Elite Sports and Vision PDF

Elite Sports and Vision
(An Introduction to Implications of Vision in Sports)

(An Introduction to Implications of Vision in Sports)
Ajay Kumar Bhootra

DOS, FAO, FOAI, FCLI (Aligarh)
ICLEP (Hyderabad)
Diploma in Sportvision (UK)
Dr Sumitra
BHMS, DMBS, MD, DOS
B.Optom, Diploma in Sportvision (UK)
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iv Elite Sports and Vision
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Sports v
A Token of Respect
to
Mr Geraint Griffiths
Geraint Griffiths is the founder and chief executive officer of the Association of
Sportvision Practitioners. He is the author of the Diploma in Sportvision Practice,
which all the members of the association have to complete. He is British College of
Optometrists examiner and assessor and former British international athlete. He is
managing director of Sportvision Ltd which is the executive body of Sportvision, UK
which incorporates the association of Sportvision Practitioners. Today he is one of the
most senior researchers in the field of sportvision.
Preface
Vision has enormous implications in terms of health and welfare of the

nation. Research has shown us in sports that even small visual deficiency
in one eye can ruin the game of the athletes. Even more important the same
problem can substantially effect everybody’s ability to carry out their
chosen occupations. Straightforward implication of this is that
occupational success relies on visual efficiency, but vision is very much
more important in general terms, because the ability to work efficiently or
competing the sport at the highest level is directly related to our vision.
Problems with the visual process that are not explained and understood
can have profound implications for the athletes and their immediate family
and friends. There was no debate about the protection of the eyes from
trauma and non-ionizing radiations. But the biggest challenge was to
establish the strong scientific basis for understanding the implications of
vision in sports. Therefore, researchers established the science of
Sportvision in the field of behavioral optometry.
Originally originated in USA, the science actually started to develop in
UK under the leadership of Mr Geraint Griffiths since 1994. At the outset,
practice began to develop the work already started in USA. But the new
researches have given the science a dynamic shape. In India, the science
started to flourish at the Himalaya Optical Group where Ajay Kr Bhootra,
Optometrist, Ocularist and Diploma in Sportvision (UK) and his colleague
Dr Sumitra, BHMS, DMBS, MD, DOS, B.Optom, and Diploma in Sportvision
(UK) worked together to explore the implications of sportvision in the field
of optometry. The vision in sports has an immediate application to the
athletes and in a country that is going through an industrial revolution, it
is essential that young talent is not disadvantaged by visual deficiencies.
Loss of sporting or occupational performance at any level in society affects
general health which ultimately will conspire to decrease the quality of
life and life expectancy.
This book is a small effort to reveal the importance of vision in sports

and sporting performance of the athletes and is intended for all those who
are interested in sports and vision. These may include eyecare professionals
including optometrists and ophthalmologists and sports medicine
viii Elite Sports and Vision
practitioners, sports coaches team managers, sports clubs, sports

associations, athletes, players and all those parents who want their kids
to excel in sports. The authors do not claim it to be a comprehensive book
to include complete information on sportvision practice. It is just an effort
to appreciate the immediate need for basic information on the importance
of vision in sports as the sports today is no more a recreational activity
only. It has become one of the biggest industries where millions of dollars
are involved in the form of fees, prizes, advertisements and sponsorships.
It is intended that this book will fulfill basic educational requirements,
stimulate people’s interest in sportvision and provide a reference source.
The science of sportvision is still new and the results of many researches
will follow. Ideas about the role of vision in different sports may vary
depending upon the level of sports and accessibility to the new researches.
Hence, readers are strongly encouraged to keep themselves up-to-date
and help establish the science of sportvision as an accepted discipline by
providing us their opinions.
Ajay Kumar Bhootra

Dr Sumitra
Sports ix
Acknowledgements
Acknowledging the support and motivation received expresses a deep

