Malaysian Journal of Sport Science and Recreation Volume 16 No.2 15 Sept. 2020 

Physical inactivity has become a serious public health concern in Malaysia. The present study examines age, education, income, demographic factors and insurance associated with participation in vigorous, moderate and total physical activity using data from a nationally representative survey (n = 10141). Regressions are stratified by age group. The purpose is to identify whether there are any differences or similarities in the factors associated with participation in physical activity amongst various age groups. Several findings are noteworthy. First, well-educated people of all age groups, except the elderly spend less time on physical activity than their less-educated counterparts. Second, higher income middle-aged adults spend less time on vigorous physical activity than lower income middle-aged adults, while higher income young adults spend less time in moderate physical activity than lower income young adults. Third, employed young, middle-aged and old-aged adults tend to spend more time on physical activity than their unemployed peers. In conclusion, age, education, income and demographic factors play an important role in determining participation in various intensity levels of physical activity among adults of different age groups. Policy makers should focus on the groups of adults that are unlikely to spend time in physical activity. 

This study aimed to investigate the presence of Relative Age Effects (RAE) with based on birth quartiles among the World Rugby Under 20 Championship 2019.Besides that, this study also determined the presence of RAE among present of one successful team and the unsuccessful team. Date of birth, height, weight, playing position from players (n=305) from all the 12 participating teams in the tournament were gathered from official websites. The players’ birth dates were categorized into four quartiles according to each country cut-off date. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, France, and Italy was set at 1st January, while for countries under United Kingdom (England, Wales and Scotland), Ireland and Georgia were set at 1st September. Chi squared goodness fit test was used to compare the distribution of players among the birth quartile and also the playing position and the team’s achievement (successful and unsuccessful). One-way ANOVA test was used to determine whether there were any statistical significant differences between the birth quartile and player’s height and weight. Presence of RAE was found in the overall position of rugby union players, and the teams that qualified for semis (deemed successful). Analysis on the playing positions found only the backline position showed presence of RAE but not among the forwards. Furthermore, there was no significant different between birth quartiles and player’s height and weight. As conclusion, the overrepresentation of relatively older players among World Rugby Under 20 Championship 2019 players were suggested due to the player’s selection process and playing roles according to nature of the sport. 

Debates on different perception about sports occur because people had their own perception related to sports. This research showed the perception of sports involvement among undergraduates in UiTM Seremban. Quantitative research method used. The forms composed by four batteries of items related to game, training, “champion”, and value of sport. The forms measure six concepts of sport: Competition, Education, Fun, Health, Socialization and Participation. Each concept could be measured by mark from zero (not important at all) to five (very important). The respondent was divided into three groups: undergraduates from Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation (FSR), Faculty of Administration Science and Policies (FSPP), Faculty Science Computer and Mathematic (FSKM) in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Seremban. 28 undergraduates from three facultyselected through stratified random samplings. Competition was the main aspect of sport. Education, socialization and fun were also important for all. Participation and health are less considered. “It is important for them to win every sporting event that they participate” as most important issues during game. UiTM graduates considered training as participation moment. “Training help to build good body posture” was considered as important things for a champion besides technical skill and honours. The UiTM undergraduates would suggest to practice sport “to get a good skill and techniques that can helped a person to success on the field” as benefit that they can get in joining sports. As the result, the result showed, competition as the main of involvement as perceived. 

Mountain hiking is a well-known outdoor recreation activity in Malaysia. In fact, it became phenomenon since 2016 when the social media platform took place as a mainstream. Many people tend to hike some hiking spot which went viral. They liked to share their awesome pictures and experience as well. However, since then, accident and incident during mountain hiking activities in Malaysia drastically increased. Many hikers injured, died and lost in the jungle which previous study showed that human led were part of the cause. As a result, tons of SAR operations have been done and it was costly, time consumed and difficult. Regard to this circumstance, hiker’s preparedness doubted. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to know the scenario of Malaysian hiker awareness on hiking preparedness from the expert point of view. Thus, an interview of local experts had been conducted. The finding showed, all the experts agreed that most of hikers nowadays were lack of knowledge about preparedness in terms of physical, knowledge and equipment. They stress out that most of the new hikers were not carried along basic things during their hiked such as headlamp, extra clothes, extra food and drinks, whistle and pocket knife. Experts also revealed that many newbie hikers didn’t wear appropriate attire during a hike such as wrong shoes and backpack which end up with safety issue. This results could make researchers in the same area of interest to aware on the hikers’ scenario in order to capture the Hiking Preparedness Model (HiPrep) in the future plans especially Hiking concerned. 

