HKSI Paper 6 cheat sheet

Athlete development pathways typically progress through foundation, talent identification, talent confirmation, development, and elite/mastery stages; each stage has distinct coaching, competition, and support requirements.

Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD)-style models emphasise age-appropriate training loads and warn against early specialisation and early peak performance, which can shorten an athlete's career.

Athlete support services commonly include coaching, sports science, sports medicine, nutrition, psychology, career and education support, and financial or stipend support; coordination is usually managed by a case manager or athlete liaison.

Dual career support addresses the combination of sport and education or employment; funding models often tie stipends to training and competition commitments and to progress reviews.

Talent identification uses physical, physiological, technical, tactical, and psychological attributes; relative age effects mean athletes born early in a selection year are over-represented in youth squads.

Athlete agreements normally set out selection criteria, codes of conduct, anti-doping obligations, media and sponsorship rules, and grounds for suspension or withdrawal of support.

Transition out of sport (retirement) planning covers education, career, financial literacy, and identity support; unplanned retirement is associated with higher risk of psychological distress.

Athlete representation and welfare mechanisms include athlete commissions or committees, independent grievance channels, and safeguarding or harassment reporting procedures.

Training principles: overload, progression, specificity, reversibility, individuality, and recovery; a training stimulus must exceed current capacity but be followed by adequate recovery for adaptation.

Periodisation divides a training year into macrocycles, mesocycles, and microcycles; tapering reduces volume while maintaining intensity before competition.

Training load can be monitored as session-RPE load (RPE rating multiplied by session duration in minutes) and as acute:chronic workload ratio (acute 1-week load divided by chronic 4-week average).

Strength training prescription uses sets, repetitions, intensity (%1RM), tempo, and rest intervals; hypertrophy work typically uses moderate loads and higher volume, maximal strength uses high loads and low repetitions.

Speed and agility development follows a progression from movement skill and deceleration control to maximum-velocity sprinting and reactive change of direction.

Coaching process: planning (needs analysis, goal setting), delivery (instruction, demonstration, feedback), and review (video analysis, performance data, athlete self-report).

Coaching styles range from command (directive) to reciprocal, discovery, and problem-solving; the choice depends on athlete experience, task complexity, and stage of learning.

Skill acquisition: massed versus distributed practice, blocked versus random practice, part versus whole practice, and internal versus external focus of attention affect retention and transfer.

Physiological testing common at elite level includes VO2max, lactate threshold, running economy, force-velocity profiling, jump testing, and isometric strength testing; test selection must be reliable and valid for the sport.

Sports technology includes motion capture, inertial measurement units (IMUs), GPS and LPS tracking, force plates, instrumented equipment, and video-based pose estimation for technique analysis.

GPS metrics include total distance, high-speed running distance, sprint distance, accelerations and decelerations, and player load; thresholds must be sport- and position-specific.

Biomechanical analysis uses kinematic (position, velocity, angle) and kinetic (force, torque, impulse) measures; inverse dynamics estimates joint moments from force plate and motion data.

Data management requires consistent data dictionaries, calibration records, quality control, and secure storage; athlete data is personal data and is subject to privacy and consent requirements.

Environmental physiology covers heat acclimation (typically 5-14 days of controlled heat exposure), altitude or hypoxia exposure, and travel and jet-lag management.

Recovery and monitoring tools include sleep tracking, heart rate variability, wellness questionnaires, blood biomarkers, and neuromuscular tests such as countermovement jump.

Technology decisions should be justified by marginal gains versus cost, workflow burden, and validity; devices must be calibrated and results interpreted by qualified staff.

Pre-participation screening identifies cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and other risk factors; screening supports but does not replace clinical assessment and does not guarantee safety.

Injury classification commonly uses location, tissue type, mechanism, and time loss; injury surveillance definitions should be applied consistently to allow comparison across seasons and sports.

