A Global Women’s Rugby Union Web-Based Survey

Natalie Brown (), Geneviève K. R. Williams, Anna Stodter, Melitta A. McNarry, Olga Roldan-Reoyo, Kelly A. Mackintosh, Isabel S. Moore and Elisabeth M. P. Williams
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Natalie Brown: Applied, Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Geneviève K. R. Williams: Department of Public Health & Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
Anna Stodter: Research Centre for Sport Coaching, Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK
Melitta A. McNarry: Applied, Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Olga Roldan-Reoyo: Applied, Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Kelly A. Mackintosh: Applied, Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Isabel S. Moore: Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK
Elisabeth M. P. Williams: Applied, Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 8, 1-7

Abstract: Rugby Union (rugby) is a full-contact team sport characterised by frequent collision events. Over one third (2.7 million) of global rugby participants are women and girls. Yet, most rugby research, laws, and regulations are derived from the men’s game with limited transferability to the women’s game. This includes research focused on injury and concussion management. Greater insights are urgently required to enable appropriate adaptations and support for all rugby participants. Therefore, this paper presents the protocol for a project that sought to gather insights into the understanding, experiences, and attitudes of players and coaches in women’s rugby regarding key issues of concussion, injury, and training for injury prevention, as well as the implications of the menstrual cycle for training and performance. From August 2020 to November 2020, online, open, cross-sectional surveys for players and coaches were distributed globally through rugby governing bodies and women’s rugby social media platforms using snowball sampling. Survey responses were recorded anonymously via a GDPR-compliant online survey platform, JISC (jisc.ac.uk, Bristol, England). Participant eligibility included being ≥18 years and either actively playing or coaching women’s rugby 15s and/or sevens, or having done so in the past decade, at any level, in any country. To enhance the number and accuracy of responses, the survey was professionally translated into eight additional languages. A total of 1596 participants from 62 countries (27 ± 6 years; 7.5 ± 5.1 years of playing experience) and 296 participants from 37 countries (mean age = 36.64, SD = 9.09, mean experience = 6.53 years, SD = 3.31) completed the players’ and coaches’ surveys, respectively. Understanding women’s participation in and experiences of rugby is important to enable lifelong engagement and enjoyment of the sport and health during and following participation.

Keywords: women’s rugby; female; concussion; injury; questionnaire; coaches (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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