Contemporary Sports Issues – Page 5

Johnson, Albritton, and Thurber’s Patriotic and Defiant Bellamy Salute in Response to Hitler’s Snub at Berlin in 1936

Submitted by Raymond T Stefani, Ph. D.*

Dr. Raymond Stefani is an emeritus professor of Engineering at the California State University, Long Beach, USA. His more than 120 sports publications are evenly divided between individual and team sports. He seeks a fundamental understanding of the physics, physiology, causes of gender differential performance, rates of improvement, effect of historical events and effects of performance enhancing drugs related to Olympic gold medal performances in athletics (track and field), swimming, rowing and speed skating. He has analyzed Olympic home nation medal advantage He developed a least squared team rating system applied to predicting the outcome of more than 20,000 games of American football, basketball, European soccer, Australian Rules football, and Super Rugby. Home advantage has been studied in those contexts. He has contributed to the understanding of the types and application of 100 international sport rating systems (both for individuals and teams) and their ability to predict the outcome of world and Olympic championship events. He contributed to the millennium edition of the New York Times. He has presented his work to eleven organizations conducting conferences in ten nations on three continents. Dr. Stefani invites collaboration with colleagues from around the world.

Abstract

Stepping to the podium for the last medal ceremony on August 2, 1936, day one of athletics competition at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, were the three Americans that swept the men’s long jump: Cornelius Johnson (gold), David Albritton (silver) and Delos Thurber (bronze). Johnson and Albritton were black. That ceremony formed a watershed for those Games: Hitler had personally congratulated all of the earlier winners on August 2, 1936; but, he left before that medal ceremony and ceased to congratulate winners starting on day two, rather than congratulate all future winners. Hitler was told to congratulate all winners or no winners by the IOC President after his non-attendance at the men’s long jump medal ceremony. It was on day two that Jesse Owens won the 100-meter run and was not congratulated. Public attention then shifted to Owens, removing attention from the actual snub of Johnson, Albritton, and Thurber that had led to action by the IOC President. This paper interprets two photos of the three Americans saluting in unison, but with two different postures: an American military salute and a straight-armed salute with palms turned upward. To understand their salute, three contexts were studied: salutes performed at the Games, activities leading up to that moment on August 2, 1936 and the American flag-saluting practice of that era. Johnson, Albritton, and Thurber were arguably making an elegant yet forceful statement of solidarity and defiance in performing the Bellamy or Flag Salute, a unique-at-those-Games act of patriotism little known in the present but, none-the-less an act deserving of recognition.

Key words: 1936 Olympics, Hitler’s snub, Bellamy Salute, Cornelius Johnson, David Albrittion, Delos Thurber, Jesse Owens. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-21T09:45:47-05:00September 22nd, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Sports Department vs. News Department: Editorial Control in Television Newsrooms

Submitted by Dr. John McGuire1*, Mr. Ray Murray1*, and Dr. Stan Ketterer1*.

1* Associate Professor, School of Media and Strategic Communications, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.

Abstract

This exploratory research study examined the attitudes of television sports directors (n=108) concerning editorial judgments made in covering local sports and how such judgments are supported by or come into conflict with other newsroom personnel. Findings included sports directors (a) believed their editorial judgments on stories were frequently questioned, and (b) had sports stories regularly reassigned to news personnel.

Keywords: Editorial judgment, newsroom practices, sports (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2017-11-02T13:56:34-05:00August 5th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Pre-Competition Anxiety and Self-Confidence in Collegiate Track and Field Athletes: A Comparison between African American and non-Hispanic Caucasian Men and Women

Submitted by Ms. Vasiliki Anagnostopoulos 1*, Michele M. Carter Ph.D 2*, and Carol Weissbrod Ph.D 3*

1*MA, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, DC.

2* Professor, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington DC

3*Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington DC

Vasiliki received her BA from Princeton university where she was a varsity soccer athlete. Since then she has earned her MA in Psychology from American University. She is currently working on completing her dissertation under the direction of Dr. Carter. She works primarily in the area of anxiety and related disorders and sport performance.

