Markus Lamprecht

Countrywide Campaign to Prevent Soccer Injuries in Swiss Amateur Players

Background: In Switzerland, the national accident insurance company registered a total of 42 262 soccer injuries, resulting in costs of approximately 145 million Swiss francs (~US

Structural and cultural factors influencing physical activity in Switzerland

130 million) in 2003. Research on injury prevention has shown that exercise-based programs can reduce the incidence of soccer injuries. Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the implementation and effects of a countrywide campaign to reduce the incidence of soccer injuries in Swiss amateur players. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: All coaches of the Schweizerischer Fussballverband (SFV) received information material and were instructed to implement the injury prevention program “The 11” in their training of amateur players. After the instruction, the coaches were asked to rate the quality and the feasibility of “The 11.” Before the start of the intervention and 4 years later, a representative sample of about 1000 Swiss soccer coaches were interviewed about the frequency and characteristics of injuries in their teams. Teams that did or did not practice “The 11” were compared with respect to the incidence of soccer injuries. Results: A total of 5549 coaches for amateur players were instructed to perform “The 11” in the training with their teams. The ratings of the teaching session and the prevention program were overall very positive. In 2008, 80% of all SFV coaches knew the prevention campaign “The 11” and 57% performed the program or most parts of it. Teams performing “The 11” had an 11.5% lower incidence of match injuries and a 25.3% lower incidence of training injuries than other teams; noncontact injuries in particular were prevented by the program. Conclusion: “The 11” was successfully implemented in a countrywide campaign and proved effective in reducing soccer injuries in amateur players. An effect of the prevention program was also observed in the population-based insurance data and health-care costs.

The public perception of doping in sport in Switzerland, 1995 – 2004

The article examines age-specific patterns of physical activity in Switzerland and relates them to a number of structural and cultural background variables. It is argued that the general decline in physical activity throughout the life-course is modified by a number of structural factors. An empirical analysis of the Swiss Health Surveys of 1992 and 2002 showed that the shape of the curve showing age-specific decline in physical activity varies significantly between different social groups. For Switzerland, the most important effects were found to relate to gender, language region, household size (family situation), financial situation and nationality, whereas educational level and urban vs. rural place of residence appeared to play a minor role. The findings suggest that target-specific interventions to increase the level of physical activity are more promising than campaigns aimed at the general population. Even when catering for the need of specific age groups such as, for example, the elderly population, the structural and cultural context must be taken into account to develop programmes that are not only adapted to physiological need but also to the structural and cultural resources and constraints of the target groups in question.

Swiss sports participation in an international perspective

Abstract The article reports findings on the perception of doping and anti-doping policies from four representative population surveys carried out in 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2004, as well as from a 2005 – 2006 survey of top-level athletes in Switzerland. The results show a growing public awareness for doping issues and increasing support for a comprehensive anti-doping strategy in Switzerland. The vast majority of the Swiss population and top-level athletes are strongly against doping and support a strategy that combines strict prohibition and sanctioning with informational and educational efforts. The perception of the doping issue and the strategic preferences in fighting doping stated by the public are largely in line with the current anti-doping strategy followed by the Swiss authorities. The results thus suggest a successful use of information resources by the authorities to create public awareness and to communicate its strategy.

Costs resulting from nonprofessional soccer injuries in Switzerland: A detailed analysis

Abstract Switzerland is an interesting test case for international comparisons of sports participation. On the one hand, sports at the intersection of the ‘English’ and the ‘German’ model have a long tradition in Switzerland. On the other hand, the three linguistic regions (French, Italian and German) of the country point to a number of cultural differences with respect to sport which also shed some light on differences at an international level. The article presents data from three 2007 Swiss surveys that included questions on sports participation: the Swiss Health Survey, Sport Switzerland, and the Swiss Household Panel. Depending on the survey used to estimate participation rates, about two thirds (SHS) to three quarters (SPOCH, SHP) of the Swiss population participate in sport at least occasionally. In an international comparison based on recent Eurobarometer data, Switzerland emerges as one of the countries with the highest sports participation rates. However, sports participation varies between the linguistic regions as well as with respect to age, gender, citizenship and socioeconomic status. An international comparison further shows that Switzerland has comparatively high sports participation rates but that differences between linguistic regions and according to respondents’ country of origin are closely linked to differences between countries thus suggesting an impact of historical, cultural and economic factors.

