Victoria Zaborova
Konstantin Gurevich
Olga Chigirintseva
Victor Gavrilov
Vitaliy Rybakov- 1I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
- 2Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia
- 3UNESCO Chair, Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, Moscow, Russia
Introduction
The first notifications of a new coronavirus infection came from China at the end of 2019 (The 2019-nCoV Outbreak Joint Field Epidemiology Investigation Team, 2020). In March 2020, WHO announced the onset of a new global pandemic [Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), 2019]. In Russia, the first cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in February of this year1. Currently, the epidemic has affected most countries of the world and more than half of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Earlier than other countries, the epidemic began in China—and to date, most experts recognize it as liquidated (Arshad et al., 2020). At the same time, the main emphasis was placed on medical prophylactic, including isolation measures, as no specific treatment or vaccine against COVID-19 has been developed to date.
Social Consequences of the Epidemic
Up till now there is no specific treatment for coronavirus infection, and a vaccine against it is only being developed, the main tactic of prevention is quarantine. The quarantine applies to persons who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, to those who have contacted them without special protective equipment, and also to people who have returned from epidemiologically disadvantaged regions.
The psychological effects of quarantine-related social exclusion over COVID-19 remains to be explored. However, the experience of previous epidemics indicates the development of depression, discomfort, loss of life values, and loss of confidence in the future. In some cases, psychological discomfort was the primary reason that people did not comply with the quarantine regime (Merchant and Lurie, 2020).
In addition, there is an overwhelming stream of information on the problem, including a lot of fake. The experience of previous epidemics shows that it is difficult for the population to navigate the flow of information, to choose reliable information from it. Some tend to panic (Shimizu, 2020). A number of studies have addressed the issue of emigration, stigma, racism, and COVID-19. It was noted that foreign students studying in China during the epidemic were most afraid of being separated from their families (Zhai and Du, 2020). Others were afraid that they would be humiliated at home as potential carriers of a new infection (British-Chinese people tell of ‘discrimination’ hate as fears rise over coronavirus, 2020).
People who were quarantined for COVID-19 showed an increased level of anxiety. This fact may be associated with frequently occurring sleep disorders in people who were in social isolation (Xiao et al., 2020a). In addition, sleep disturbances were noted in medical personnel who were forced to process during the epidemic and often faced a problem of misunderstanding on behalf of patients (Xiao et al., 2020b).
Another social consequence of quarantine associated with COVID-19 is the economic downturn (Kinross et al., 2020)2. It is caused by the fact that people who are in social isolation, to one degree or another, drop out of the real production sector. The consumer basket is changing. The demand for personal protective equipment and hygiene is growing. Health system costs are increasing (Ayittey et al., 2020). The economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic globally remains to be assessed (Duan et al., 2020; Johnson et al., 2020). But now, a decline in tourism and the transport industry is already evident. How long such changes will last is not known.
How the Epidemic Affects the Sports
One of the areas of life affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is sports. As part of the prevention of coronavirus transmission, mass sporting events are prohibited. Therefore, many competitions are either rescheduled or held without spectators (Table 1)3. NHL Cup discontinued ahead of time. Even the Olympic Games of 2020 were postponed (Gallego et al., 2020). Some international competitions are now held in virtual format. So, the FIFA-2020 championships of England, Spain, Italy will be held online4. Former Russian tennis player Marat Safin won the virtual US Open. In the final, the Russian defeated Spaniard Rafael Nadal. The winner was determined by voting on the official “twitter” and “Instagram” of the competition5.
Table 1. Examples of sporting events, the schedule of which has changed over the past 10 days due to coronavirus infection.
In many countries, as part of quarantine measures, sports sections and circles have stopped working. Due to social isolation, people reduce their daily activity, which can lead to an increased likelihood of developing and/or progressing chronic non-communicable diseases. Special complexes of physical exercises are being developed for people forced to quarantine (Chen et al., 2020).
A number of famous athletes were infected with a coronavirus, for example, Thiago Ceibut-Wild, Marco Sportiello, trainer Fatih Terim. Boxer Anthony Joshua quit self-isolation since he was in contact with Prince Chals. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor, Georges Mendes and several other famous athletes donated money for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Such messages caused a great resonance in the media and attracted increased attention to the topics of sports and COVID-19. Due to the economic downturn, spending on sports is declining. So Madrid REAL will soon train without wages.
