Environment

1. Environment Objectives: Consider the aspects of the environment that can affect participants and their performance. Consider how these factors have an actual effect. Consider how access to facilities can reduce the effect of the environment.

2. The environment is not a single factor. You may have some control over some environmental factors but none over others. • However, all environmental factors have an effect on participation.

3. Weather • You have no control over! • However, a professional performer may be able to afford to go to a country where the weather is suitable to that sport, e.g. cold and snowy for a skier and warm and dry for a tennis player. • Weather affects both training and competition. • Think about how often the weather affects your PE lessons!

4. Training • If you are a marathon runner you need to do distance runs as part of your training. You cannot do this if there is snow and ice. • Likewise a tennis player could not train if it is cold and wet and they only have access to outdoor courts.

5. Competing • If it is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too foggy, too windy or there are thunderstorms, many activities will stop! • Activity: • List a competition that would stop for each of the above weather conditions.

6. Pollution • Air pollution is a serious risk for anyone taking exercise and so can affect both training and competing. • If there is high pollution outdoors, training would have to be done indoors and where there is air-con or climate control.

7. Altitude • This is the height of an area above sea level. • Training and competing at altitude can be a real benefit and living and training at high altitude all the time can be a real advantage for endurance athletes. Altitude training: where some sort of aerobic exercise is carried out at higher altitudes. The air here is less dense and oxygen levels are low with less pressure of oxygen. This allows a physiological change to occur which increases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

8. Humidity • This relates to the amount of water vapour there is in the air. • Humidity combined with heat makes conditions very hard for performers to keep their bodies cool enough and avoid dehydration. (the rapid loss of water from the body). • In the 2007 World X-Country champs, high levels of humidity saw 20% of competitors failing to complete the distance!

9. Terrain • The landscape (the aspect of the land characteristic of a particular region) you require may be crucial to your sport, e.g surfers require sea and surf, skiers require slopes! Climbers need challenges to climb and cyclists need flat ground for time trials or hills for mountain biking. • Activity: • Name 10 sports and the terrain they require.

10. Examiners Tip: • It is important to be aware of these factors and acknowledge that performers’ ability to overcome problems caused by the environment can vary.

11. Homework: • Revise over half term all of this terms work for test first week back: • Age • Disability • Environment • Gender • Somatotypes • Risk/challenge • Activity levels/needs