Aim

Students will study the key aspects of sports science. It will equip the student with sound specialist knowledge and provide the opportunity to apply skills through a number of practical experiences.

Topics covered

This course will involve studying two mandatory units and one optional unit from a choice of two.

The two mandatory units are:

R180: Reducing the risk of sports injuries and dealing with common medical conditions

This is assessed by an exam and is worth 40% of your final grade. By completing this unit, students will prepare as a participant to take part in physical activity in a way which minimises the risk of injury occurring. It will also prepare them to know how to react to common injuries that can occur during sport and physical activity and how to recognise the symptoms of some common medical conditions.

Topics include:

• Different factors which influence the risk and severity of injury
• Warm up and cool down routines
• Different types and causes of sports injuries
• Reducing risk, treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries and medical conditions
• Causes, symptoms and treatment of medical conditions

R181: Applying the principles of training: Fitness and how it affects skill performance

This is assessed by a set assignment and is worth 40% of your final grade. By completing this unit, the student will conduct a range of fitness tests, understand what they test and their advantages and disadvantages. The student will then interpret the data collected from these fitness tests and learn how best to feed this back.

Topics include:

• Components of fitness applied in sport
• Principles of training in sport
• Organising and planning a fitness training programme
• Evaluate their own performance in planning and delivery of a fitness training programme

The optional unit that the School has chosen is:

R182: The body’s response to physical activity and how technology informs this

This is assessed by a set assignment and is worth 20% of your final grade. By completing this unit, the student will gain an understanding of how both the cardio-respiratory and musculoskeletal systems provide energy and movements needed to keep you exercising and, in turn, how exercise helps develop both systems. The student will also learn about relevant technology and how this assists in measuring changes in these systems.

Topics include:

• The cardiorespiratory system and how the use of technology supports different types of sports and their intensities
• The musculoskeletal system and how the use of technology supports different types of sports and their Sports Science Cambridge National (OCR) movements
• Short-term effects of exercise on the cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal systems
• Long-term effects of exercise on the cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal systems