Throughout the sport-science and sports-medicine literature, the term “elite” subjects might be one of the most overused and ill-defined terms. 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. We suggest the Participant Classification Framework can be used to classify participants both prospectively (as part of study participant recruitment) and retrospectively (during systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses). Discussion around how the Participant Classification Framework can be tailored toward different sports, athletes, and/or events has occurred, and sport-specific examples provided. Additional nuances such as depth of sport participation, nationality differences, and gender parity within a sport are all discussed. 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. It is our intention that this framework be widely implemented to systematically classify participants in research featuring exercise, sport, performance, health, and/or fitness outcomes going forward, providing the much-needed uniformity to classification practices.

Alannah K.A. McKay

Trent Stellingwerff

Ella S. Smith

David T. Martin

Iñigo Mujika

Vicky L. Goosey-Tolfrey

Jeremy Sheppard

Louise M. Burke

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance

国际运动生理学和表现杂志 (IJSPP) 专注于运动生理学和表现，致力于提高运动和运动生理学家、运动表现研究人员和其他运动科学家的知识。该杂志发表运动生理学和相关学科的权威同行评审研究，重点是在提高运动生理学和相关学科的运动表现方面具有直接实际应用的工作。 IJSPP 每年出版 10 期：1 月、2 月、3 月、4 月、5 月、7 月、8 月、9 月、10 月和 11 月。

The International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (IJSPP) focuses on sports physiology and performance, aiming to enhance the knowledge of exercise physiologists, sports performance researchers, and other sports scientists. The journal publishes authoritative peer-reviewed research in sports physiology and related fields, with a particular emphasis on work that has direct practical applications for improving sports performance. IJSPP is published 10 times a year, with issues released in January, February, March, April, May, July, August, September, October, and November.

《国际运动生理学和表现杂志》(International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance) 专注于运动生理学和运动表现，旨在提升运动生理学家、运动表现研究人员及其他运动科学家的专业知识。该杂志发表运动生理学及相关领域的权威同行评审研究，特别强调对提高运动表现具有直接实际应用价值的研究成果。IJSPP 每年出版 10 期，分别在1月、2月、3月、4月、5月、7月、8月、9月、10月和11月发行。

Category	Quartile
医学	2
医学, 生理学	2
医学, 运动科学	2

Defining Training and Performance Caliber: A Participant Classification Framework

ivySCI AI Smartly Parses PDF, Answers Researchers' Questions, and Helps You Understand Papers in Seconds

Journal Info

Category	Quartile
SPORT SCIENCES	1