1. CQ3 – What ethical issues are related to improving performance?
HSC PDHPE – CQ3 DP2
CQ3 – What ethical issues are related to improving performance?

2. What ethical issues are related to improving performance?
use of technology
training innovation, eg lactate threshold testing, biomechanical analysis
equipment advances, eg swimsuits, golf ball
describe how technology has been used to improve performance
argue ethical issues related to technology use in sport such as:
has technology gone too far?
has access to technology created unfair competition?

3. 1. Use of technology

4. 1. Use of technology
Coaches have at their disposal a number of techniques that can aid training, skill development and performance. Some are ground-breaking technological developments, whereas others are ‘tried and true’ and inexpensive.

5. 1. Use of technology
These various aids are designed to correct technique, create resistance, offer support or padding and improve performance.
Many of them have revolutionised how sports are played and trained.
Most have made the work of coaches easier because they enable coaches to more closely simulate game or competition situations or to evaluate athletic performance.
Some are as simple as socks that absorb moisture. Others are high-tech $5-million pursuit bicycles.
Whether simple or complex, sports technology presents numerous opportunities and dilemmas.

6. 1. Use of technology
The tools of the athlete’s trade are now stronger, faster, lighter and better designed than they were even a few years ago.
Science and technology are advancing at a rapid rate in every sphere of life, including sport.

7. training innovation, eg lactate threshold testing, biomechanical analysis
Astute coaches keep abreast of training advances in their sport.
They can do this by reading, watching others and attending seminars.
Various sources provide information about current coaching techniques, equipment, psychological techniques, nutrition, testing, coaching aids and technology.

8. training innovation, eg lactate threshold testing, biomechanical analysis
Some technological innovations that have improved sports performance include:
clothing (type of material, swimsuits, aerodynamics, shoes)
protective equipment (tackle suits and bags, helmets, mouthguards, shin pads, shoulder pads, head gear)
computer programs and software (statistics, performance simulators)
the Internet (interactive sports websites)
electronic scoreboards and score sheets
engineering technology at sporting venues (retractable roofs, modern seating, replay screens)
equipment modifications (such as in cycling, surfing, sailing, cricket, tennis)
testing procedures (max VO2, float tanks, wind tunnels, sprint gates, beep tests)
nutrition (high-energy food and drinks)

9. training innovation, eg lactate threshold testing, biomechanical analysis
Some technological innovations that have improved sports performance include:
heart-rate monitors and biofeedback (lactate threshold testing)
training facilities (non-wave pools, specialised playing surfaces)
video analysis and photographic equipment
assignment of specific tasks to coaching staff , such as doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists and tacticians
match performance analysis sheets
fitness equipment (treadmills, weight machines, sprinting sleds)
rehabilitation equipment (artificial joints, ligaments and tendons, ultrasound, laser)
media technologies (globalisation of sports, television, multimedia marketing companies)
drugs (improving performance, avoiding testing)
alternative therapies (eg massage, chiropractic etc)

10. lactate threshold testing

11. lactate threshold testing
Lactate analysis has been used by many athletes and physiologists over the last decade as a tool for predicting endurance performance.
The higher the percentage of max VO2, or the higher the pace at which the lactate threshold occurs, the fitter the athlete.
The maximal lactate steady state (or lactate threshold) is the best indicator of endurance performance as, generally, the athlete who achieves this at the higher effort level will be faster in an endurance event.
Increases in the maximal lactate steady state are almost always accompanied by improvements in race performance for endurance events.

12. lactate threshold testing
Frequent lactate threshold testing is an effective measure of improvements due to training.
With proper protocols a portable lactate analyser enables the coach to measure both the aerobic and anaerobic conditioning of an athlete.
Information about both is necessary for the coach to optimise the conditioning of each athlete, whether he or she is a 50-metre freestyle swimmer (about 22 seconds plus per race) or an Ironman triathlete (over 8 hours per race for the world’s best).

