Regular physical activity can enhance immune function and effectively prevents the spread of the cytokine response, thus reducing systemic low‐grade inflammation and improving various immune markers. Moreover, regular exercise maintains redox homeostasis in skeletal muscle and other tissues, including immune cells, but the interconnection between the anti‐inflammatory effects of exercise with the redox status of immune cells is still poorly understood. With the aim to verify the overall beneficial effect of regular training on the immune system, we have examined the acute and short‐term effect of a 5‐day exercise program on the modulation of protein and lipid oxidation, antioxidants (i.e., superoxide dismutase‐1 (SOD1) and superoxide dismutase‐2 (SOD2), glutathione peroxide 1 (GPx1), thioredoxin reductase‐1 (TrxR1), and catalase (CAT)), and heat shock protein expression (i.e., heat shock protein‐70 (HSP70) and heat shock protein‐27 (HSP27)), at both mRNA and protein levels, as well as the activation of the nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Moreover, plasmatic markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and stress response (i.e., protein carbonyl content, interleukin‐6 (IL6), interleukin‐8 (IL8), interleukin‐10 (IL10), interleukin‐17E (IL17E), interleukin‐17F (IL17F), interleukin‐21 (IL21), interleukin‐22 (IL22), and interleukin‐23 (IL23)) were analyzed in active untrained young adult subjects. Even in the absence of an increased amount of protein or lipid oxidation, we confirmed a PBMC upregulation of SOD1 (1.26 ± 0.07 fold change, p < 0.05), HSP70 (1.59 ± 0.28 fold change, p < 0.05), and HSP27 gene expression (1.49 ± 0.09 fold change, p < 0.05) after 3 hours from the first bout of exercise, followed by an increase in proteins’ amount at 24 hours (SOD1, 1.80 ± 0.34 fold change; HSP70, 3.40 ± 0.58 fold change; and HSP27, 1.81 ± 0.20 fold change, p < 0.05) and return to basal levels after the 5 days of aerobic training. Indeed, the posttraining basal levels of oxidized molecules in plasma and PBMCs were statistically lower than the pretraining levels (carbonyl content, 0.50 ± 0.05 fold change, p < 0.01), paralleled by a lower expression of SOD2, Gpx1, and TrxR1, at mRNA (SOD2, 0.63 ± 0.06; GPx1, 0.69 ± 0.07; and TrxR1, 0.69 ± 0.12 fold change, p < 0.05) and protein (TrxR1, 0.49 ± 0.11 fold change, p < 0.05) levels. These results verified the existence of an early phase of redox adaptation to physical exercise already achievable after 5 days of moderate, regular aerobic training. More interestingly, this phenomenon was paralleled by the degree of NFκB activation in PBMCs and the decrease of plasmatic proinflammatory cytokines IL8, IL21, and IL22 in the posttraining period, suggesting an interconnected, short‐term efficacy of aerobic exercise towards systemic oxidative stress and inflammation.

The present systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sport management relevant knowledge, competencies, and skills analyzing and harmonizing the European skills classification for sport management employment profiles and evidence-based information from the scientific literature in this field. The information search in the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations platform resulted in four main sport management professional profiles, whereas literature searches in SPORTDiscus (EBSCOhost), Scopus, and Google Scholar databases resulted in 48 manuscripts meeting the inclusion criteria. The main findings showed a substantial scholars’ interest in deepening the understanding of necessary sport management-related knowledge/competencies/skills from different research perspectives. However, a disconnect between industry demands and students and/or employees’ preparedness and performance emerged, which substantiates the need to systematically update education and training in the sector to foster the sustainable development of this scientific area. Furthermore, in recognizing the centrality of the background, foundational, sport management-related knowledge, the crucial role of competencies and soft skills emerged. The present study not only provided a comprehensive, evidence-based, overview on sport management relevant knowledge/competencies/skills but also proposed a harmonized framework grounded on different relevant clusters that should be considered in developing and implementing educational sustainable programs for sport managers and leaders.

