Background
In 2021, the Sport and Human Performance Research Centre (SHPRC) was recognised as a priority research centre by the University of Limerick. The research centre has two co-directors Prof. Ian Kenny (ian.kenny@ul.ie) and Prof. Giles Warrington (giles.warrington@ul.ie). The centre includes several members from the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (PESS), with additional members from other UL departments, the Irish Institute of Sport, and national and international academic institutions.
The SHPRC is embedded in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences (PESS) at UL, a top 40 world ranked department for sport sciences.
The SHPRC delivers research in sport and other human endeavours where the emphasis is on achieving high level or optimal performance. The centre includes performance related research in sports such as athletics, rugby, golf, rowing, swimming and Esports, as well as many others where physical or psychological performance is undertaken with an emphasis on producing optimal performance. Research in the area of Sport and Human Performance embraces the domains of physiology, biomechanics, psychology, strength and conditioning, sports injuries and rehabilitation, skill acquisition and performance analysis.
The SHPRC currently focuses on five key themes: Esports Science, Rugby Sport Science, Athletics Sport Science, Weight Category Sport Science, and Endurance Sport Science. However, work of the SHPRC continues to evolve and over time will include additional thematic areas.
The centre was initially formed in 2018 as a research cluster before becoming an established centre. The members of the centre have obtained more than €14+ million in research funding since 2018 and have been successful in recruiting >20 Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarships. The members of the SHPRC have already established several industry, professional, national governing body and community links nationally and internationally to support research activities and facilitate outreach and translational research activity. These include the IRFU, Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board, Logitech, Halo Neuroscience, Lero the Irish Research Centre for Software, UMPC Ireland the UPMC Pittsburgh Concussion Research Laboratory, and Sport Ireland Institute.
