Training and injury prevention in young, female and veteran athletes will be the focus of the TRIP network's research

Childhood and youth are periods when people are susceptible to injury, and sports activity is no exception to this reality. Research shows that if young athletes are subjected to intensive training, they are 70% more likely to suffer injuries. However, 50% of injuries could be avoided if the boys and girls were better prepared and the correct countermeasures were adopted by the coaching staff: working on fitness, using injury prevention protocols and ensuring an adequate warm-up, among other things.

November 3 was the date of the working conference and public presentation of the TRIP (Training and Injury Prevention in Young, Female and Long Career Athletes) interuniversity network, of which Blanquerna-URL is a member. The research objectives of this network are to study the epidemiology of sports injuries, to reflect on the best training methods and prevention strategies for disorders associated with young, female and older athletes, and to discuss the best formulas to improve the education of coaches, athletes and families. It was proposed to discuss the role of early sports specialization, gender differences and aging processes in sports injuries and loss of performance, as well as to inform agents in the sports field about issues that affect the health of athletes.

The presentation event took place at the Olympic Pavilion in Badalona, and it was attended by research groups from Ramon Llull University (URL), the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), the University of Girona (UdG), the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), the University of León (ULE), Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV) in Madrid, the University of Almeria (UAL), the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the University of Murcia (UM). A dozen companies, organizations and sports federations also collaborated.

The working conference included thirteen presentations by representatives of the universities belonging to the network. The following professors from the Blanquerna-URL School of Psychology, Education and Sport Sciences took part:

• Dr. Azahara Fort, with the presentation "Entrenamiento neuromuscular integrado en jóvenes deportistas: Rendimiento y factores de riesgo de lesión" (Integrated neuromuscular training in young athletes: performance and injury risk factors).
• Dr. Bernat Buscà, with the presentation "La gestión de una carrera deportiva longeva en el alto rendimiento: caso práctico" (Management of a long-lasting high-performance sports career: case study).
• Dr. Mònica Solana, with the presentation "La coordinación entre entrenadores y cuerpo técnico para la mejora de la salud del deportista" (Coordination between coaches and technical staff to improve the health of athletes).

The TRIP network has received a grant of 8,000 euros from the 2022 call for grants for Research Networks in Sports Sciences, from the Ministry of Culture and Sport (REDES). The purpose of the REDES 2022 call is to promote networking, emphasizing collaboration between different universities as a basic pillar of research. Therefore, although knowledge will be shared and actions will be carried out jointly, each university will contribute its expertise in one of the three target groups to be studied: young athletes, female athletes, and athletes at the end of their sporting careers.