| Sports offer both competition and a path to fitness. Accordingly, sports science has grown beyond the exclusive application of science toward improving competitive performance to applications that improve the quality of life and health. Sports and the advances in sports science have, however, increasing impact on broad segments of society— from advanced competitors wishing to enhance Olympic-caliber performance to those wishing modest improvement in the quality of their health and life through the practice of yoga or Pilates. Intended for high school-aged students and readers at the start of their studies of sports science, World of Sports Science is designed to be an interesting and useable introduction to the field.
Sports often captivate younger audiences, and World of Sports Science is specifically designed to allow younger students to relate fundamental terms and concepts taught in the science classroom to their often passionate pursuit of sports. In so doing the science becomes more relevant to their daily lives and, in turn, participation and capabilities in sport are enhanced by a greater understanding of issues related to exercise physiology, biomechanics, drug use, etc. The editors have not shied fromthe controversies in sport related to the use of performance-enhancing drugs and have taken special care to identify the dangers and ethical concerns related to such use. The controversy in the wake of the 2006 Tour de France, in which the winner Floyd Landis was reported to have tested positive for the use of a banned substance (testosterone, an anabolic steroid) took place after World of Sports Science went to press. At the time of this writing, Landis proclaims his innocence and official action remains pending against Landis, who faces being stripped of his Tour title and a ban from professional cycling for two years. Such incidents are becoming increasingly common across the world of sport and although the editors can not forecast the news, World of Sports Science is designed to provide students and readers with resources and readings that enable them to more fully understand the complexities of such evolving news stories. For example, entries on the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA director Richard Pound, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and Court of Arbitration for Sport provide insight in to the agencies and processes used to investigate and enforce provisions against banned substances while entries on anabolic steroids, testosterone, cycling, and a specialized article on the Tour de France (Cycling: Tour de France) provide examples of entries offering essential background reading that empower critical thinking about events in the news. |
