Annals of Applied Sport Science
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Summer 2021

The brand equity is raised as one key subject in founding the value creation for the brand. Nowadays, the sports managers are searching for creating a very powerful brand and favorable for their own organizations obtaining one long term and highlighting the consumers’ athletic experiences and the continuous relationship with them.

The purpose of this study was to focus on the role of brand authenticity with the mediating role of brand personality on the brand equity of Persepolis Club.

In this regard, a descriptive research method of survey was used. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all spectators of the Persepolis team. In this study, the available sampling method was used and the sample consisted of 410 fans of Persepolis Club. The Instrument used in the present Research is three questionnaires of brand authenticity, brand personality, and brand equity, all of which have validity and reliability. In order to investigate the direct and indirect effects of brand authenticity on brand equity, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used.

The research findings showed that brand authenticity affects brand equity (0.67) and brand personality (0.54). Brand personality affects brand equity (0.34) and brand personality mediates the relationship between brand authenticity and brand equity (0.12).

Based on the results, it can be concluded that the managers of Persepolis Club should increase the brand authenticity by establishing the club museum as well as the club store and planning on the unique features of the club, such as the number of champions, the large fan community, etc., and thus increase their brand equity.

The skiing was first used in the history of mankind for transportation and hunting in the Altay Mountains, where harsh and long winter conditions exist. The use of skiing continued in many cultures and eventually turned into a sport where not the Winter Olympic Games serve as a venue for the competition.

This review aims to outline the phases of skiing and highlight how it started as means of transportation and hunting vehicle in nomadic Turkic tribes in the Altay region to meet the vital needs of the people and continued to develop as a sport during the thousands of years of adventure until the Winter Olympic Games and the cultural importance of ski in the nomadic Turkic tribes in the Altay Region.

In the first stage of the study, the journey of two pieces of wood (ski) is analyzed, which were invented even before the wheel. In the second phase, we analyzed the technical development of this invention and its use during the wars. In the third phase, we examined how ski transformed into a sports branch and different disciplines. Results. In the researchers examined in the study, it has been mentioned that skiing starts from the vital need point and spread through migration and then used as a means of transportation and war. Attention has been drawn to the journey of rapidly spreading skiing into a modern Olympic sport. Today, skiing has become a sports branch and tourism which is made in large masses in the world.

Skiing started from the vital need point by the nomadic Turkic tribes. The use of skies spread through migration and then used as a means of transportation and war. Thanks to this long journey of two pieces of wood, it has an essential place in the world in terms of economy, tourism, and sports.

Universities are perceived as the hub for sports talent identification and development. This perception puts much pressure on student-athletes who are expected to excel in sport despite their academic commitments. Based on this expectation, students who participate in sports could be regarded as athlete-student, rather than student-athlete.

The study was carried out to investigate the perceptions of South African student-athletes about the benefits and challenges of participating in varsity sports.

From an estimated study population of 1892, a sample of 203 (138 male and 65 female) student-athletes participating in athletics, football, netball, and rugby from four universities in Gauteng province of South Africa completed a self-report questionnaire on the benefits and barriers of sport participation. The overall reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.82, and the content validity of the instrument was established.

The student-athletes’ perceived benefits of varsity sports participation included enjoyment, to make their families proud, to make friendships, to complete their studies on record time, to receive performance-related incentives and awards, to be seen on television, and to be scouted by professional teams. Significant challenges faced by the student-athletes included match fixtures clashing with academic timetables, parents/guardians pressurizing them to excel academically, inadequate sporting equipment, fear of injury, and poor academic support needed to catch up with schoolwork.
Conclusion. The current findings have practical implications for the promotion and management of varsity sports competitions in South African universities.

Low back pain is a significant issue in the field of health. Therefore, addressing new therapeutic approaches seems necessary.

The present study examined the effect of combining core stability with stretching exercises on pain intensity and motor function in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain with and without hyperlordosis.

