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In this article we focus on moral issues related to sport and e-sport. We attempt to identify the role that contemporary sport and e-sport play in the education of young people. To this end, we analyse the axiological foundations of both types of sport. In our opinion, there is a difference in the impact of e-sport and sport (especially Olympic sport) as carriers of values. Sport, properly conducted in the educational process, can positively influence the moral and biological/physical development of human beings, mobilizing them to physical activity appropriate to the discipline. This important element is basically missing in e-sports. Moreover, in the process of sports training, the athlete is supported by a coach who can explain both positive and negative phenomena occurring during this process. In e-sports, the role of the coach is limited to creating game tactics and maximizing the outcome of the competition, and the question of who teaches young players in both types of sports what is morally right and wrong remains open.

The study examined the moral competence levels in adolescents participating in individual/team sports compared with those not undertaking sports at all. In total, 827 students aged 15-17 years old (45.4% boys, 54.6% girls) from randomly selected secondary schools in the Wielkopolska region in Poland participated in the study. The moral competences were assessed using the Lind's Moral Competence Test. The students also answered questions concerning their statues of involvement in sport (not involved; amateur; professional), years of involvement, and the type of sport they partook in (individual/team). The results highlight that the moral competence level in most of the examined adolescents (71.6% girls, 76.8% boys) was low. Those who presented a high moral competence level were 10.4% in girls, 8% in boys. There was no interaction between modes of involvement in sport and moral competence when comparing adolescents. The moral competence levels were not correlated with years of training in either mode of involvement or with type of sports. Therefore, we assume that, at this age, the type of sport and the level of engagement do not differentiate moral competence level and that there must be more factors contributing to this. This opens new directions for further research on the role of external factors stimulating the socio-moral growth of youth.

This paper reports the results of an experiment that aimed to study transfer training in fencing. Fencers from the experimental group underwent six-week transfer training while those from the control group underwent regular fencing training. The fencers' performance was analyzed thrice: before the experimental training (pretest), immediately after it (posttest), and four weeks after it (retention test). Using a device that simulates fencing moves and analyzes the accuracy of such performance, participants completed, with both hands, three tests related to straight thrust accuracy. While no differences in hand grip strength was observed between the two groups across the three tests, significant differences occurred in terms of their performance on the device. The groups did not differ in the pretests and the retention tests. However, the fencers from the experimental group generally performed better in postests than prestests. These results show that bilateral transfer can be effective in foil fencing training, although its positive effects are short-term. In order to be effective, transfer training should be used as a regular training tool.

Left handers have long held the edge over right handers in one-on-one interactive combat sports. Particularly in fencing, top rankings show a relatively strong overrepresentation of left handers over right handers. Whether this can be attributed to perceptual strategies used by fencers in their bouts remains to be established. This study aims to verify whether right-handed fencers assess their opponents' behaviour based on different perceptual strategies when fencing a left vs. right hander. Twelve top-level (i.e., Olympic fencers, Junior World Team Fencing Champions, and top Polish senior foil fencers) right-handed female foil fencers (aged 16-30 years) took part in the study. They performed a total of 40 actions: 10 repetitions of offensive actions (attack) and 10 repetitions of defensive actions (defence), each type of action performed under 2 conditions (right- vs. left-handed opponent). While the participants were fencing, their eye movements were being recorded with a remote eye-tracker (SMI ETG 2.0). Both in their offensive and defensive actions, the fencers produced more fixations to the armed hand and spent more time observing the armed hand in duels with a left-handed (vs. right-handed) opponent. In defence, it was also the guard that attracted more fixations and gained a longer observation time in bouts with a left hander. In duels with a right-handed opponent, a higher number of fixations in attack and in defence, and longer observation times in defence were found for the upper torso. The results may point to different perceptual strategies employed in bouts with left- vs. right-handed individuals. The findings from this study may help to promote the implementation of specialized perceptual training programmes in foil fencing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Mateusz Witkowski et al.)

Background: The study purpose was to investigate the level of moral competences and prosocial behaviours in a physical activity (PA) context and differences between first year freshman students enrolled in both the physical education and sport coaching majors., Methods: We draw on data from students of the Faculties of Physical Education (109) and Sport (94) at Poznan University of Physical Education. For measurement, Lind's Moral Competence Test was used. Comparative analysis of differences between the groups was undertaken with the use of Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance was used for further analysis., Results: The results show that there were no significant differences between the examined students in majority of the characteristics. Students comply with the recommended levels of physical activity, but 70% present low level of moral competences. Parents were the most influential factors in moral development across levels of competences and genders. More years of sports training showed a positive relationship with moral development (only in the group of male students with high level of moral competency)., Conclusions: Based on the findings, it is recommended to consider the changes in physical education and sport students education training programmes which should include more critical reflection and life-long learning competences.

This study sought to determine differences in fencers' visual perceptions during duels (preparatory actions) with right- versus left-handed opponents. Participants were 12 top-ranking right-handed female foil fencers (aged 16-30 years, M = 20.86, SD = 4.76) taking part in a training camp. Testing employed SensoMotoric Instruments Eye Tracking Glasses (SMI ETG 2.0) with eye-tracking analyses covering the visual attention time devoted to various areas of the opposing fencer's body (areas of interest), average fixation, number of glances, and number of fixations during preparatory actions in duels. Each test was conducted during preparatory actions in 20-second staged duels, first against a right-handed, and then against a left-handed opponent. Against left-handed (vs. right-handed) opponents, fencers spent significantly more time looking at and significantly more often fixated on the armed hand. When fighting against right-handed (vs. left-handed) opponents, fencers devoted more time and fixated more often on the opponent's upper torso. These results may point to an interesting phenomenon in which left-handed fencers benefit from weaker strategies adopted by their right-handed opponents who may fixate on the forearm and arm of the weapon hand.

The promotion of physical activity (PA) in children and their parents requires effective planning and sometimes even interventions. This study shows the effect of PA during a 15-week intervention program “Junior for Seniors” by applying a socioecological model to the interpretation of the data. This comprehensive approach emphasizes the fact that health promotion should focus not only on intrapersonal factors but also on the multilevel factors that might be determinants and modulators of increased PA. In 2015, 24 children (“juniors,” 14 girls and 10 boys, aged M=7.96±0.69) and 22 parents (“seniors,” 14 mothers aged M=38.86±2.96 and 8 fathers aged M=37.38±2.97) were voluntarily enrolled in a study spread across three primary schools in the city of Poznań, Poland. The effectiveness of the intervention was determined according to postintervention behavioural changes in PA in comparison to preintervention levels, as reported by the parents and children. Overall, the study found increases in PA levels and reductions in sedentary time. Although the changes are modest, there are some unrecognized benefits of the intervention which may have occurred, such as improved sport and motor skills, more frequent family social behaviours (walks, meals, and visiting relatives), or simply improved quality of “do-together” leisure time PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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