1. University of Wolverhampton
  2. Research
  3. Research Centres
  4. SPARC
  5. Performance Enhancement

Performance Enhancement

Research theme which is a part of The Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC)

The areas we focus on are combat sports, team sports and dance. We work closely with our end-users to guide our multi-disciplinary research that helps provide relevant information to guide their training and performance practices. We have long-term relationships with Birmingham Royal Ballet, British Judo, Elmhurst Ballet School, Wolverhampton Wanders Football Club that have seen our research students embedded into these institutions as an integral part of their research. 

We run two symposia a year that attracts international speakers and delegates. These provide a forum for discussion and dissemination of our research. In January we hold the Combat Sport Symposium (for information please contact Ross Cloak) and in May, the Dance Medicine and Science Symposium that has been running since 2016 (for information please contact Matthew Wyon).

Performance Enhancement Research

We work closely with British Judo who are based at the Walsall campus as well as a number of local and national boxers. We have focused on nutritional and psychological practices including vitamin D supplementation, making weight and emotional states related to performance. More recently, we investigated mood states and regulation strategies used by boxers during  Covid-19. Current research is focusing on the use of multidisciplinary interventions to improve performance.

“The British Judo Olympic and Paralympic National Training Centre is based on the Walsall Campus of the University of Wolverhampton and enjoys a strong partnership and relationship with the university and personnel. Over the last several years, the UoW expertise has supported in the final preparation leading into major events which has enabled and informed team preparation to achieve incredible performances and results at European and World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games. Additionally, a number of our fighters are able to balance being a fulltime athlete with education onsite with the support of the UoW staff to maximise travel to competition and training camps, yet still be able to achieve academic qualifications for future career development. More recently, the UoW has invested in the National Training Centre facilities with new changing rooms and improved medical facilities and we look forward to building on our partnership and success through to Tokyo, Paris 2024 and beyond”.

 

Nigel Donohue

Performance Director

We have a long-term links with both Wolverhampton Wanders FC and Walsall FC, both of which sponsor postgraduate research studentships (PhD and MRes) at their academies. Our research has informed the clubs’ academies on how relative age effect influences talent identification and retention,  how pressure effects decision-making and the beneficial effect of a pressure training programme. Current research is focusing on coaching practices and performance, for example to improve how well players can kick with both feet. It is also focused on improving the environment for developing players, for example via examination of coping strategies and on the athlete-parent-coach relationship. Within rugby we are doing research on neck injury prevention coupled with education for rugby players.

Since the start of the collaboration between the University and Wolverhampton Wanderers 7 year ago, the relationship has gone from strength to strength. The PhD and MRes students that have been incorporated into the Academy environment have played a vital part in the growth of the Sport Science department. Their practical skills and applied research has directed our provisions here at the club with a number of them being rewarded with a full time job, both within the academy or the first team setup. The relationship has been of great benefit to both parties and long may it continue.
Dave Morrison, Head of Academy Sports Science WWFC

We have a 20-year history of investigating dance. We implement the principles of exercise science to dance, in order to understand the stresses placed on dancers in vocational training (11-18 and 18-22 years old) and professional employment that affect their health and physical fitness. Working with industry partners (e.g. Harlequin Floors, Safe in Dance International) and a wide range of end-users (e.g. Performers College, Elmhurst Ballet School, Birmingham Royal Ballet, ArtEZ Conservatoire) we focus on the physiological demands and injury incidence of different dance genres, the link between both physical fitness and vitamin D health on both injury incidence and performance ability, talent development, how adolescent training demands influences bone health, how different dance floors effect injury incidence and health surveys.

A novel neuromuscular warm-up and strength and conditioning intervention was delivered at Elmhurst Ballet School, a vocational ballet school, reducing injury incidence by 42%.

The BBC show-cased some of the applied research we do with Birmingham Royal Ballet  - Peter and the Wolf