikipedia and Australian Institute of Sport