13. lactate threshold testing
With information the coach can plan, control and monitor the training of athletes with a precision not available before.
Lactate testing provides the important information that enables the coach to individualise the intensity of each athlete’s workout and control the training so the athlete is able to reach performance objectives.

14. biomechanical analysis

15. biomechanical analysis
Coaches film the performances of athletes and teams so that they can evaluate the performance of individuals later using biomechanical analysis.
This also allows the coach to concentrate more fully during the actual competition.
Some coaches have assistants who analyse these recordings; others perform the analysis themselves.
By using visual recordings, the coach is able to replay movements, correct techniques and evaluate performance.

16. biomechanical analysis
The coach is also able to assess the performance of the opposition.
Visual recordings provide valuable information to coaches and athletes about past performances, and provide similarly valuable information for planning future performances.
Data can be gathered during the performance, and afterwards by replaying the footage.
Coaches, assistants and other athletes can watch the performance of certain individuals and complete a data sheet on them.

17. biomechanical analysis
They can record how many tackles an individual made, how much ground was made, how many successful kicks were made, and so on.
The strengths and weaknesses of the opposition can also be evaluated.

18. biomechanical analysis
This type of statistical information is used to evaluate performances, isolate weaknesses and strengths and improve future performances.
When used together, visual recordings and data analysis are valuable coaching tools.

19. equipment advances, eg swimsuits, golf ball

20. swimsuits

21. swimsuits
Significant progress has been made in swimsuit development since the 1980s.
It has reached a stage where questions are being asked about the influence of this technology on the athlete’s performance.
Light, thin and extremely close fitting swimsuits were designed in the 1980s to minimise contact area with the water and even repel water.

22. swimsuits
After the 1992 Olympic Games contrasting stripes were printed onto close-fitting swimsuits to generate two currents: one slow, one fast.
When the fast and slow currents interact, vertical vortexes or spirals are formed.
As a result, the speed of water flow increases and stays closer to the body longer.

23. swimsuits
By the 2000 Olympics, swimsuit designers had created a swimsuit that imitated the skin of a shark.
The cut and seams on the suit were designed to cover the whole body without impeding the swimmer.
Body scanning took measurements to design individual suits, which improved streamlining.
The most recent developments have produced widespread calls for the total banning of high tech swimwear.
‘Bodysuits’ have always had performance enhancing qualities.

24. swimsuits
However, the Speedo LZR exponentially increased this and more recently at the 2009 World Championships a new range of suits by Adidas, Arena and Jaked saw an unprecedented 46 world records broken.
These suits are made from a special ultra-lightweight water-repellent material that, through compression, reduces skin vibration and offers low drag friction while improving buoyancy.
Internal stabiliser supports hold the swimmer in the best position in the water and overall the design optimises the shape of the swimmer.

25. swimsuits
Technological advances in these designs have seen the question raised as to the advantage swimmers receive from the suit and even caused many swimmers and coaches to call for restrictions in technological advances.
New rules now restrict body coverage, buoyancy levels and the actual materials used.
Rules will also put a stop to custom suits for individual athletes.

26. golf ball

27. golf ball Golf balls no longer curve as much as they used to.
Players can just swing as hard as they want at the ball and it goes straight at the flag.
Research developed a new golf ball, introduced in the mid-1990s, which achieved the unimaginable: it merged a high-spinning, soft-feeling Balata type of ball (with a rubber-band-wound core) with the low- spinning, long-flying and durable distance ball into a whole new class of product, which allowed distance and control.

28. golf ball
A few years later, the original breakthrough was improved upon by making the urethane outer covers of the balls more durable and thinner and firmer for added distance.
At the same time, advances in rubber systems allowed ball makers to design cores that were more energetic or ‘faster’.
This provided even more distance on shots hit with the longer clubs, while maintaining a soft feel. Further improvements to the core and cover have reduced spin on drives to increase distance and allow greater control.