Read about the current research projects within the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Sports Science Postgraduate Research Projects
Sam Jones

The Foot-Ball Interaction in Rugby Union Place Kicking
Place kicking contributes 45% of all points scored in Rugby Union.
One of the unique aspects of place kicking is the ability of kickers to use a tee and ball orientation of their preference. Given the ‘egg shaped’ nature of a rugby ball, this clearly has implications for the mechanics of the impact between the foot and the ball.
This research project will use both empirical and theoretical biomechanical methods to understand the foot-ball interaction, with the objective of informing the ball setup preferences of place kickers to ultimately enhance their success rates.
IACHUS - Bridgend Project: Improving Attainment and Activity by Enriching Children's Health and Wellbeing in the Community and in Schools across Bridgend
Partner company: Active Young People Department (AYPD) at Bridgend County Borough Council.
I am working alongside the AYPD to create a sustainable method for collecting health and wellbeing data from primary schools. The data that I collect (including fitness, physical activity, physical competence and emotional wellbeing) will be used to analyse intervention effectiveness across several schools. The AYPD will use this data to create school and community programmes to improve children’s health and wellbeing in Bridgend.
Amie Richards

Kathryn Ann Jordan

Delivering Air Quality Specific Nudges to Help Increase Physical Activity and Reduce Asthma Attacks in Children
Through my research, I will be conducting formative work that will ultimately inform the development of an intelligent app.
The aim is to provide personalised nudges according to local air pollution, to promote physical activity in youth diagnosed with Asthma. We must first establish an accurate understanding of levels of physical activity in those diagnosed with Asthma, and identify the key barriers they face in increasing their physical activity levels, if we are to engage children successfully.
A-CLASS Girls Cymru – Promoting physical activity, health and fitness in adolescent girls
I am an independent research consultant currently writing up my PhD thesis. My doctoral research centres around two projects; Swan-Linx which aims to collect data on the health and fitness of 9–11-year-old girls and The ASCENT Project which focuses on the feasibility and implementation of a complex school-based health promotion project for 13–15-year-old girls across three secondary education settings. My main research interests include girls’ experiences of physical activity, adolescent health and wellbeing, adolescent health promotion, project implementation, the role of social norms in adolescent health behaviour, feminist phenomenology, and qualitative methodologies. My work as an independent research consultant is a continuation of my doctoral research, and centres around the implementation, evaluation and development of multiple child and adolescent health and wellbeing initiatives within South Wales.
Hannah L Spacey

Helen Parrott

Optimising the Start to 15m in Swimming Through Pre-Race Interventions
In swimming, the start to 15 m can contribute up to 30% of total race time (lyttle and benjanuvatra 2005) meaning enhancements in start performance have the potential to impact the overall race for distances up to 200m.
The aim of my research is to measure how pre-race interventions, such as heated garments, can influence performance and improve start time. in conjunction with this, i aim to observe how the proportion of start time has changed since the adoption of new rules and whether previous results are still applicable to the current elite swimming world.