Concussion management follows a graded return-to-sport protocol after a period of relative rest; an athlete must be symptom-free at each step and any recurrence requires stepping back.

Sudden cardiac arrest response relies on early CPR and early defibrillation with an automated external defibrillator (AED); emergency action plans must be rehearsed.

Therapeutic use exemption (TUE) allows an athlete to use a prohibited substance or method for a genuine medical need, subject to approval by the relevant anti-doping organisation.

Common overuse conditions include tendinopathy, stress fractures, and patellofemoral pain; load management and progressive loading are central to rehabilitation.

Return-to-play decisions consider tissue healing, pain, strength and range-of-motion criteria, sport-specific demands, psychological readiness, and risk of re-injury.

Medical records are confidential; information sharing with coaches should be limited to fitness-to-train or fitness-to-compete status unless the athlete consents otherwise.

Energy availability is energy intake minus exercise energy expenditure; low energy availability can impair bone health, menstrual function, hormonal status, and performance (relative energy deficiency in sport, RED-S).

Macronutrient guidance: carbohydrate fuels high-intensity work and is periodised to training load; protein supports adaptation (commonly around 1.2-2.0 g per kg body mass per day for athletes); fat supports hormonal and cellular function.

Hydration: fluid losses can be estimated from body mass change across a session; sweat sodium concentration varies widely between individuals, so individualised plans are preferred.

Supplement use carries contamination and anti-doping risk; products should be checked against batch-tested or certified sources, and supplement advice should follow a food-first approach.

Competition nutrition covers pre-event meals, carbohydrate loading for endurance events, in-competition fuelling, and recovery nutrition within the hours after exercise.

Psychological skills training includes goal setting, imagery, self-talk, arousal regulation, attention control, and pre-performance routines.

Motivation theory distinguishes intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; autonomy, competence, and relatedness support (self-determination theory) are linked to sustained engagement.

Mental health support includes screening, confidential referral, and clinical care pathways; psychological safety and confidentiality are prerequisites for athletes seeking help.

Sports development spans participation (mass participation, school sport, community clubs), performance pathways, and elite success; each tier needs different funding and delivery partners.

National Sports Associations (NSAs) are typically responsible for governance of their sport, rules and competition, coach and official development, talent pathways, and member registration.

Funding models commonly combine government or public funding, sponsorship, membership fees, and event revenue; public funding is often tied to performance targets and governance compliance.

Community sport delivery involves clubs, schools, local authorities, and volunteers; volunteer recruitment and retention are critical capacity constraints.

Coach and official accreditation frameworks use progressive levels with prerequisite training, assessment, and continuing professional development.

Safeguarding in sport requires child protection policies, screening of coaches and volunteers, codes of conduct, and clear reporting channels for concerns.

Inclusion and equity strategies address barriers to participation based on gender, disability, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; data on participation should be disaggregated to reveal gaps.

Event and competition structures range from grassroots leagues to national championships and international qualification events; calendar planning must avoid clashes and manage athlete workload.

Good governance principles include transparency, accountability, integrity, democracy, and stakeholder representation; boards set strategy and oversee management rather than run operations.

Board responsibilities include fiduciary duty, strategic direction, risk oversight, CEO appointment and appraisal, and compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.

Separation of roles: the board governs, the executive (CEO and staff) manages; sub-committees such as audit, finance, and nominations support oversight.

Conflicts of interest must be declared and managed, with a register of interests and recusal from decisions where a conflict exists.

Anti-doping governance follows the World Anti-Doping Code structure: prohibited list, testing, results management, and independent hearing processes, with strict liability for athletes.

Ethics frameworks cover integrity in competition (match-fixing, doping, corruption), safeguarding, fair selection, and whistleblower protection.

Financial governance includes budgeting, internal controls, audit, and segregation of duties; public funding often requires annual reporting and compliance with governance standards.

Member-based organisations must balance democratic representation of members with efficient decision-making; constitutions define membership rights, voting, and dispute resolution.