This study aimed to evaluate and compare the hydration states prior to different sporting events (training sessions, friendly and official matches) in elite female soccer players and relate that to the importance that the player attached to the hydration state as a determinant of sports performance. The hydration state of 17 female elite soccer players (age: 21.5 ± 3 years; body mass: 62 ± 6 kg; body height: 165 ± 9 cm) was determined by measuring their urine specific gravity (USG) prior to three different sports events: training sessions (PT), friendly (PF) and official (PO) matches. The importance that each player attached to the hydration state as a determinant of sports performance was evaluated through a simple questionnaire. An average of 47.05% of the soccer players were severely dehydrated (USG > 1.030), 33.33% were significantly dehydrated (USG > 1.020), 17.64% were mildly dehydrated (USG > 1.010) and 1.96% were euhydrated (USG < 1.010). The average USG was 1.027 ± 0.007 (PT = 1.029 ± 0.009; PF = 1.023 ± 0.010 and PO = 1.030 ± 0.006). Differences were found between urine specific gravity prior to a friendly and an official match (p = 0.03). No relationship was found between urine specific gravity and the importance each player attached to the hydration state as a determinant of sports performance. The results show that dehydration is the most prevalent hydration state of elite soccer players before training sessions, friendly and official matches. Players were most dehydrated prior to official matches, which was unlinked to the players’ perceived importance of hydration for sports performance.

This research provides new theoretical and empirical insights into the gender politics of the springboards to chief executive office. The extremely masculinised composition of the relatively few top national executive positions has posed a serious impediment to empirically assessing the conditions that may facilitate women's under‐representation and men's over‐representation. To overcome this constraint, this study looks at the top regional executive office across four West European countries that present a multilevel state structure – namely Austria, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Using two original datasets, the article examines the ways in which the selection and reselection of regional prime ministerial candidates is shaped by individual, organisational and institutional factors that produce heterogeneous experiences and career opportunities across sex. The results show that women have not shattered the glass ceiling at the regional level and pinpoint the fact that they are held to higher standards, benefit less from the political resources they possess and are more dependent on the decision environment in which parties select executive candidates. The conclusion is that the rules of the game guiding selection and reselection processes are strongly biased towards men.

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In many Western democracies, political parties have started to open to members the selection of their leaders. While most studies focus on the introduction of this new selection method, its subsequent practice is still understudied. The article contributes to our still limited knowledge of this process by looking at two multilevel countries, Germany and Spain, where the mainstream parties have sometimes organized membership ballots, especially at the regional level, for leadership selection. Thanks to two original databases on party conferences and membership ballots, the article analyzes the background of this process and reviews the most common explanations offered by the literature. It shows that they are not held when parties want to regain power, or party chairs seek their nomination, as commonly believed, but when there are intraparty leadership disputes.

In parliamentary democracies controlling party machines has traditionally been a key asset for nascent political leaders to continue in their position if they have suffered a bad electoral start. Recent proposals suggest, however, that this is no longer the case in 'old democracies', but the extent of its continuing importance in 'young' ones is still unclear. Based on a dataset built by the author of the candidates from the main national parties for the premiership of the Spanish Comunidades Autónomas, we have analyzed if being party chair increases their chances of 'reselection' after losing their first elections. We conclude that in Spain, our example of a 'young' democracy, party machines still play a fundamental role for starting as a political leader.