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Gold Medal Nutrition: Fueling Skaters Bodies the Right Way
Alexandra Bellotti
Rowan University Department of Health and Exercise Science
Introduction
Many young athletes do not realize the importance of
nutrition and the effects it has on their performance. The
program is developed for figure skaters enrolled in the Bridge
Program at Bridgewater Sports Arena to educate skaters on
the importance of eating healthy before and during training.
Background
• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, young
athletes are missing the importance of a proper diet while
participating in sports. In order to obtain optimal
performance, young athletes and parents must be educated
on the components of a suitable diet to promote healthy
growth during training (American Academy of Pediatrics
2000).
• With figure skaters burning many calories per training
session, it is important they are getting the proper nutrition
so they are able to sustain energy levels during their training
session (Palacio 2013).
• With a proper diet, skaters will have more energy promoting
a better workout, have normal growth and development, a
stronger immune system and recover quicker from workouts
(Anderson 2008).
Goals and Objectives
• Goal #1: To increase general nutrition education for figure skaters
enrolled in the bridge program at Bridgewater Sports Arena.
o 75% of bridge program students will understand the importance
of hydration and will begin to keep track of their daily intake after
week 3.
o At least 50% of bridge program students will attend Gold Medal
Nutrition.
o Follow up 6 months later with survey to see if Gold Medal
Nutrition has had an impact on figure skaters.
• Goal #2: To educate figure skaters from the bridge program at
Bridgewater Sports Arena on how to sustain energy throughout
practice.
o 75% of bridge program students enrolled in Gold Medal
Nutrition will understand the importance of sustaining energy
after week 3.
o After week two, a specific diet will be recommended to follow to
make sure figure skaters are getting the proper nutrients.
o By the end of week 5, figure skaters will finish the
program with more confidence in their skating from
learning how nutrition affects their performance.
Methods
• This was done by a cross-sectional observational study.
The results were observed by both the pre and post test.
• Skaters who participated in the program were recruited by
advertising and direct marketing from Bridgewater Sports
Arena bridge program.
• The evaluation took place at Bridgewater Sports Arena,
where skaters took the pre and post test on site.
Program Description
• In the Pretest, skaters score an average of 4.9
• In the Posttest, skaters score an average of 7.7
• Skaters increase nutrition education dramatically from the
pretest to the posttest, P= 0.04.
Conclusion
• Gold Medal Nutrition showed a significant
improvement in skaters knowledge of both basic
and sports nutrition in order to sustain energy
throughout practice and hydrate properly.
Discussion
• This program took place at Bridgewater Sports Arena in
Bridgewater, New Jersey every Saturday for five weeks
beginning on March 5, 2016.
• Out of twenty skaters enrolled in the Bridge Program,
sixteen skaters participated in the program. Thirteen of the
sixteen skaters completed the program from start to finish.
• Skaters were given a pre and posttest to see if skaters
increased their knowledge of nutrition.
• A limitation Gold Medal Nutrition ran into is that
without a Registered Dietitian, the coordinator
of the program was only able to suggest diets
and not personalize and prescribe a diet for
each skater.
• Gold Medal Nutrition was successful in getting
skaters to realize how nutrition can change their
performance and getting skaters interested in
changing that behavior.
Results
Recommendations
• For future programs similar to Gold Medal
Nutrition, it is recommended to extend the time
and have a Registered Dietitian available to
prescribe a personalized diet for each skater.
• It is also recommended to take skaters BMI,
blood pressure and cholesterol at the start of
the program and compare the results to after
skaters changed their diets.
References
Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2015,
from
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/1/154.full
Nutrition for the Female Athlete. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from
http://reference.medscape.com/article/108994
overview#a3
Sports Nutrition For Figure Skaters. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from
https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/2008 Elite Coaches Seminar
Nutrition.pdf