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16 May 2024 | Book now

Explore Sport and Exercise Science at our Taster Day

Pushing boundaries. Breaking records. Training in extreme environments. Sport and Exercise Science covers many elements of elite sports, health and fitness.

Depending on what your students go on to study, a Sport and Exercise Science degree could help them gain the knowledge needed to understand and enhance athletic performance.

Sound like your students? Save your class a place at one of our Taster Days in 2024 to learn more about courses, careers and sports' unique role in society. We have availability at our next Sport and Exercise Science Tasters on 16 May 2024 and 20 June 2024. You can book your class to a Taster using the Teacher booking form.

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Programme

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Taster Day Location

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Guide to Taster Days

Get the experience you want

At our Sport and Exercise Science Taster Days, your students will:

  • Discover where a Sports and Exercise Science course can take you and where our graduates go on to work
  • Explore Biomechanics and what makes a goal-scoring free-kick
  • Investigate the concept of sport leadership and how we can increase sport and physical activity within the community and wider population
  • Use biofeedback practices to change how we move
  • Understand why some athletes thrive under pressure and why others struggle
  • Hear from and chat to current students about life as a student at Portsmouth
  • Gain useful experience for the subjects you like, which you can talk about on your UCAS personal statement
  • Investigate concepts of leadership and how to manage and guide others to become effective leaders themselves

Ravelin Sports Centre - a fly-through tour

Taster Day location and meeting point

Check in opens from 9.00am at Ravelin Sports Centre, Cambridge Rd, Portsmouth PO1 2SE. Look out for our students in purple T-shirts who'll help direct you.

If you're arriving by coach or minibus, we recommend parking on Museum Road, Portsmouth which is just outside of the Sports Centre. For more information on checking in and how to get here, take a look at our guide to taster days page.


Taster Day programme

Here's what's coming at our Sport Taster Day.*

Sport and Exercise Science Taster Day

We're excited to meet you. Check in from 9.00am and get ready to learn about studying your favourite subjects at uni.

Here's our guide to subject taster days, should you want to learn a little more about our Taster Days before booking.

We'll meet at Ravelin Sports Centre Reception, Cambridge Rd, Portsmouth PO1 2SE.

Exciting careers await you in all types of sporting pursuits. Biomechanics, physiology, nutrition, psychology, and business operations of elite sport. It all starts with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science.

Learn more about the different career options available to graduates of the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, including the different courses and opportunities at Portsmouth.

Experience a talk in our outstanding new sports centre, opened in 2022, designed to be one of the UK's most sustainable sports centres. 

This session is an opportunity for you to discover how sport can enhance students' experience at Uni.

We'll talk you through sports clubs that are available, sport scholarship opportunities and employment opportunities during your studies.

The physiological responses of elite and novice athletes differ when running or cycling at the same work rate. For instance, when Mo Farah runs at a given speed the physiological stress is much less than for a novice athlete.

These responses provide insight into the physiological demands of a given sporting activity, and enable changes in fitness to be monitored. In this session, your students will examine the cardio-vascular, respiratory and thermal responses to a bout of steady-state exercise to see how they compare to elite athletes like Mo Farah.

*Note: this is 1 of 4 sessions running at this time:

  • How can Mo Farah run so fast?
  • Squat are you doing? Using biofeedback to change how we move
  • Behind the Scenes of Sport Event Management 
  • Why do athletes set goals?

You'll attend any 1 of these sessions during this particular timeslot, but you'll get to see all 4 talks over the course of the day.

Quick breather. A chance for your class to take stock of the morning then get ready for the next session.

Biomechanics is the study of how and why we move. One application of biomechanics is in the area of strength and conditioning is called "biofeedback". Biofeedback is where we measure certain characteristics of how we complete a task that a coach or athlete couldn't measure themselves and provide this in the form of feedback.

In this session, we'll explore how we can use biofeedback to help athletes move symmetrically (equally on both sides) during movements like squatting and jumping. Students will use our state-of-the-art Motion Capture System and force plates, and see which of you is the master of the squat rack.

*Note: this is 1 of 4 sessions running at this time:

  • How can Mo Farah run so fast?
  • Squat are you doing? Using biofeedback to change how we move
  • Behind the Scenes of Sport Event Management 
  • Why do athletes set goals?

You'll attend any 1 of these sessions during this particular timeslot, but you'll get to see all 4 talks over the course of the day.

Behind every successful sports event, there is a team of dedicated professionals working tirelessly to ensure everything runs smoothly.
From logistics to marketing, this session will uncover the intricate planning and execution required to pull off a successful sporting event.

Through the creation of their own event, your students will explore common problems faced by sport events managers and understand the strategic decision making processes that are integral to the field.

*Note: this is 1 of 4 sessions running at this time:

  • How can Mo Farah run so fast?
  • Squat are you doing? Using biofeedback to change how we move
  • Behind the Scenes of Sport Event Management 
  • Why do athletes set goals?

You'll attend any 1 of these sessions during this particular timeslot, but you'll get to see all 4 talks over the course of the day.

Fuel-up.  Students are welcome to bring their own lunch for the day or grab something from a local shop or cafe.

During the break they can attend a tour of the Wiltshire building which houses our Strength and Condition gym where students carry out research vital to their degree.

Athletes experience varying levels of motivation during their sport careers. One of the main areas of interest for sport psychology researchers and practitioners has been to understand how to help athletes increase and/or maintain their level of motivation.

Here, we'll introduce the concept of goal-setting and how it can be used to influence athletes' motivation and behaviour in a manner that contributes to their development and success.

*Note: this is 1 of 4 sessions running at this time:

  • How can Mo Farah run so fast?
  • Squat are you doing? Using biofeedback to change how we move
  • Behind the Scenes of Sport Event Management 
  • Why do athletes set goals?

You'll attend any 1 of these sessions during this particular timeslot, but you'll get to see all 4 talks over the course of the day.

The floor is open for your students to ask questions – to our lecturers and current students.

This could be about different Sport subjects, the transition from college to uni, any of the talks they've watched so far, the city of Portsmouth, moving away from home – and/or whatever they want to know about uni.

This will be followed by an optional tour of the Ravelin Sports Centre facilities including our 8 lane swimming pool, multi-purpose fitness class studios and climbing wall.

* Sessions may be subject to change

** Sessions will run on a rotational basis so, depending on your group, this may not be the exact timings that you'll experience these activities on the day itself