Keeping Athletes ‘Appy’

By Caroline Heaney

A few months ago I wrote an article for The Sport and Exercise Scientist titled ‘Keeping Sport and Exercise Scientists ‘appy’ – Online and mobile technologies in Sport and Exercise Science‘. In this article I explored the potential uses of online technologies and mobile apps for sport and exercise scientists, drawing on my experience of working as a sport psychologist to a national winter sports squad in the build up to and during the 2010 Winter Olympics. During this time I made extensive use of online technologies, such as Skype and Facebook, to keep in touch with the athletes, but at that time very little use of mobile apps. A lot has changed in 4 years – since the last Winter Olympics I have increasingly used apps, not only in my capacity as a sport psychologist, but also in my everyday life and as an athlete. This has led me to reflect on how athletes in Sochi might be using apps and online technologies into their lives.

Social Media

London 2012 was reported to be the most social media reported Olympics in history with some tagging it the ‘social media games’ or the ‘socialympics’. Use of social media tools such as Faceboook and Twitter has certainly rocketed since previous Olympic Games and Sochi looks set to follow London’s lead in the social media stakes, despite the reported heavy restrictions placed on athletes using Twitter during the games.

Mobile Apps

Social media apps will more than likely be used by athletes and support staff in Sochi, but what other apps are likely to be used? There are certainly lots of sport and fitness related apps out there at the Olympic athlete’s disposal – relaxation based apps, apps to measure exercise intensity, breath control apps, video analysis apps, apps to track your run, dietary analysis apps  – the list is endless.

So what are your recommendations? Are there any apps you would recommended for athletes or support staff? Share your favourite apps using the ‘Leave a Reply’ function at the bottom of the page.

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