| The advances
in sports professionalism and the increasing intensity
of competition have made a scientific approach to
sport vital to monitoring and improving performance.
British expertise in sport and exercise science
is reflected in the growing number of postgraduate
qualifications that offer the chance to study new
and exciting developments, as well as providing
great career opportunities.
Today's unprecedented sporting boom confirms
that sport has now gained a much wider recognition
and status. As sports stories move from the back
to the front pages of newspapers and commercial
interest continues to grow, sport's rapid rate
of expansion has spawned a huge volume of academic
and scientific research. This continuing inquiry
supports sports and exercise by developing and
spreading knowledge to benefit everyone, from
professional athletes to Sunday league footballers.
 As
an area of professional expertise, British sport
and exercise science is now held in extremely
high esteem worldwide. "We are amongst the
leaders in world sports and exercise science,"
claims Professor Les Burwitz, Head of Exercise
and Sports Science at Manchester Metropolitan
University. "Part of the evidence for this
can be seen at sports conferences worldwide. People
are amazed at what we do. They look at our accreditation
procedures and development schemes and try and
foster these ideas in their own country."
It is this extensive knowledge base that has seen
the proliferation of postgraduate courses in the
last five years, with sports and exercise science
fast becoming one of the most popular developing
subjects.
The application of scientific principles is studied
by examining four branches of science - biomechanics,
physiology, psychology and interdisciplinary approaches
- although this knowledge is applied differently
to each of the sports and exercise disciplines.
Sports science largely offers expert scientific
backup for top sport training and performance,
while exercise science has a central role in physical
programmes aimed at improving general health.
The qualified sport and exercise scientist can
expect to have a broad technical, physiological
and psychological knowledge, and stands to benefit
from current developments within the field offering
a professional status that is recognised worldwide.
Professor Burwitz explains: "One of the
most exciting developments happening at the moment
is the BASES (British Association of Sports and
Exercise Science) accreditation scheme, which
offers clients from sport and exercise groups
confidence that the services they receive will
be both safe and effective." Accreditation
is the Gold Standard in service delivery, and
is recognised as the benchmark for expertise in
the sports and exercise domain. It is a standard
that is recognised and supported by UK Sport,
The British Olympic Association, the National
Coaching Foundation, and UK Athletics.
Accreditation will undoubtedly open up many new
career opportunities, although, as Professor Burwitz
says, there are many other routes to choose. "I
would say that about 40% of our students end up
working in the sports and leisure area, another
40% use their qualification as a science degree
and work in areas such as financial services,
banking, civil services and pharmaceuticals. The
remaining 20% go into teaching or research. If
you're interested in sport in any shape or form,
today's courses offer fantastic opportunities.
Why study biology or chemistry, when you can use
sports and exercise science to great effect, developing
the academic rigour and solid foundations for
an exciting career."
 Stuart
Biddle, Professor of Sports and Exercise Psychology
from Loughborough University, echoes such sentiments,
pointing to the new career versatility possessed
by sports and exercise scientists. "Twenty
years ago, people weren't employing sports psychologists,"
he said. "But because sport now plays such
an important role in society, the need for specialists
is much greater." The careers offered usually
fall into three categories: "You could work
in a sports science-related field in a professional
or hospital rehabilitation centre. Or you could
select a career in a more generalised exercise
field."
"Much of our students' fitness knowledge
is now firmly embedded in community programmes,
working with local authority leisure services.
Alternatively, you might choose to be a researcher
for complementary medicine, for example; or because
you are computer literate and able to manage information,
you could end up in a totally unrelated career
in marketing or computer science."
America currently leads the sport and exercise
field, but it is clear that the UK is steadily
gaining ground. New academic challenges in the
subject mirror British scientific progress, with
an important change in the last five years being
the omission of practical sports. This change
was prompted by student demand for more laboratory-based
hands-on work, and indicates the level of academic
discipline and desire for new knowledge possessed
by today's aspiring sport and exercise science
professionals.
For more information about sport
and exercise science and accreditation, contact
Jeremy Cooper, BASES Development Officer on 0113
2891020, or e-mail
jcooper@bases.u-net.com
Author
Jeremy Cooper
BASES
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