A closer look at the FTEM framework. Response to "More of the same? Comment on 'An integrated framework for the optimisation of sport and athlete development: a practitioner approach'".

The Foundations, Talent, Elite and Mastery (FTEM) framework was designed through the lens of a world leading high-performance sport agency to assist sporting stakeholders operationalise and research their whole of sport development pathways (Gulbin, J. P., Croser, M. J., Morley, E. J., & Weissensteiner, J. R. (2013). An integrated framework for the optimisation of sport and athlete development: A practitioner approach. Journal of Sport Sciences, 31, 1319-1331). In response to the commentary by MacNamara and Collins (2013) (Journal of Sports Sciences, doi:10.1080/02640414.2013. 855805), it was possible to document many inaccurate, false and misleading statements based on inattentive reading of the original article. We reinforce that: FTEM is a holistic framework of sport and athlete development and not a surrogate for a talent identification ( TID) model; bio-psycho-social components of development are liberally embedded throughout the FTEM framework; and the combined research and applied insights of development practitioners provide strong ecological validity for the consideration of stakeholders looking to explore applied approaches to athlete pathway management.

Patterns of performance development in elite athletes.

This investigation sought to contrast generalised models of athlete development with the specific pathway trajectories and transitions experienced by 256 elite athletes across 27 different sports. All participants completed the National Athlete Development Survey and within it, the Athlete Development Triangle featuring the differentiation of junior and senior competition experience and progression. Developmental initiation; prevalence, magnitude and direction of pathway trajectory; extent of concurrent junior and senior competitive experience; and variability between sports were examined. Three major trajectories were identified in relation to athlete transition from Nil competition to Elite competition, via junior and senior competition phases. These included Pure ascent (16.4%), Mixed ascent (26.2%) and Mixed descent (57.4%). These were further partitioned into eight sub-trajectories, demonstrating a mix of linear, crossover and concurrent competition profiles. Substantial variability with regard to starting age, pattern of ascent and magnitude of transition was apparent. Non-linear trajectories were experienced by the majority of athletes (83.6%), with pure junior to senior developmental linearity evident in less than 7% of cases. Athletes in cgs sports (those measured in centimetres, grams or seconds) were less likely (43%) to experience a descending trajectory in comparison with non-cgs athletes (70%; p<0.001). The collective findings of this investigation demonstrate that, contrary to the popular pyramidal concept of athlete development, a single linear assault on expertise is rare, and that the common normative junior to senior competition transition is mostly characterised by complex oscillations featuring highly varied transitions. More developmental 'granularity' is needed to advance our understanding of sport expertise.

An integrated framework for the optimisation of sport and athlete development: a practitioner approach.

This paper introduces a new sport and athlete development framework that has been generated by multidisciplinary sport practitioners. By combining current theoretical research perspectives with extensive empirical observations from one of the world's leading sport agencies, the proposed FTEM (Foundations, Talent, Elite, Mastery) framework offers broad utility to researchers and sporting stakeholders alike. FTEM is unique in comparison with alternative models and frameworks, because it: integrates general and specialised phases of development for participants within the active lifestyle, sport participation and sport excellence pathways; typically doubles the number of developmental phases (n = 10) in order to better understand athlete transition; avoids chronological and training prescriptions; more optimally establishes a continuum between participation and elite; and allows full inclusion of many developmental support drivers at the sport and system levels. The FTEM framework offers a viable and more flexible alternative for those sporting stakeholders interested in managing, optimising, and researching sport and athlete development pathways.

Association analysis of ACE and ACTN3 in elite Caucasian and East Asian swimmers.

PURPOSE: Polymorphic variation in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) genes has been reported to be associated with endurance and/or power-related human performance. Our aim was to investigate whether polymorphisms in ACE and ACTN3 are associated with elite swimmer status in Caucasian and East Asian populations. METHODS: ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X genotyping was carried out for 200 elite Caucasian swimmers from European, Commonwealth, Russian, and American cohorts (short and middle distance, ≤400 m, n = 130; long distance, >400 m, n = 70) and 326 elite Japanese and Taiwanese swimmers (short distance, ≤100 m, n = 166; middle distance, 200-400 m, n = 160). Genetic associations were evaluated by logistic regression and other tests accommodating multiple testing adjustment. RESULTS: ACE I/D was associated with swimmer status in Caucasians, with the D allele being overrepresented in short-and-middle-distance swimmers under both additive and I-allele-dominant models (permutation test P = 0.003 and P = 0.0005, respectively). ACE I/D was also associated with swimmer status in East Asians. In this group, however, the I allele was overrepresented in the short-distance swimmer group (permutation test P = 0.041 and P = 0.0098 under the additive and the D-allele-dominant models, respectively). ACTN3 R577X was not significantly associated with swimmer status in either Caucasians or East Asians. CONCLUSIONS: ACE I/D associations were observed in these elite swimmer cohorts, with different risk alleles responsible for the associations in swimmers of different ethnicities. The functional ACTN3 R577X polymorphism did not show any significant association with elite swimmer status, despite numerous previous reports of associations with "power/sprint" performance in other sports.