Shooting action was a very crucial action in one football match as it influences the outcome. Analysing shooting action during prominent competition was very important because a new trends and tactical play always been implemented in this level of competition. Due to this, the purpose of present study was to analyse the shooting action between the successful and unsuccessful team during the group stage matches of FIFA World Cup 2018. Purposive sampling was used, 24-matches (n = 24) from group stage been selected, with 12 matches (n =12) from successful team and other 12 matches (n = 12) from unsuccessful teams. Successful teams been selected from top four teams that reach semi-final, while unsuccessful teams were from bottom four teams based on ranking during group stage of competition. Each team played three matches during group stage. Indicator selected, shooting action had been divided into two categories, which were the location of shooting action (inside penalty box and outside penalty box) and the area of shooting action (centre, right centre, left centre, right wing and left wing are). This study also analyses the total number of shooting actions produced by both groups. Data had been collected through a notational process (r = 0.97). Based on the finding (Independent sample t-test), there were significant differences between the successful team and unsuccessful team, when performing shooting action from inside penalty box (t = -2.216, p =0 .037), outside penalty box (t = -2.116, p = 0.046), and in total number of shooting action (t = -3.001, p = 0.007). The other indicators showed not significant differences (p > 0.05) for this study. The finding concluded that having more shooting actions during match could be beneficial for team in determining the outcome. This been proven when team produced more shooting actions during match, the outcome was a success one. This study also found that successful teams had an ability to create chances more than unsuccessful teams, either from inside penalty box or outside penalty box. 

This study examined the moderating effect of local and foreign coaches in the relationship between the coaches’ leadership styles and the athletes’ satisfaction in a case of high performance athletes in Malaysia. The population of the study were the athletes under the organization of Majlis Sukan Negara who were selected using purposive sampling technique (N = 350). Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS) (Chelladurai & Salleh, 1980) and Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ) (Chelladurai & Reimer, 1997) were the survey tools for this research. The five domains of leadership style showed positive correlation with the athletes’ satisfaction levels (p < .05); Training and instruction, r = 0.623, Democratic, r = 0.500, Autocratic, r = 0.126, Social support, r = 0.540 and Positive feedback, r = 0.490. There is a significant difference between autocratic leadership style and gender (p < .05) Females perceived coaches’ autocratic leadership style higher than male. However, in the athletes’ satisfaction, there is no significant difference between genders (p > .05). In comparing the age groups, there is a significant difference in training and instruction leadership style and athletes; with the satisfaction level of p < .05. The age group of 24 – 26 years old perceived training and instruction, and the athletes’ satisfaction greater among all age groups. The lowest athletes’ satisfaction was for the group of 18 - 20 years old. Based on the coaches’ nationality, training and instruction, and the athletes’ satisfaction also show significant difference (p < .05). Foreign coaches exhibited greater training and instruction style than the locals. On the other hand, the athletes are highly satisfied of the local coaches compared to the foreign coaches. The significant correlations were observed between all leadership styles domains and the athletes’ satisfaction (p < .05) except for ‘autocratic style’ in both local and foreign coaches. This study was expected to extend the knowledge of leadership in sport, where the cultural differences have never been investigated as the moderating effect in the relationship between the coaches’ leadership styles and athletes’ satisfaction levels, and to improve the quality of coaching by the recommended appropriate strategies in controlling the effects of cultural differences.

The consumption of beetroot supplementation has increased the popularity of studies that showed the ergogenic effects on exercise performance. Since beetroot juice supplement can enhance physiological processes in type II (fast twitch) muscle fiber, this supplementation has the potential to enhance performance in high intensity exercise which is sprinting. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of beetroot supplement on sprint performance. Using a double blind, crossover design this study recruited 12 male sprinters from SMK Dato Sri Amar Diraja to measure their sprint performance in 30- meter sprint test. Data analyzed using paired sample t-Test. From the results, it showed no significant effects of beetroot supplement on sprinting performance were observed between beetroot and placebo group. The results were due to the lack of dose ingested showed no ergogenic effects of beetroot supplement on sprinting performance

