Sport performance is complex in nature with performance influenced by a network of factors emanating from athletes, coaches, equipment, sports organisations, governing bodies, media and social media, sponsors, new technologies, and society. Complexity science is concerned with attempting to understand and respond to problems that are dynamic and unpredictable, multi-dimensional, and comprise various interrelated components. To do so, an understanding of system components, their interrelations, and the resulting emergent behaviours is required. This involves the use of both quantitative and/or qualitative methods with a focus on the broader system influences to sports performance (including individual, team, and organisational performance). Proponents of the complex systems approach argue that sports performance cannot be fully understood or optimised through a reductionist approach that focuses on isolated components.
There is increasing attention on complexity in sport in areas such as sports injury prevention, sports performance, coaching, sporting organisation performance, and sports science generally. The purpose of this special issue 'Complexity and Systems Thinking in Sport' is to bring together and showcase a growing body of complex systems research in sport.
We encourage submissions from both researchers and practitioners applying complex systems theory and methods, including, but not limited to;
- Injury aetiology and prevention
- Sport and exercise psychology
- Physiology
- Biomechanics
- Nutrition
- Sports performance and analysis
- Sports integrity (e.g. doping, anti-doping, child sexual abuse, corruption and match fixing)
- Sports technology and equipment
- Sports governance
