Bangor’s medal winning involvement in Welsh Institute of Performance Science highlighted in annual report

Research from Bangor university features prominently in the Welsh Institute of Performance Science (WIPS) annual report of 2019 (pg18). WIPS was developed to enable necessary and important research to be conducted. WIPS is a three-way partnership between Sport Wales, Wales’ leading academic sport scientists which includes several members of the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences.

Staff from the School delivered five seminars under the four planned themes of Performing with Anxiety, Performing in the Heat, Mental Toughness, and Talent Development. Overall, there were more than 60 attendees, from Sport Wales, Team Wales, Welsh Government and Sport National Governing Bodies including athletics, swimming, gymnastics, judo, weightlifting, cricket, sailing, football and triathlon. Additional attendees included Welsh Rugby Union and disability sport.

The performing with anxiety and mental toughness workshops led to profiling and implementation of mental toughness training for welsh gymnasts. A performing in the heat workshop discussed the novel hot bath strategy, developed by Prof. Neil Walsh, for heat acclimation and improving athletic performance in the heat, a strategy used to medal winning effect by Bethan Davies in the recent Australian Commonwealth Games.

Not only does WIPS aim to improve Wales’ Commonwealth Games performance further and to increase the number of Welsh athletes winning medals at Olympic and Paralympic Games but it also has a wider vision. WIPS Statement of Purpose reads “The purpose of the Welsh Institute of Performance Science is to conduct multi-disciplinary, world-leading, applied performance science projects that enhance the performance of Welsh athletes and businesses, improves the performance pathway, and builds capacity in these areas for the future. Additionally, WIPS aims to train future scientists and increase strategic collaboration between Welsh sport, academia and business.” and Bangor University’s School of Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences is delighted to be playing such a key role in realising that vision. We are even more delighted that much of the research underpinning this vision involves direct input from our students. 

If you are interested in becoming a future Sports performance scientist and/or working in a world leading research team like those mentioned above, then check out our degree courses https://www.bangor.ac.uk/sport-health-and-exercise-sciences/undergraduate-courses/

Publication date: 1 May 2019