The research method was quasi-experimental, and its statistical population included adolescent girls with chronic low back pain with and without lumbar hyperlordosis in Lahijan schools (2018). Sixty qualified girls aged 12 to 15 years were purposefully selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly divided into four groups. Experimental groups with and without lordosis performed stretching-core stability exercises for eight weeks in three 45-minute sessions. At the beginning and end of the exercise period, the dependent variables were evaluated.

Students with and without lumbar arch enlargement who underwent therapeutic exercise experienced significant pain relief and lumbar arch reduction. Lumbar muscle strength was also increased compared to the control group (p = 0.001). However, there was a significant difference in static and dynamic balance variables between experimental and control groups without lordosis. Results also showed the effect of exercises in all variables between pre-test and post-test of the two experimental groups (p = 0.001).

Combining core stability with stretching exercises can, in addition to improving chronic low back pain, reduce the severity of lumbar lordosis and the trunk muscle endurance and its balance.

Studies in this domain help focus on the techniques with high application to improve the point attainment, without providing points for the other opponents.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and investigate the most common scoring techniques used and the highest intensity competition times that have been fulfilled by the champions of the World Karate Leagues 2019 and the World Championship 2018.

One hundred and eighteen karate competitions in 5 weight groups (-60, -67, -75, -84, and +84) and from each weight rank, including 5 top-level athletes of the World Karate Federation ranking, were analyzed and studied. This study data were collated using Video Analyzer, Microsoft Excel, and SPSS, and the data were assessed using the Chi-square statistical tests (χ2).

This study indicated that only 31.9% of total attacks fulfilled by the world champions were successful in gaining points, the last minute of competition was the highest intensity time in a three-minute competition (with 46.70% of attacks happening then), and the techniques of Ashi Barai and Gia Kuzuki were the most commonly used techniques among the techniques for scoring used by world champions.

The coaches must develop new strategies during the training sessions and compare their athletes’ techniques with those of the world elites to gain uniform endeavors and improve their athletes’ performance to reach the level of world champions.

Recovery or post-exercise rehabilitation is an essential part of exercise training. Low-level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is a modality increasing interest for recovery because of having a conservative and non-aggressive method. LLLT also decreases the production of fatigue-related biomechanical markers, such as lactate, C-reactive protein (CRP), and Creatine kinase (CK).

To investigate the effect of low-level laser therapy on muscle strength and endurance and post-exercise recovery of young adults between 20-35 years old.
Methods. Fifty subjects were enrolled in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial study. Three days after the familiarization session, the subjects were divided into two groups via block randomization: the first group received pre-exercise laser at 810 nm, 60mW, and 60Hz frequency for 30 seconds on three point’s rectus femoris muscle. The other group received a placebo laser on the same points. The operator who was blinded to the allocation of the subjects applied the phototherapy. They underwent an exercise test with a treadmill and a maximum number of knee extensions with a 10 Kilograms (Kg) weight. The test results, level of blood lactate, perceived exertion of fatigue, and muscle soreness were assessed, and the results were analyzed.

The blood lactate level, the severity of muscle pain, the perceived exertion of fatigue, and the repetition of knee extensions with a 10 kg weight, had a statistically significant difference between laser and placebo groups (p < 0.05).

The use of LLL before exercise may improve muscular performance and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.

Although maximal sprint speed (MSS) and the anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) provides valuable information about the speed profile of athletes, these parameters fall short of providing important information about sub-maximal metabolic thresholds. The only field test that can offer an estimate of a sub-maximal metabolic threshold is the 3-minute all-out test for running (3MT) which delivers three parameters of interest: the critical speed (CS), fatiguability constant (D’), and 3MT-specific maximal running speed (MS3MT).

We offer an alternative to the ASR, termed the ‘functional’ speed reserve (FSR), and therefore the purpose of this study was two-fold: firstly to compare MSS to MS3MT and FSR to ASR, and secondly, to determine the correlations between ASR, FSR, and D’.

