Defining Training and Performance Caliber: A Participant Classification Framework

🤖 Plain-English Summary

Throughout the sport-science and sports-medicine literature, the term "elite" subjects might be one of the most overused and ill-defined terms. Finally, chronological age with reference to the junior and masters athlete, as well as the Paralympic athlete, and their inclusion within the Participant Classification Framework has also been considered.

🔑 Key Findings

• Currently, there is no common perspective or terminology to characterize the caliber and training status of an individual or cohort.
• This paper presents a 6-tiered Participant Classification Framework whereby all individuals across a spectrum of exercise backgrounds and athletic abilities can be classified.
• The Participant Classification Framework uses training volume and performance metrics to classify a participant to one of the following: Tier 0: Sedentary; Tier 1: Recreationally Active; Tier 2: Trained/Developmental; Tier 3: Highly Trained/National Level; Tier 4: Elite/International Level; or Tier 5: World Class.

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