Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Performance

The School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure is home to the Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Performance (RCSEP). The mission of the Centre is to enable the production of high quality applied research of regional, national and international significance that will assist in maximising the performance of those engaged in sport and exercise related activities.

The Centre comprises a team of internationally-renowned academics including Professor Andy Lane, Professor Alan Nevill, Dr Matt Wyon and Professor Yiannis Koutedakis.

Recent research projects have focused on:

• the assessment of validity and reliability issues in the sport and exercise sciences
• Emotional intelligence and coping with stress
• Mood states and performance
• the effects of exercise on bone health
• The impact of football crowds on the performance of referees
• A study of the nation’s exercise habits leading to the development of an ‘exercise lifecycle’
• The development of prototype ballet shoe innovation
• Physiological demands on classical ballet and contemporary dance
• Physiological characteristics of a classical ballet company

The Centre currently has 17 research-active staff and 15 PhD students. It places particular emphasis on applied research within the following multidisciplinary areas:

• Sport Performance
• Exercise and Health
• Learning and Teaching
• Dance Science

The work of the Centre supports the School’s undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum with an emphasis on the continuous updating of our taught curriculum in line with research findings.