Stretching? Sleep? Fatigue? Psychological Safety? Pregnancy? Leadership?

Sport Performance is a complex, highly studied, highly debated and often controversial mixture of theories, opinions and evidence. This book aims to demystify some of the most pervasive myths, misconceptions and realities surrounding the how, what and why of improving performance in sport.

Ultimately, you'll learn the truth about a particular myth, based on the most credible evidence available.

The subject is multidisciplinary in nature, made up of a myriad of sciences and philosophies, with the aim (the majority of the time) of improving performance, well-being, and health. Readers will learn multidisciplinary perspectives of sport and performance, from the physiological, psychological, pedagogical, sociological, and even philosophical.

Yes, this book is underpinned by science, but we also invited authors from around the world to bring their own personal experiences to the chapters, hence including not just experts within academia, but also those working on the ground of sport and performance. Contributors include lead sport scientists working in national institutes of sport, physiotherapists, sport and exercise psychologists, former athletes and high-performance consultants. It is important to us that this book is read by practitioners in the field of sport, and therefore is informed by those successfully working in these areas.

Whichever area of sport you compete, participate, work, or have an interest in, this book provides both the research underpinnings and practical considerations for you to be able to apply to your own environment and context. Whether you just become more aware of a specific topic, or you actually change what you do as a result, we hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed putting together.

Objects such as statues and icons have long been problematic in the study of religion, especially in European Christianities. Through examining two groups, the contemporary Pagan Glastonbury Goddess religion in the Southwest of England and a cult of the Virgin Mary in Andalusia, Spain, Amy Whitehead asserts that objects can be more than representational or symbolic. In the context of increasing academic interest in materiality in religions and cultures, she shows how statues, or 'things', are not always interacted with as if they are inert material against which we typically define ourselves as 'modern' humans.

Bringing two distinct cultures and religions into tension, animism and 'the fetish' are used as ways in which to think about how humans interact with religious statues in Western Europe and beyond. Both theoretical and descriptive, the book illustrates how religions and cultural practices can be re-examined as performances that necessarily involve not only human persons, but also objects.

Objects such as statues and icons have long been problematic in the study of religion, especially in European Christianities. Through examining two groups, the contemporary Pagan Glastonbury Goddess religion in the Southwest of England and a cult of the Virgin Mary in Andalusia, Spain, Amy Whitehead asserts that objects can be more than representational or symbolic. In the context of increasing academic interest in materiality in religions and cultures, she shows how statues, or 'things', are not always interacted with as if they are inert material against which we typically define ourselves as 'modern' humans.

Bringing two distinct cultures and religions into tension, animism and 'the fetish' are used as ways in which to think about how humans interact with religious statues in Western Europe and beyond. Both theoretical and descriptive, the book illustrates how religions and cultural practices can be re-examined as performances that necessarily involve not only human persons, but also objects.