This systematic overview aimed to review studies investigating the benefits and risks of judo training in older people, and to explore practical methodological applications (Registration ID: CRD42021274825). Searches of EBSCOhost, ISI-WoS, and Scopus databases, with no time restriction up to December 2022, resulted in 23 records meeting the inclusion criteria. A quality assessment was performed through the following tools: ROBINS-I for 10 experimental studies, NIH for 7 observational studies, and AGREE-II for 6 methodological studies. A serious risk of bias emerged for 70% of the experimental studies, whereas 100% of the observational and 67% of the methodological studies presented a “fair” quality. When involving 1392 participants (63 ± 12 years; females: 47%), the studies investigated novice (n = 13), amateur/intermediate (n = 4), expert (n = 4), and unknown (n = 3) level judoka by means of device-based, self-reported, and visual evaluation measures. Mean training encompassed 2 ± 1 sessions. week⁻¹ of 61 ± 17 min for 7 ± 6 months. In relation to judo training exposure and outcomes, three main themes emerged: (i) health (56% of studies; e.g., bones, anthropometry, quality of life); (ii) functional fitness (43%; e.g., balance, strength, walking speed); and iii) psychosocial aspects (43%; e.g., fear of falling, cognition, self-efficacy). Although the included studies presented relevant methodological weaknesses, the data support the positive effects of judo training with advancing age. Future research is needed to help coaches plan judo programs for older people.

The present umbrella review aimed to: (i) analyze review manuscripts on sport management knowledge/competencies/skills; (ii) propose a harmonized, evidence-based, competency framework for a comprehensive understanding of the intertwined relationships between knowledge, competencies, and skills in determining sport managers’ expected working performance and need for training; and (iii) provide insights for a sound implementation of educational curricula. Based on the PRIO guidelines, inclusion criteria encompassed systematic and narrative literature peer-reviewed review manuscripts relevant to sport management knowledge/competencies/skills, published between 2012 and 2022 in English. The search was performed on three databases, resulting in twenty-two retained review manuscripts representing different research topics. From 277 recorded elements, 72 knowledge/competencies/skills items were extracted. Leadership skills, Finance and administration, Marketing, and Effective communication accounted for the highest representation. Based on the identified evidence, a sport management comprehensive framework was developed including: (1) Life-long learning; (2) Necessary knowledge; (3) What is needed to be done; (4) How things get done; (5) Modulating factors; (6) Transversality within the industry; and (7) Dynamic interaction and intertwined relations. In considering the research propositions and relative recommendations for curricula implementation and future research, the present findings could foster the debate for the sustainable growth of this research area.

This study aimed to review the projects financed between 2014 and 2022 under the ERASMUS+ programme of the European Commission to examine the past and present implementation of the dual career (DC) of elite sportspersons and to highlight potential gaps to guide future project proposals. Findings showed a relevant focus of the financed projects on the micro and multi-dimensional aspects of DC of athletes as the main target group, implementing training courses/programmes in different settings, and partnerships mostly composed by educational institutions and NGOs. In the future, sports bodies should engage more in partnerships, whereas DC of employee-sportspersons as athletes and sports staff should be implemented, with a strong focus on the project’s long-term impact and sustainability.

Following the European recommendations on sustainable educational skills, a strong need has emerged to provide judo coaches with solid and updated knowledge, competences, and attitudes to train older judo practitioners (≥65 years old). This study illustrates the participatory research methodology used to develop and validate the content of the “Educating Judo Coaches for Older practitioners” (EdJCO) online educational programme. From seven countries, 22 judo and sport science experts of the EdJCO team engaged in a four-phase iterative process: (i) a systematic literature review; (ii) seven national focus groups involving 88 experts and an online survey involving 470 judo coaches; (iii) the online EDJCO programme development; and iv) the educational programme evaluation engaging 51 judo coaches as potential end-users. The EdJCO programme encompasses six modules on organization, aging, safety, physiology, psychology, and coaching methodology. Despite the overall positive evaluations, the experts were required to streamline the online programme to meet the coaches’ demands, and to provide a comprehensive handbook to further deepen their knowledge. The cooperation among university scholars, experts from the International Judo Federation Academy, national-level sports clubs, and the judo coaches of older practitioners of different backgrounds and nationalities built a sustainable educational programme suitable for end-users to boost their teaching and training potential across their lifespan.