Saga Hill and Serendah Waterfalls have been the popular destination for short leisure gateway for nature enthusiasts in Selangor particularly. Located at Ampang / Cheras District, Saga Hill was a very easy climb features and well maintain trail, a reachable summit of 430 meters and also a waterfall. While Serendah waterfall located at Serendah, attract visitors with a vertical drop of estimated 8 meters waterfall. Serendah waterfall was an ideal site for picnic and hiking activities. Both sites have the attractive nature features and sufficient basic facilities for the convenience of visitors to enhance their experience in outdoor recreational activities participation. The main objective of this study was to identify the visitor’s motivation to visit Saga Hill and Serendah waterfalls. Physical, psychological, sociological and environmental awareness attributes were examined to determine the motivation of visitation to Saga Hills and Serendah waterfalls. The study questionnaire was divided into three section; section A- focuses on the demographic characteristic of the respondents, section B- focuses on the motivational and behavioral aspects of the visitors which consisted physical, psychological, sociological, and environmental variables. The sample of 200 visitors involved in this study based on Simple Random Sampling method to collect data. The primary data were analyzed in a descriptive manner using SPSS 20.0 software. The study suggested both study sites have the same highest mean score for physical, psychological, social and environmental attributes contributing for their leisure participation. Visitors motivated to visit both sites to be healthy, and to increase their fitness. As for the psychological attributes, the visitors agreed that the natural environment and special features of both sites have added value and potentials that increased local tourism industry. The sociological attribute suggested that the visitor’s motivation to visit both sites to enjoy the waterfall with their family and friends. Lastly, environmental attributes also influent the motivation for visitors to Saga Hill and Serendah waterfalls. The development surround both study sites increased their awareness of the importance of maintaining and preserving the natural leisure attractions located within the developed Selangor city. Overall, the result of the study revealed that the main visitor’s motivation to visit Saga Hill and Serendah waterfalls were physical and sociological attributes

Human aggression was a major worldwide health issue that brings negative effect to victims, perpetrators, and society. One of the areas that may be potentially variables for understanding aggression was self-esteem that could influence whether someone display an aggressive behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of aggression and level of self-esteem among Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam student-athletes. This study was very important to determine the athlete’s aggression and selfesteem level based on the differences of genders and types of sport. Furthermore, the findings of this study may help in promoting a beneficial knowledge among coaches and athletes about aggression level and also self-esteem level toward maintaining and improving sports performance. A correlational study was selected in order to conduct this study. This correlational study was selected because this study was closely related to both descriptive and causalcomparative research. The instrument used for this study comprised of a 10-item Rosenberg SelfEsteem Scale (RSES) and 19-item of Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), which had been distributed in UiTM Shah Alam. The samples consisted of 260 UiTM Shah Alam athletes, included male and female, individual and team sports, age ranged between 18 until 26 years old. Independent t-test showed there was no significant difference between genders and types of sport on aggression level, p > 0.05. Result also showed that there was no significant difference on self-esteem between types of sport, p > 0.05. Meanwhile, a result found that there was a significant difference on selfesteem between genders, p < 0.05. Result also showed that there was a positive correlation between aggression and self-esteem among UiTM Shah Alam athletes, (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Present findings indicated that athletes who had higher aggression level tend to have a higher level of self-esteem. Therefore, psychological skill training (PST) recommended as a better coping technique in order to promote better adaptation to the constraints of the sports involvement.

The body mass index (BMI) had been the most measured to characterize body composition in an individuals. However, BMI has been criticized as being an inaccurate measured of body fatness among active individuals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the relationship between BMI and waist to hip ratio (WHR), percentage body fat (PBF) and visceral fat (VF) among active individuals. The design used in this study was descriptive correlation design. Subjects (n = 242) were students from Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, UiTM Shah Alam. BMI, WHR, PBF and VF measurements was using Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA). There was a positive relationship between BMI and WHR, PBF and VF. Results showed high relationship between BMI and WHR (r = 0.615, p = 0.000). Whereas, moderate relationship between BMI and PBF (r = 0.421, p = 0.000). Besides, there was high relationship between BMI and VF (r = 0.529, p = 0.000). Based on results, BMI was moderate to high relationship between WHR, PBF and VF. Therefore, BMI can be considered accurate and appropriate measurement to determine body fatness among active individuals.