What was it like to be an elite athlete stuck in a COVID-19 hub?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-07-06 15:30

Australia; VIC

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Life was tough for many athletes who went into the Womens National Basketball League (WNBL) hub for the COVID-19 affected 2020 season. A team of Aussie researchers interviewed nine women across the season, which was held entirely in a Queensland hub over a shorter period of time to reduce potential disruptions from the virus. The researchers say the women reported feeling both overworked due to the shorter time frame between games and lack of resources to help them manage the extra games and trainings, and feeling unable to detach from work because they were constantly in a work environment. The researchers say the hub likely exacerbated factors that will remain important to athletes' success in regular seasons, including the need for equity in club facilities and support staff including physios, and the benefits socialising with teammates can bring for mental health.

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research PLOS, Web page

Journal/
conference: PLOS ONE

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: La Trobe University, RMIT University, Monash University

Funder: This study was supported by a PhD Industry Scholarship with Basketball Australia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.