Supporting Success
Beyond Xs and Os: The Role of an Athletic Trainer in Supporting Disordered Eating in College Athletes
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kristin Trainor, Matt Moore, Jerry Reynolds
One subset of the college population that is at-risk of developing an eating disorder or signs of disordered eating are college athletes. College athletes face both internal and external pressures to remain fit. Of particular importance for this study is the role of the athletic trainer (ATs) in helping college athletes with a diagnosed eating disorder or patterns of disordered eating. This study followed a logical, systematic, and multiphase phenomenological approach to capturing reflections of athletic trainers’ (n = 7) subjective experiences related to managing student athletes who have a diagnosed eating disorder. Using an open-ended interview guide, athletic trainers participated in an intensive interview with one of the researchers. Researchers categorized statements into one of three themes: (1) AT and college athlete relationship, (2) barriers to care, and (3) opportunities for improvement. These results provide insight concerning the intersection of ATs and their role in addressing eating disorders with college athletes. ATs play an important role in providing both support to aid physical recovery from ailments and injuries and serve as a source of psychosocial referral and support.
Hard to Sing Without a Voice: Cultural Work and the Role of Sport in Indigenous Acceptance
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dave Kampers
Critical responses to Aboriginal participation in elite sport often emphasize the racism and discrimination experienced by athletes. However, the flipside of this narrative—arguably more significant—is the vital, culturally transformative work these athletes have undertaken in making Australia more accepting of Aboriginal people. I explore how developments within the Australian sporting landscape illustrate the role of elite sport in driving profound cultural shifts in Australian national identity, despite continuing to provide a platform for reactionary and racist outbursts. By placing recent developments in the context of the broader history of Indigenous participation in Australian sport, this paper highlights four key trends. First, the growing number of Indigenous athletes performing at elite levels has increased their visibility and influence both nationally and internationally. Second, the cultural centrality of sport in Australia has amplified public recognition of and respect for Indigenous athletes and their successes. Third, major sporting organisations are increasingly being compelled to confront and reform exclusionary practices and traditions that have historically marginalised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players. Finally, these organisations have initiated programs and practices that explicitly celebrate the contributions of Indigenous peoples and cultures, further embedding their significance within Australian sport. The emergence of Indigenous rounds and the celebration of Indigenous talent underscore how cultural acceptance functions not only as a marker of progress but also as a catalyst for systemic change. I argue, that while this process remains complex and contested, the evolving relationship between sport and cultural acceptance continues to reshape Australian society in transformative ways.
Youth Game Changers for 2032 Legacy Leadership : Developing an Agentic Leadership Legacy
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Doune Macdonald
Education and sport organisations have expressed faith and consequential investment in the role youth can play in sport for social good. From the International Olympic Committee to local schools, sporting contexts have been lauded as conducive vehicles for positive youth development (PYD), building life skills that underpin youth leadership and voice. Enthusiasm for the explicit delivery of PYD approaches within talent pathways seeks to maximise life skills transfer beyond sport and alternative pathways for youth who identify with sport but not reach elite participation. Nonetheless, critics of PYD question its overly positive narratives, emphasis on neoliberal subjectivities (Ronkainen et.al., 2023) and reliance on ‘caught not taught’ approaches to PYD. This study offers insight into the curriculum and theories informing The University of Queensland’s Youth Game Changers (YGC), an intensive, residential leadership program with youth aged 15 - 17. Devised and piloted in collaboration with Queensland secondary schools, YGC draws on self-determination theory and scholarship on youth agency and leader mindsets (Cannon et al., 2023) to address "you cannot be what you cannot see". YGC participants engage with sport, community and research leaders through experiential activities that inform and challenge them to serve as 2032 legacy innovators and change agents, contributing to the aspirations of Legacy 2042, “we will live in an inclusive, sustainable and connected society, with more opportunities in life for everyone”. Beyond the pilot phase, YGC seeks to serve youth from across the Asia-Pacific. We discuss critical contributions to the evolution of this initiative.