Change in Sports Communication Due to Coronavirus
In many countries of the world, a self-isolation regime has been introduced, which suggests that the movement of people outside their own apartment (house) is minimized. Often during the quarantine period, a ban on visiting sports infrastructure facilities is introduced. All this makes it impossible to conduct training of sports teams. Therefore, some experts propose the development of special complexes for team members who are forced to stay at home in an epidemic.
A long restriction in the organization of the training process can lead to a local decline in results in all sports disciplines. It becomes extremely important to develop modern and effective training techniques in the face of such restrictions. The sports world has not encountered a similar situation before and this is a huge challenge for the entire sports scientific community. At the same time, this can become an impetus for the revision of views on the existing approaches in the training of athletes, the development and implementation of completely new views on the construction of the training process, which will remain effective in sports after the end of restrictive measures.
For example, Playmaker School organized online basketball lessons for children at home. The only thing is that you need to have high ceilings (at least 3.5 m), while the standard height of the ceilings of apartments in Russia is 2.5 m.
Irina Wiener International Sports Academy has organized a virtual sports hall for students. Children will learn how to perform basic gymnastic exercises at home using telecommunication technologies. Video lessons are grouped by the age categories of students: a set of exercises for preschoolers is designed to form the correct posture and musculoskeletal system, as well as to develop flexibility, and the number of exercises for primary school students includes physical education, dance exercises, exercise6. The most difficult types of sports are those where a stadium or sports ground is usually required for training. For example, Juventus Academia has developed a special set of exercises that can be performed at home, but at the same time carry out training on the speed of reaction, running, passing the ball. It is proposed to make a video from your own training, send it to receive feedback.
Another football school for adults Life & football has developed temporarily suspended training. The system of exercises is currently being reviewed and a quarantine strategy is being developed without going online, as school representatives consider it impossible to train without the personal interaction of team members7. Due to social isolation, people reduce their daily activity, which can lead to an increased likelihood of developing and/or progressing chronic noncommunicable diseases. A number of researchers emphasize the importance of maintaining high physical activity even in an epidemic. This is a factor in the prevention of a number of chronic noncommunicable diseases. In addition, physical activity allows you to maintain a positive mood and prevents the development of depression. However, for most people, the training conditions need to be reviewed, due to the limited dimensions of their own housing, the lack of special equipment or its insufficient completeness, etc. Special complexes of physical exercises are being developed for people forced to quarantine8. The All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Society “Labor Reserves” joined the action of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation “Train at home. Sport is the norm.” As part of the Promotion, the Company developed a free training marathon so that the Russians did not stop engaging in physical activity for the time of self-isolation. Anyone can take part in it, regardless of age and geography. All exercises can be performed at home, without violating the regime of self-isolation. More than 2,500 participants have already registered for the first stream of free training, and not only from Russia. In online mode, they train with society from Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, and Spain. More than 2.5 thousand participants have already registered for the second stream. In many countries, as part of quarantine measures, sports sections and circles have stopped working. On-line courses are offered for persons who wish to continue sports with a trainer in the Russian Federation. So, Taekwondo Kerugi Schools arrange classes through Zoom. Fight Pro Unity Club uses the Ivideon service9. Fitness clubs in Moscow UFC Gym network launched many directions for online training in the YouTube format10. Similar programs are at the fitness clubs World Class, SM Stretching and others. Large manufacturers of sportswear, such as Adidas, Nike, have also launched on-line fitness classes. A large number of fitness video lessons are available free of charge for quarantine events on Russian online television Okko.
Discussion
At the moment, the entire world sports industry has “stopped.” Thus, the structural scheme of the functioning of all world sport, which has developed over the years, is being violated. And the longer the restrictions last, the more difficult it will be to restore the system. Each sport has years of competition calendars and training schedules. Since many sports have seasonal features, the progress of the competition is possible either for a short period or for a whole cycle for a year.
