Sex Differences in Performing a Change-of-Direction Task in Collegiate Sport

Only 6% of global research in sport and exercise science focuses specifically on women and girls. This creates a significant sex data gap, as most of what we know about performance, training, and injury prevention is based on studies involving male participants. As a result, it’s unclear whether the same findings apply to female athletes. Our research is part of míde, a new all-island initiative that brings together experts from across disciplines to improve the health, well-being, participation, and performance of women and girls in and through sport and physical activity. This proof-of-concept study focuses on an especially overlooked group: female college athletes, who are underrepresented in research despite being a key population engaged in competitive sport. We will explore whether meaningful differences exist in how female and male athletes perform a key sporting skill—change-of-direction (CoD) movement, involving sharp, quick movements used in sports like soccer, basketball, cricket, and rugby. Although physical differences between sexes are well documented, we still don’t fully understand how these influence movement patterns during sport. This study uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining biomechanics and psychology to investigate not just physical movement, but also the mental and emotional factors—like confidence, risk perception, and fear of injury—that shape how athletes move. While this is an initial step, it lays the foundation for a broader research vision: to understand sex-specific movement differences through longitudinal, multi-site studies across the island, with an expanding interdisciplinary team. We are prioritising research quality at this early stage to ensure the development of robust, meaningful, and novel data that can inform more tailored coaching, injury prevention, and support strategies for female athletes—particularly at the collegiate level.