Thirty-two participants volunteered for the study (age: 22.50 ± 4.32 years; height: 1.67 ± 0.78 m; body mass: 66.58 ± 11.30 kg) and completed a graded exercise test (GXT), 3MT, and 40-m sprint test following familiarisation bouts for each test.

MSS and MS3MT were strongly correlated (r=0.93, p<0.001). The ASR and FSR were also strongly correlated (r=0.77, p<0.05), with the FSR also showing a strong correlation with D’ (r=0.77, p<0.05).

The 3MT provides a viable, arguably more ecological alternative to the ASR (i.e. FSR), and provides additional parameters such as CS, D’, and MS3MT. Field testing based on the 3MT can offer coaches and athletes unique performance insights and tools to effectively program and prescribe training interventions.

Human feet have important roles in supporting, moving and balancing the body. The feet must not only support the weight of the body but must also have the elasticity to absorb the burden associated with supporting excessive body weight.

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference of foot pressure, ground reaction force, and balance ability according to change of the foot arch during the weight loading.

Total 60 healthy young adults were divided into flexible flat foot group (FFFG, n = 30) and normal foot arch group (NFAG, n = 30) by screening navicular drop test. To compare the foot pressure, the rate of change was calculated by measuring the foot contact area when walking against the foot contact area when standing. The ground reaction force measurement was performed to calculate the contact time of the foot, vertical force peak, and total GRF time-integral value during walking. Besides, a one-leg standing test was performed to measure postural instability according to the height of the foot arch.

The FFFG showed a significantly higher contact area than that of the NFAG. Also, there was a significant increase in contact area ratio in FFFG (p < 0.05). The vertical force peak results revealed no significant differences between the two groups. However, for contact time and total GRF time-integral values, the FFFG values were higher than those for the NFAG (p < 0.05). The FFFG had significantly greater COP, velocity, COP path length, and area values than those of the NFAG (p < 0.05).

These results show that the flexible flat foot may reduce energy efficiency and increase instability during the dynamic performance and has a high risk of causing secondary problems.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease. Muscle weakness, tremors, balance disorders, and gait instability are observed in MS patients. Also, respiratory muscles weakness can lead to decreased respiratory capacity, resulting in pneumonia and acute respiratory failure.

This study evaluates thoracic kyphosis angle (TKA) and respiratory functions in MS patients and healthy groups. Methods. The study consists of 40 patients with MS (mean age of 39±7.89 years, mean height of 167.5 ± 10.19 cm, mean weight of 73.12 ± 14.40 kg) and 41 healthy subjects (mean age of 37.12 ± 8.89 years, mean height of 167.9 ± 10.76 cm, mean weight of 72.7 ± 16.91 kg). Respiratory function tests and TKA measurements were performed.

There was a statistically significant difference between TKA measurements in MS patients and healthy subjects (p < 0.05). The respiratory function test values in the healthy subjects were also significantly higher than in the MS patients (p < 0.05).

Changes in respiratory function due to muscle weakness and altered posture and TKA in MS patients should be considered in treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of media advertising in the development of sports tourism in Guilan province.

The research method is a descriptive-survey based on the structural equation model (Lisrel). The statistical population of the study was included managers of tourism, sport management professors, managers, and experts of tourism agencies that 362 persons were randomly selected. The instrument was included in a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Likert scale. The questionnaires were distributed among the subjects after the confirmation of the validity and reliability.

The results of the study showed that media advertising in sports tourism of Guilan province played the most critical role in the establishment of cultural tourism and the enhancement of the sports economy, the change of attitude in sport tourists’ public opinion, the introduction of attractions for sports tourists’ attraction, the development of tourism infrastructure and services, respectively. The results also showed that media advertising had the least effect on creating a comprehensive program of sports tourism marketing.

Therefore, we have to pay attention to advertising and marketing to develop sports tourism due to their role in tourism packages.