Abstract

This study examined ethnic differences in the intensity and direction of pre-competition cognitive and somatic anxiety and self-confidence among Division I collegiate track and field men and women athletes. At a regular season track meet participants from seven Division I schools were approached and agreed to complete survey questions addressing competitive anxiety and win orientation. Study measures within three days of the event. Results were first analyzed by gender. It was found that the only difference between African American men and non-Hispanic Caucasian men athletes was that African American men reported lower cognitive direction scores than non-Hispanic Caucasian men. Among women, results indicated that African American women athletes reported less cognitive anxiety intensity and higher self-confidence than non-Hispanic Caucasian women. Interestingly, results also indicated few differences between African American women athletes as compared to either group of men athletes. Cultural factors are discussed that explain why African American women athletes are different from other groups.

Keywords: ethnicity, gender, competitiveness

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U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-12T15:15:37-05:00July 30th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Modernizing the Navy’s Physical Readiness Test: Introducing the Navy General Fitness Test and Navy Operational Fitness Test

Submitted by CDR D. D. Peterson1* MSC USN, E.d.D, CSCS*D

Abstract

The lessons learned from recent combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown operational commanders that the military fitness tests currently used by the different services are inadequate in terms of assessing the physical fitness required for combat. Currently, only the U.S. Marine Corps employs a combat specific fitness test; although the U.S. Army and Air Force have recognized the need and rationale for one as well. Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy continues to lag behind the other services in terms of modernizing its physical fitness training and testing programs. The purpose of this article is four-fold: 1) justify the need for service-specific combat fitness tests, 2) discuss past and current examples service-specific combat fitness tests, 3) introduce a revised general fitness test intended to replace the current Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT), and 4) propose an operational fitness test that could be adopted and employed by the U.S. Navy.

Commander David Peterson currently serves as the Executive Officer, Physical Education Department at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He also serves as the Director, Human Performance Laboratory at the Naval Academy.

Keywords: physical fitness; fitness tests; fitness assessments; combat readiness; operational readiness; Combat Fitness Test; Physical Readiness Test

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U.S. Sports Academy2016-06-09T12:30:14-05:00July 23rd, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

How Mindfulness Training may mediate Stress, Performance and Burnout

Submitted by P. Furrer1*, Dr. F. Moen2*, and. Dr. K. Firing3*

1* Master student; Faculty of Teacher Education; The Nord-Trøndelag University College; Levanger, Norway

2* Associate Professor; Department of Education; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim, Norway

3*Associate Professor; Department of Leadership; The Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy; Trondheim, Norway

Frode Moen is currently the head manager of the Olympic Athlete program in central Norway, where he also has a position as a coach / mental trainer for elite athletes and coaches. He also is an associate professor at the Department of Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He previously has worked as a teacher in high school where sport was his major subject, and he has been a coach for the national team in Nordic combined in Norway for several years. Frode received his Ph.D. in coaching and performance psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research focuses mainly on coaching in business, coaching in sport, communication, performance psychology and relationship issues.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article was to explore the influence of mindfulness training on stress, perceived performance in school and sports, and athlete burnout among junior elite athletes. One goal was to determine the usefulness of mindfulness training in performance enhancement and burnout prevention in junior elite sports. A mindfulness-training program (MTP) was conducted with 29 junior elite athletes over a period of 12-weeks. Six of the athletes who were participating in the MTP were randomly chosen to voluntarily participate in a semi structural interview that explored possible effects from the MTP. Our qualitative analyses showed that the mindfulness intervention had a positive impact on the athletes’ awareness and recovery. The authors also discuss positive effects on the athletes’ focus and performances. The findings are discussed against the usefulness of mindfulness training in athlete burnout prevention.

Key words: mindfulness, stress, athlete burnout, sport

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U.S. Sports Academy2015-07-16T13:25:18-05:00July 15th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off