The road goes ever on and on-a socio-physiological analysis of travel-related issues in Super Rugby

Lo, Michele; Aughey, Robert J.; Stewart, Andrew M.; Gill, Nicholas; McDonald, Brent

doi:10.1080/02640414.2020.1816290

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Humans need approximately one day per time zone crossed to recover from jet lag [ 6 ], but the rate and velocity of recovery can be accelerated by implementing specific strategies, such as melatonin supplementation [ 5 , 22 ]. Super Rugby teams reportedly used travel strategies that may have reduced sleep loss when overseas [ 23 ]. For two of the three teams monitored upon return from overseas, sleep returned to normal values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of matches and travel on rugby players’ sleep, wellness and training

Aughey

Hopkins

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Matches and travel, which are common in professional team sports, may have a negative impact on players. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact on sleep, wellness and training of Super Rugby players. Sleep of 122 players from four teams was monitored using activity monitors for up to three nights before and after matches played at home and overseas. Wellness and internal training load (questionnaires) and external training load (GPS/accelerometer) were also recorded. Separate analyses were performed for each team using a general linear mixed model to estimate the mean effects of travel (translocation overseas and return to the home country) on sleep, wellness and training. The mean effects of matches on sleep and wellness on the nights before, of and after matches. were also estimated. Teams generally experienced small to large reductions in sleep and wellness when overseas; on return, sleep and wellness recovered somewhat. The impact of matches on sleep and wellness differed in magnitude and direction (large reductions to small increases) between teams. External load overseas and upon return was reduced for three of the four teams, whilst internal load was reduced for the three teams that measured it. The changes in sleep, wellness and training can be explained by a combination of travel- and match-related stressors that differed between teams. Teams should consider remediation strategies to mitigate the effects of travel.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of matches and travel on rugby players’ sleep, wellness and training

Aughey

Hopkins

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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“…It is well established within the scientific literature that extensive travelling has a negative impact on sport performance. Although we do not intend to survey the literature on this subject, this finding is reported for various sports ranging from rugby (Lo et al (2020)) to baseball (Song et al (2017), andWinter et al (2009)) and from basketball (Huyghe et al (2018)) to triathletes (Stevens et al (2018)); see also the references contained in these papers. We close this paragraph by two quotes: one from an interview with Anne Buijs, professional volleyball player(see Volkskrant (2021)): "It is quite an advantage to play all VNL matches at the same location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

How to schedule the Volleyball Nations League

Lambers

Rothuizen

Spieksma

2023

JSA

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The Volleyball Nations League is the elite annual international competition within volleyball, with the sixteen best nations per gender contesting the trophy in a tournament that spans over 6 weeks. The first five weeks contain a single round robin tournament, where matches are played in different venues across the globe. As a consequence, each team follows an intensive travel plan, where it happens quite often that there is a large discrepancy between travel burdens of opposing teams. This is considered a disadvantage for the team that travelled more. We analyse this problem, and find that it is closely related to the well-known Social Golfer Problem: we name the resulting problem the Traveling Social Golfer Problem (TSGP). We propose a decomposition approach for the TSGP, leading to the so-called Venue Assignment Problem and the Nation Assignment Problem. We prove that a solution to the Venue Assignment problem determines the amount of unfairness, and we also prove that any solution of the Venue Assignment problem can be extended to a solution to the Nation Assignment problem satisfying the so-called home-venue property. Using integer programming methods, we find, for real-life instances, the fairest schedules with respect to the difference in travel distance.

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“…To address the gaps in knowledge, high-quality multi-centre research that is repeatable and reliable is required in athletes, and utilising multi-disciplinary methodology in an attempt to adopt a holistic approach [ 146 ]. Specific measurements are required [e.g.…”

Section: Theoretical Concepts To Guide Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Travel Fatigue and Jet Lag in Athletes: A Review and Consensus Statement

Rensburg

Fowler

et al. 2021

Sports Med

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Athletes are increasingly required to travel domestically and internationally, often resulting in travel fatigue and jet lag. Despite considerable agreement that travel fatigue and jet lag can be a real and impactful issue for athletes regarding performance and risk of illness and injury, evidence on optimal assessment and management is lacking. Therefore 26 researchers and/or clinicians with knowledge in travel fatigue, jet lag and sleep in the sports setting, formed an expert panel to formalise a review and consensus document. This manuscript includes definitions of terminology commonly used in the field of circadian physiology, outlines basic information on the human circadian system and how it is affected by time-givers, discusses the causes and consequences of travel fatigue and jet lag, and provides consensus on recommendations for managing travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes. The lack of evidence restricts the strength of recommendations that are possible but the consensus group identified the fundamental principles and interventions to consider for both the assessment and management of travel fatigue and jet lag. These are summarised in travel toolboxes including strategies for pre-flight, during flight and post-flight. The consensus group also outlined specific steps to advance theory and practice in these areas.

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The road goes ever on and on-a socio-physiological analysis of travel-related issues in Super Rugby

Cited by 5 publications

References 35 publications

The impact of matches and travel on rugby players’ sleep, wellness and training

The impact of matches and travel on rugby players’ sleep, wellness and training

How to schedule the Volleyball Nations League

Managing Travel Fatigue and Jet Lag in Athletes: A Review and Consensus Statement

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