Olympic Education

INTRODUCTION: Relaxation training as psychotherapeutic intervention technique involves an exercise training program tailored to help an individual under distressful condition to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness; lowering of blood pressure and decelerated cardiac activity etc. [1] and reduction in neuromuscular hypertension [2]. Imagery based relaxation training helps in identifying the unique tension sensation for that muscle group and then the tension is released to achieve a state of relaxation [3]. The present study intends to observe the relationship between alteration in autonomic competence facilitated by the relaxation training and the ultimate impact of the intervention on the visual reaction ability of the netball players. METHODS: Thirty six (36) competitive female netball players in the age range of 18 to 24 years were recruited. They were equally categorised into a Control group; Experimental Group I, who received Imagery-based relaxation intervention training and Experimental Group II, who received Abbreviated Progressive Muscle Relaxation (APMR) training. Participants were subjected to assessment of psychomotor variables (i.e., reaction time-RT; physiological (viz. resting heart-rate and Vo 2 Max etc.) and psychobiological indices (such as, Sc components-latency; amplitude and recovery time. Upon completion of pre-intervention assessment, players of experimental groups (the control group that received no training) were subjected to their respective interventions (Imagery-based relaxation intervention training-IRT & APMR) which were imparted for 12 sessions (20 min /day; 2 days/ week for 6 weeks). After six weeks of intervention, post-intervention assessment on all of the psychological, psychomotor and psychobiological variables was done to all of the participants to verify the effect of training onto dependent measures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Table 1 reveals descriptive information as well as differences existent between groups across the measurements obtained in different phases of intervention. Based on the results, the findings of the preintervention analyses revealed no preexisting differences, and hence alterations observed during the post-intervention analyses rationally could be attributed to the differential therapeutic interventions introduced to the participants of the experimental groups [4]. In Table 2, the model a emerged significant as the psychobiological measures such as phasic Sc, orienting amplitude and recovery time could explain 81.4% variance of changes in the extent of visual reaction time. Model a however explained direct relationships between predictor variables such as phasic Sc; and recovery time, while an inverse relationship between amplitude and reaction time was also evident. The equation here however implied that, the netball players who had relatively lower phasic Sc, but higher extent of amplitude and shorter, i.e., faster recovery could benefit mostly as they could regulate their task-focus well-enough to yield faster agile reaction performance [4,5]. CONCLUSION: Outcomes however suggested that both of the interventions facilitated in improvements in reaction ability, while in-depth contribution of autonomic components were evident.

This research study aims to investigate consumer’s behavior of using the services provided by an exercise unit, the PAC Sports Center, in Thailand and the marketing factors affecting their decisions to use the services by using a research framework or marketing mix strategic theory (7 P’s of marketing) in order to use findings as the guidelines for creating marketing mix strategies for exercise centers. The researcher purposively sampled 400 customers and three managers of the PAC Sports Center. The research instruments were questionnaires and constructive interviews checked by calculating the construct validity with the index of item objective congruence (IOC) from experts considerations and the reliability with data triangulation. 
According to the findings, it was found that the majority of the customers of the PAC Sports Center were males and 20 – 30 years. Their occupations were employees and students. Their incomes were 10,001-20,000 baht. They had experiences in using the services provided by exercise centers both inside and outside Thailand. Most of them used the services provided by complete exercise centers. The reason for using the services was physical fitness improvement. They used the services during their weekends. The appropriate duration for using the services was 2 hours. The frequency of using the services was 1 – 2 times per week. The most popular time for using the services was 18.00 – 21.00. They also had co-decision makers to use the services. To use the services by themselves, they used the reservation services provided by the exercise centers via telephone. They received information about the exercise centers by word of mouth. Regarding their opinions about the trend of using the services provided by the exercise centers in Thailand, the number of customers will increase in the future. 
The important component for creating efficient marketing strategies for exercise centers is the focus on the customers by generally considering their demands, then creating and developing demanded services, examining price rates affordable and acceptable for them, and using good communication processes between service providers and their customers in order to provide publication channels and improve services. Importantly, service providers have to find the ways to provide convenient services for their customers in all aspects in order to meet their demands and provide worthy services.

The Olympic Games is by far the most admirable competitions among athletes and the most spectacle sports tournaments among sports fans. The Olympic Games is built on their very core values when the games bring together people around the world to witness one of the amazing sports events in the world. It is a congregation of the Olympic Games. Three core values, i.e., excellence, friendship and respect, are around the world. The immense role of the dissemination of Olympic values and promoting and overseeing the Olympic Games falls on the shoulder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which is a decision-making organization regarding the Olympic affairs. Though a huge responsibility lied upon the IOC, the IOC alone cannot operate and function at this successful level. The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from various countries need to provide considerable support to the IOC, and the accomplishment of the IOC’s objectives can be achieved only if the NOCs work efficiently and effectively. The NOCs perform various functions and provide a significant contribution to promoting sports in a country. Thailand is one of the IOC members. The missions of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT) under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the King include supporting and promoting amateur sports and physical education, sending delegated athletes and the international. Competitions, providing welfare and education for athletes and coaches, organizing a sports museum, and coordination with different management of the NOCT are highly essential. Effective management of the NOCT will lead not only to the increasing number of junior athletes and national athletes and the success of our national athletes in major international sports competitions, but also to gear Thailand to be a healthy society using sports as a means to this end. In business, it is often argued that effective management is caused by competition. The term “creative destruction” coined by Joseph Schumpeter has continuously been proven through time that the most effective and innovative firms will thrive. Without competition, there is no real incentive and need for firms to be effective and efficient. Firms can do whatever they want bearing few or no consequences. Many sports governing bodies, e.g. the IOC and the NOCs, however, have no competition and, thus, are a monopoly. Yet, thee organizations need to be most effective. In this paper, we will argue that corporate governance is the solution to make the NOCs and the IOC to be most effective by using an example of the NOCT. Corporate governance (CG) can be loosely defined as to how to institute integrity to organizations/industries. Similar to business, the IOC and the NOCs need to instill integrity to their members no matter who they are or what role they take. A cleverly tailored corporate governance process employing control from both top-down and bottom-up will provide a necessary means to make the NOCs or, in this paper, the NOCT becomes well managed.

The concept of physical literacy is continuing to gain traction internationally. This increasing interest has also given rise to concerns about the use, interpretation and meaning of the term “literacy” within the context of physical literacy. This paper explores the development of the terms literate, illiterate, literacy, and illiteracy identifying their historical origin and contemporary meaning. This provides the backdrop to explore the use of the term literacy within the context of physical literacy. In the final part of this introductory section the recent popularity of the literacies movement is explored. Our discussion identifies key intersections and areas of tension associated with the use, interpretation and meaning of literacy in the context of physical literacy. We adopt Whitehead's philosophy of physical literacy and discussion is informed further by Derrida's notion of differance, and Barad's challenge to singular representations of concepts. Once harnessin...

Background/objective: The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods: We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results: The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to "concept", "research", "practice/policy", "future/prospect") and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion: Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term.