Loss of IL-15 receptor α alters the endurance, fatigability, and metabolic characteristics of mouse fast skeletal muscles.

IL-15 receptor α (IL-15Rα) is a component of the heterotrimeric plasma membrane receptor for the pleiotropic cytokine IL-15. However, IL-15Rα is not merely an IL-15 receptor subunit, as mice lacking either IL-15 or IL-15Rα have unique phenotypes. IL-15 and IL-15Rα have been implicated in muscle phenotypes, but a role in muscle physiology has not been defined. Here, we have shown that loss of IL-15Rα induces a functional oxidative shift in fast muscles, substantially increasing fatigue resistance and exercise capacity. IL-15Rα-knockout (IL-15Rα-KO) mice ran greater distances and had greater ambulatory activity than controls. Fast muscles displayed fatigue resistance and a slower contractile phenotype. The molecular signature of these muscles included altered markers of mitochondrial biogenesis and calcium homeostasis. Morphologically, fast muscles had a greater number of muscle fibers, smaller fiber areas, and a greater ratio of nuclei to fiber area. The alterations of physiological properties and increased resistance to fatigue in fast muscles are consistent with a shift toward a slower, more oxidative phenotype. Consistent with a conserved functional role in humans, a genetic association was found between a SNP in the IL15RA gene and endurance in athletes stratified by sport. Therefore, we propose that IL-15Rα has a role in defining the phenotype of fast skeletal muscles in vivo.

Talent identification and deliberate programming in skeleton: ice novice to Winter Olympian in 14 months.

The aims of this study were to talent transfer, rapidly develop, and qualify an Australian female athlete in the skeleton event at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games and quantify the volume of skeleton-specific training and competition that would enable this to be achieved. Initially, 26 athletes were recruited through a talent identification programme based on their 30-m sprint time. After attending a selection camp, 10 athletes were invited to undertake an intensified skeleton training programme. Four of these athletes were then selected to compete for Australia on the World Cup circuit. All completed runs and simulated push starts were documented over a 14-month period. The athlete who eventually represented Australia at the Torino Winter Olympic Games did so following approximately 300 start simulations and about 220 training/competition runs over a period of 14 months. Using a deliberate programming model, these findings provide a guide to the minimum exposure required for a novice skeleton athlete to reach Olympic representative standard following intensified sport-specific training. The findings of this study are discussed in the context of the deliberate practice theory and offer the term "deliberate programming" as an alternative way of incorporating all aspects of expert development.

Preparation of former heavyweight oarsmen to compete as lightweight rowers over 16 weeks: three case studies.

To strengthen the depth of lightweight rowing talent, we sought to identify experienced heavyweight rowers who possessed physique traits that predisposed them to excellence as a lightweight. Identified athletes (n = 3) were monitored over 16 wk. Variables measured included performance, anthropometric indices, and selected biochemical and metabolic parameters. All athletes decreased their body mass (range 2.0 to 8.0 kg), with muscle mass accounting for a large proportion of this (31.7 to 84.6%). Two athletes were able to maintain their performance despite reductions in body mass. However, performance was compromised for the athlete who experienced the greatest weight loss. In summary, smaller heavyweight rowers can successfully make the transition into the lightweight category, being nationally competitive in their first season as a lightweight.

The EPAS1 gene influences the aerobic-anaerobic contribution in elite endurance athletes.