To date, all summer sports have already fallen into the risk category. However, there is also a larger four-year cycle of sports events tied to the Olympics, from which everything is built up and the shift of any tournament by one year will make serious adjustments for the next years. Each leap year there is a summer Olympic Games, which is the main start of the four-year period, and accordingly for 3 years various continental and world championships are distributed between the Olympic Games, the fate of which is now in question. All continental championships and the Olympics planned for 2020 have been moved forward a year, which immediately raises a number of questions about what will happen to the major tournaments planned in 2021 and beyond, since it is impossible to hold tournaments in one season at once in two years. Thus, it can be assumed that with the long-term global restrictions associated with the pandemic, some of the tournaments will simply be canceled, which will be a serious blow to both the financial and ethical aspects of the sport. All sporting events have their so-called “rank,” and each competition, depending on their level, is a developmental stage for athletes personally and for teams in general. Separately, it is worth noting that competitions have age restrictions for participants, various championships among juniors and youths. At this age, every start is worth its weight in gold for the development of an athlete. At the moment, many continental and world championships among juniors and youths have already been canceled (postponed indefinitely). Most likely, they can be canceled and a whole generation of young athletes will be left without the most important stage of sports development. In such a situation, it will become especially important to develop measures to support young athletes, preserve motivation to continue their sports career.
At present, cases of the disease have been recorded in more than two hundred countries of the world, the isolation regime has covered about four billion people on the planet, the vast majority of sporting events have been stopped and measures aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19 are only being tightened. The global sports industry will have to go through a difficult path of “isolation” and further recovery. The further impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on athletic life and communication in sports has yet to be evaluated.
Author Contributions
KG: idea and designing. VZ: data analysis. OC: literature overview. VG: sport analysis. VR: analysis of online sports. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This work was supported by internal grant of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Footnotes
1. ^COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries.html.
2. ^The impact of the pandemic on people and society. Retrieved from http://www.ras.ru/News/ShowNews.aspx?ID=27f8355f-42dd-4bee-9f7a-6b1ea8602e2d.
3. ^Coronavirus: How the virus has impacted sporting events around the world. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/sport/51605235.html.
4. ^Football cannot be stopped! Championship launches FIFA20 online tournament. Retrieved from https://www.championat.com/football/article-3999419-chempionat-zapuskaet-onlajn-turnir-po-fifa20.html.
5. ^Safin won the virtual US Open. Retrieved from https://www.championat.com/tennis/news-4012101-safin-stal-pobeditelem-virtualnogo-us-open.html.
6. ^Gymnastics online: for students opened a virtual gym. Retrieved from https://www.championat.com/other/news-4012027-gimnastika-onlajn-dlja-shkolnikov-otkryli-virtualnyj-sportivnyj-zal.html.
7. ^Football school for adults: survive at all costs. Retrieved from http://vc.ru/offline/116810-futbolnaya-shkola-dlya-vzroslyh-vyzhit-lyuboy-cenoy.
8. ^Labor Reserves Society launched an all-Russian online project of free training. Retrieved from https://trudovyerezervy.ru/news/obshchestvo-trudovye-rezervyzapustilo-vserossiyskiy-onlayn-proekt-besplatnykh-trenirovok/html.
9. ^Musculoskeletal system formation. Retrieved from http://academyviner.com/news_post/news_post/formirovanie-kostno-myshechnoj-sistemy.
10. ^There is a way out. Where to train online for free. Retrieved from https://www.championat.com/lifestyle/article-4003583.
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Keywords: coronavirus, epidemic, sports, online training, athletics
Citation: Zaborova V, Gurevich K, Chigirintseva O, Gavrilov V and Rybakov V (2021) Pandemical Influence on Athletic Events and Communications in Sport. Front. Sports Act. Living 3:653291. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2021.653291
Received: 14 January 2021; Accepted: 26 February 2021;
Published: 08 April 2021.
Edited by:
Heetae Cho, Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeReviewed by:
Weisheng Chiu, Open University of Hong Kong, ChinaCopyright © 2021 Zaborova, Gurevich, Chigirintseva, Gavrilov and Rybakov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Konstantin Gurevich, a2d1cmV2aWNoJiN4MDAwNDA7bWFpbC5ydQ==