About this Research Topic

Background

The 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will take place from January 9 - 22 2020. in the Swiss city of Lausanne, the “Olympic Capital”. 1900 athletes aged 15 to 18 years old will compete in 8 winter sports and 16 disciplines (alpine skiing; biathlon; bobsleigh; cross-country skiing; curling; figure skating; freestyle skiing; ice hockey; luge; nordic combined; short track speed skating; skeleton; ski jumping; ski mountaineering; snowboarding ; speed skating), encompassing a wide range of skills and physical attributes.

The Youth Olympic Village is located at the heart of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) campus. The Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) is organising a multidisciplinary congress organised in three main sections: social sciences, technology, and physiology and medicine. The congress is focusing on the sports performed at the YOG or on identified topics, such as training, coaching, health, sport careers, sustainability, sport analytics, history and architecture.

The present Research Topic is open to papers presented at this congress and to any scientists interested in the following topics:

Social Sciences
For example, athletes’ careers and transitions, gender issues, training and health concerns, including the use of performance enhancement, are important issues that concern sports organisations as well coaches and families. How ski resorts and winter sport service providers can adapt to the new youth consumers demand, especially to the new digital culture, is also an important question that needs contribution from scholars. The attractiveness of winter sport is tied by public policy and contribution on the role of cities, local authorities or state are also welcome. Analysis can rely on all sorts of social sciences from history to economy, including management, psychology, sociology or geography.

Technology
Researchers in technology are invited to submit papers on biomechanics, equipment, technology etc. Winter sports are at the forefront of using high-technology for data recording and injury prevention. The specific environment (remote site, extreme temperature, high altitude) also often require innovative approaches.

Physiology and Medicine
Researchers in physiology and medicine are invited to submit papers on training, physiology, hypoxia, biology and medicine. We welcome papers on monitoring of training loads and overreaching, injury prevention, response and use of hypoxia and cold in training, balance training, innovative training methods (blood flow restriction, vibration, electro-myostimulation etc.) with potential benefits vs limitations in youth populations.

The specific issues (e.g., talent identification; injury prevention; motivation; gender; diversity…) faced by adolescents in winter sports are of particular interest. All researchers in these fields are welcome to submit a manuscript. This Research Topic encourages original research and review articles as well as methods and perspectives.

Keywords: Technology, Winter Youth Olympic Games, Sociology, Physiology, Lausanne

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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