EPAS1 is a gene involved in complex oxygen sensing. It is expressed in microvascular endothelial cells, lung epithelial cells, cardiac myocytes and the brain. An association study was undertaken comparing elite endurance athletes classified into two groups according to a power-time model of performance intensity: power-time-maximum (PT-MAX; N=242, event duration 50 s to 10 min) and power-time-steady state (PT-SS; N=151, event duration ~2-10 h), with normal controls (N=444) using 12 SNPs across EPAS1. Ordinal regression analysis of allele frequencies revealed significant differences at SNPs 2 and 3 (P=0.01). Haplotype analysis revealed the presence of haplotypes involving SNPs 2-5 that significantly differentiated (P<0.05) the groups based on an ordinal ranking using the power-time classification. These same haplotypes differentiated the PT-MAX group in which a significant decrease in a haplotype (F: G-C-C-G; OR=0.57, P=0.02, 95% CI 0.36-0.92) and increase in a second haplotype (G: A-T-G-G; OR=1.75, P=0.03, 95% CI 1.05-2.91) was observed compared to controls. The PT-SS group was differentiated from the PT-MAX group by a third haplotype (H: A-T-G-A; OR=0.46, P=0.04, 95% CI 0.22-0.96). Since EPAS1 has a role as a sensor capable of integrating cardiovascular function, energetic demand, muscle activity and oxygen availability into physiological adaptation, we propose that DNA variants in EPAS1 influence the relative contribution of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism and hence the maximum sustainable metabolic power for a given event duration.

ACTN3 genotype is associated with human elite athletic performance.

There is increasing evidence for strong genetic influences on athletic performance and for an evolutionary "trade-off" between performance traits for speed and endurance activities. We have recently demonstrated that the skeletal-muscle actin-binding protein alpha-actinin-3 is absent in 18% of healthy white individuals because of homozygosity for a common stop-codon polymorphism in the ACTN3 gene, R577X. alpha-Actinin-3 is specifically expressed in fast-twitch myofibers responsible for generating force at high velocity. The absence of a disease phenotype secondary to alpha-actinin-3 deficiency is likely due to compensation by the homologous protein, alpha-actinin-2. However, the high degree of evolutionary conservation of ACTN3 suggests function(s) independent of ACTN2. Here, we demonstrate highly significant associations between ACTN3 genotype and athletic performance. Both male and female elite sprint athletes have significantly higher frequencies of the 577R allele than do controls. This suggests that the presence of alpha-actinin-3 has a beneficial effect on the function of skeletal muscle in generating forceful contractions at high velocity, and provides an evolutionary advantage because of increased sprint performance. There is also a genotype effect in female sprint and endurance athletes, with higher than expected numbers of 577RX heterozygotes among sprint athletes and lower than expected numbers among endurance athletes. The lack of a similar effect in males suggests that the ACTN3 genotype affects athletic performance differently in males and females. The differential effects in sprint and endurance athletes suggests that the R577X polymorphism may have been maintained in the human population by balancing natural selection.

Oral bovine colostrum supplementation enhances buffer capacity but not rowing performance in elite female rowers.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled design was used in which 13 elite female rowers, all of whom had competed at World Championships, were supplemented with 60 g day-1 of either bovine colostrum (BC; n = 6) or concentrated whey protein powder (WP; n = 7) during 9 weeks of pre-competition training. All subjects undertook the study as a group and completed the same training program. Prior to, and after 9 weeks of supplementation and training, subjects completed an incremental rowing test (ROW1) on a rowing ergometer consisting of 3 3 4-min submaximal workloads and a 4-min maximal effort (4 max), each separated by a 1-min recovery period. The rowing test was repeated after a 15-min period of passive recovery (ROW2). The 4 max for ROW1 provided a measure of performance, and the difference between the 4 max efforts of ROW1 and ROW2 provided an index of recovery. Blood lactate concentrations and pH measured prior to exercise and at the end of each workload were used to estimate blood buffer capacity (beta). Food intake was recorded daily for dietary analysis. There were no differences in macronutrient intakes (p >.56) or training volumes (p >.99) between BC and WP during the study period. Rowing performance (distance rowed and work done) during 4 max of ROW2 was less than ROW1 at baseline (p <.05) but not different between groups (p >.05). Performance increased in both rows by Week 9 (p <.001), with no difference between groups (p >.75). However, the increase was greatest in ROW2 (p <.05), such that by Week 9 there was no longer a difference in performance between the two rows in either group (p >.05). b was not different between groups for ROW1 at baseline (BC 38.3 5.0, WP 38.2 7.2 slykes; p >.05) but was higher in BC by Week 9 (BC 40.8 5.9, WP 33.4 5.3 slykes; p <.05). b for ROW2 followed the same pattern of change as for ROW1. We conclude that supplementation with BC improves b, but not performance, in elite female rowers. It was not possible to determine whether b had any effect on recovery.