Injuries in formal and informal non-professional soccer – an overview of injury context, causes, and characteristics

Highlights • This study provides detailed information about groups of soccer athletes, injury types and locations, and injury situations leading to high injury costs in nonprofessional soccer.• Injuries affecting the knee caused more than half of all injury costs.• An injury of a 30+/40+-year-old league player led to high average costs of €8190.• Injuries caused by contact with an opponent and foul play injuries were not associated with above-average injury costs.

Sociology of Sport: Germany and Switzerland

Abstract The objective of this study is to analyse context, causes, and characteristics of injuries in non-professional soccer. Therefore, a retrospective telephone survey was carried out with persons who were injured while playing soccer and who reported this accident to the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (Suva). Based on these data, an analysis of 708 soccer injuries was performed. The findings show that 30.1% of the injuries occurred during informal soccer play, and 75.4% of the injured persons were soccer club members. 53.0% of all injuries were caused by contact and 29.5% by foul play. Foul play was not associated with injury severity. With respect to injury severity, twisting/turning and being tackled by an opponent were identified as the most influental injury causes. Moreover, the risk of being severely injured was particularly high players of the 30+/40+ amateur leagues. In conclusion, the findings highlight that 30+/40+ league players are a major target group for the prevention of severe soccer injuries. Soccer clubs may constitute an appropriate multiplier for implementing prevention strategies such as fair play education, healthy play behaviours, and prevention programmes. Finally, a better understanding of injury situations leading to severe injuries is needed to improve injury prevention.

Types of professionalisation in Swiss national sport federations

This chapter examines the origins and institutionalization of sport sociology in Germany and Switzerland and provides an overview of the current state of research. It shows how academic chairs and research committees were established and how the first textbooks, anthologies, and journals appeared from the 1970s onwards. The institutionalization process of German-speaking sport sociology proceeded parallel to the establishment of sport science. With regard to its theoretical and empirical basis, German-speaking sport sociology is rooted in theories and concepts of general sociology. Studies using a system theory perspective, conceptualizing sport as a societal sub-system and examining its linkage with and dependence on economy, media, or politics are particularly common in the German-speaking region. In addition, actor theoretic perspectives are very popular, and French sociologists such as Bourdieu and Foucault have had a marked influence on German-speaking sport sociology. A large number of sport sociology studies are concerned with the changes in leisure and elite sports. In this context, the emergence of new trends in risk sports as well as the fitness boom and its implications on body perception are of special interest. Further areas of research refer to sport participation and the impact of social inequality, particularly with respect to gender differences and social integration. Finally, organization research focusing on change at the level of sport associations and clubs has a long tradition. Major challenges for the future of German-speaking sport sociology include its internationalization and an enhanced international linkage in order to improve the visibility of research results.

Crecimiento por diferenciación en Suiza. Una mirada al boom deportivo de las últimas décadas

Lang, Grazia1; Schlesinger, Torsten2; Lamprecht, Markus3; Ruoranen, Kaisa1; Klenk, Christoffer1; Bayle, Emmanuel4; Clausen, Josephine4; Giauque, David5; Nagel, Siegfried1 1University of Bern, Institute of Sport Science, Switzerland; 2Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany; 3Swiss Observatory for Sport and Physical Activity, Switzerland; 4University of Lausanne, Institute of Sport Science, Switzerland; 5University of Lausanne, Institute of Political, Historical and International Studies, Switzerland E-mail: grazia.lang@ispw.unibe.ch

Attitudes towards doping – A comparison of elite athletes, performance oriented leisure athletes and the general population

Hasta fechas bien recientes, la investigacion sobre participacion deportiva se ha desarrollado predominantemente a escala nacional y han sido muy pocas las aportaciones realizadas desde una perspectiva europea. Sin embargo, desde que el Tratado de Lisboa convirtio el deporte en una soft competence de la Union Europea, ha ido configurandose un nuevo contexto en el que se ha hecho mucho mas necesario su estudio. El presente libro se suma a esas iniciativas de investigacion surgidas durante los ultimos anos para realizar una contribucion accesible a los investigadores, responsables politicos, consultores de gestion deportiva y estudiantes de materias relacionadas con el deporte del ambito hispanohablante.