BASES member, Josh Elliott, alongside researchers from the University of Canberra and Australian Sports Commission have developed a survey investigating current heat acclimation and heat acclimatisation practices within high-performance sport. The survey is designed to understand how heat training is prescribed in high-performance sport, the types of athletes that practitioners prescribe heat training to and what protocols for acclimation/acclimatisation they prescribe for athletes in preparation for competition in a hot outdoor environment. The findings from this survey will allow for comparison to current literature regarding the implementation of heat training before competition and narrow the gap between scientific heat acclimation research and the real-world application. The information collected from this project will inform future research practices regarding the utilisation of heat training among high-level athletes, leading to the development of more tailored recommendations to accommodate the contextual constraints of the athlete, sport, and resources available.
The inclusion criteria for this survey are:
Supporting athletes of Tier 3-5 on the McKay et al. Classification Scale:
Tier 3 – Highly trained/National Level
Tier 4 – Elite or International Level
Tier 5 – World Class
Prescribing heat acclimation and/or heat acclimatisation with these athletes in preparation for competition in a hot outdoor environment
The survey should take between 15-30 minutes, including a mix of multiple-choice and open-text questions. All survey responses are completely anonymous. The survey will be open until 31st March 2025.
Please see the link to the information sheet and survey here:
Thank you for your support and engagement with the study, we look forward to your invaluable insights. Should you also know anyone else within your networks who you think would be suitable to complete this survey, please feel free to share this BASES web article.
For further information about the research, please contact Josh Elliott, PhD Student at the University of Canberra on josh.elliott@canberra.edu.au. Once the findings have been analysed, Josh has agreed to present these findings via an information article (details to be finalised).