Competition Readiness in High Performance Sport: Preparing the Athlete for “The Grandstand”

Conference Abstract (Clinician / Coach Focus):

Competition readiness represents a critical intersection between health, performance, and context. For clinicians, therapists, and coaches, decision-making in the post-recovery and pre-competition phases is often challenged by incomplete models that prioritize tissue healing while underrepresenting system behavior, sensory regulation, and competitive stress. This conference presentation introduces an applied, integrative framework grounded in modern fascial anatomy, biotensegrity, and interoception to support clearer readiness decisions in high-performance sport.

Contemporary interpretations of fascia describe a continuous, load-sharing, and sensory-rich system that reshapes how force transmission, movement efficiency, and compensation strategies are understood. Biotensegrity further explains how stability and adaptability emerge from balanced tension across the whole system rather than isolated structural strength. Together, these models shift practitioner focus from "Is the tissue healed?" to "Is the system adaptable under competition-level demand?"
Interoception is presented as a clinical and coaching variable that influences athlete confidence, threat perception, pacing, and execution under pressure. It’s a critical modulator of readiness—informing athlete self-regulation, threat perception, confidence, and execution under pressure. In addition, Readiness is reframed as an embodied state shaped by biological status, perceptual trust, and environmental context.

The role of the integrative sport health team is emphasized, highlighting how aligned communication (between therapists, coaches, medical staff, and performance scientists) and shared mental models reduce uncertainty, protect ethical boundaries, and enhance performance outcomes. Special attention is given to the competition environment (“the grandstand”), where contextual stressors amplify the importance of coherent messaging, embodied confidence, and real-time decision-making. Within this framework, interoception emerges as a critical modulator of readiness—informing athlete self-regulation, threat perception, confidence, and execution under pressure.

Practical tools, case examples, and decision-making frameworks are provided to help clinicians and coaches translate complex concepts into actionable preparation strategies, particularly in the competition environment where time pressure, emotion, and expectation are highest.