BU highlighted for best practice by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences

BU’s Departments of Rehabilitation and Sport Sciences and Sport and Event Management have had their work highlighted as best practice by the British Association of Sport and Exercises Sciences (BASES), the professional body for sport and exercise sciences in the UK.

Enterprise in Sport

The sport and exercise science team at Bournemouth presented some of their enterprise activities at the BASES Heads of Department Forum in November. Dr Andrew Callaway and Professor Tim Rees discussed projects including PhD studentships and placements partnered with AFC Bournemouth and Chinese coach education programme, and a project with Prevayl to test their new wearable technology against clinical grade ECG. Another funded project was the use of explainable artificial intelligence to gain insight into the relationship between workload and injury within AFC Bournemouth’s men’s first team players. 

Inspiring the Next Generation 

Bournemouth University was recently awarded Outreach Hub status by BASES—a scheme to promote sport and exercise science to local school children, led by Dr Emma Mosely.

In the first event this month, seventy students from nearby schools took part in sessions including “what it’s like to be a sport psychologist?”; laboratory testing, such as eye tracking, jump height, and gas analysis; deconstructing the nutrition of sports drinks; and a skill acquisition coaching session. 

Callum Burt, teacher of PE from Poole Grammar School said “I know our students took a lot from the sessions and went away both highly engaged and motivated from the workshops delivered by the staff. We look forward to coming back next year!”

Embedding Clean Sport into the BU Curriculum 

BASES and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) have an agreement that defines clear roles and responsibilities for organisations in promoting clean sport and doping. This year the Introduction to Clean Sport course has been embedded as an independent activity within BU’s Sport and Exercise Science degree. 

The Introduction to Clean Sport course, offered by UKAD, provides essential anti-doping education for individuals involved in sports, including support personnel and clean sport advocates. The course delivers a comprehensive overview of anti-doping principles and clean sport practices. 

Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive, they valued the opportunity to gain an additional qualification alongside their studies, especially one that is sought after within their field. 

Dr Emma Moseley, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology said, “BU’s ambition is to become a leading centre for developing the next generation of sport scientists, who will shape the future of sport – whether that be high performance training, technological advancements or looking after the safety and welfare of athletes. This recognition from BASES is crucial for these ambitions and will help us share our research and expertise with partners through sports industry locally and internationally.”