sense of respect and gratitude towards the respective person who
contributed and supported in different ways. It is their committed faith
and enthusiasm that made it possible for us to work on developing the
new science of sportvision. We would like to acknowledge and extend our
heartfelt gratitude to following individuals who all are established
personalities in their respective fields:
Mr Shyam Sundar Binani
Mr Sudarshan Binani
Mr Sarat Binani
Mr Sandeep Binani.
Dr Arun Kumar Aggarwala
It would be a great injustice and ungratefulness if we do not acknowledge
the support of our parents and family from whom we were away for so
long during our course work. Thanks to all our family members for
providing us moral and mental boost.
Contents
1. Sports ........................................................................................................... 1
2. Vision ........................................................................................................... 7
3. Sports and Vision ....................................................................................19
4. Visual Needs in Tennis ...........................................................................36
5. Visual Needs in Table Tennis ...............................................................40
6. Visual Needs in Badminton ...................................................................45
7. Visual Needs in Cricket ..........................................................................49
8. Visual Needs in Baseball ........................................................................55
9. Visual Needs in Golf ...............................................................................61
10. Visual Needs in Hockey .........................................................................65
11. Visual Needs in Basketball ....................................................................69
12. Visual Needs in Volleyball ....................................................................72
13. Visual Needs in Football ........................................................................76
14. Visual Needs in Judo ..............................................................................81
15. Visual Needs in Wrestling .....................................................................85
16. Visual Needs in Boxing ..........................................................................89
17. Visual Needs in Yachting .......................................................................93
18. Visual Needs in Scuba-diving ...............................................................96
19. Visual Needs in Swimming ...................................................................99
20. Visual Needs in Rifle Shooting .......................................................... 103
21. Visual Needs in Clay Pigeon Shooting ............................................. 109
22. Visual Needs in Archery ...................................................................... 113
23. Visual Needs in Chess ......................................................................... 117
24. Visual Needs in Snooker ..................................................................... 120
25. Visual Needs in Motor Car Racing .................................................... 124
26. Visual Needs in Downhill Skiing ...................................................... 128
27. Ocular Injuries in Sports ..................................................................... 133
28. The Future of Sportvision ................................................................... 139
Bibliography .............................................................................................. 143
Index ......................................................................................................... 145
xii Elite Sports and Vision
1
Chapter 1 Sports
Sports
Play is an essential part in the emotional and physical development of a

child and encourages motor skills such as climbing, walking, jumping,
throwing and catching and facilitates both eyes, hand-eye, eye-foot
coordination. When the play begins to incorporate rules, it becomes a game
leading to sports with both individual and team participation. The word
sport is a contracted form of “disport” which means to amuse, to divert one’s
self. It signifies recreations that is contrasted with the serious intellectual
occupations.
Sport can be defined as a physical activity involving large muscle groups,
requiring strategic methods, physical training and mental preparation and
whose outcome is determined, within a rule frame work, and by skill, not by
chance. Sport occurs in an organized, structural and competitive environment
where winner is declared. Football is a team sport, involves mental
preparation to pass the ball to each other to achieve the target. Lots of physical
activity and physical training with strategic plan which are governed by set
rules is needed to win the competition.
Sport is a human activity requiring physical exertion and or physical skill
with competitive spirit in order to achieve a result. So sport, by definition, is
competitive and there are two or more players, there must be a winner and a
loser or a draw and that may, in turn need to be settled by a penalty shoot-out
or similar. Motivation is probably the strongest incentive and the concept of
“win at all costs” is often initiated. The incentive to win may vary from
personal satisfaction, team spirit or national fervour to the high monetary
awards accorded to professional sports personnel. The most significant fac-
tor, however, in the winning formula is skill, which is partially innate and
partially acquired, and may, therefore, be optimized by coaching and train-
ing. Aptitude, in turn, is influenced by physique. In general, shorter athletes
are more suited to events like Gymnastics, Soccer and Long distance run-
ning, tall individuals predominate in High Jumping and Basketball, while
the heavyweights are more likely to be attracted to combat sports, throw-
ing and defensive position in rugby.
Both the above definitions clearly indicate the passion and competitive
instinct involved in the sport. It may , therefore, be that sport is simply, where
there is a competition. The competitive element is a good discriminator. It
could be argued that this even includes competition against oneself also. It is
very difficult to find any other dividing line which separates one physical
activity from another.
2 Elite Sports and Vision
Sport can be roughly divided into the areas of amateur, professional and
international sports. The distinction between a professional and amateur
athlete is somewhat tenuous. An athlete may be defined as an amateur by an
organization; he or she may not be an amateur according to another. This
leads to even more confusion. A simplistic, yet useful definition is that
amateur athletes are involved in sports as an avocation while professional
athletes are involved in sports as a vocation. The concept of amateur sports
includes a range of activities from an individual casual weekend athlete to
high school athletics to extensively organized intercollegiate or international
competitions. Athletic activities are often organized and managed by
individual groups that establish rules for eligibility and competition. Perhaps
the most important relationship in the area of professional sports is that
between the individual player and the team owner. The contractual
relationship is governed by basic contract principles. The model contract
can be modified to accommodate the special needs and the talent of individual
players. International sports competitions are mainly Olympic and World
Cup, sponsored by FIFA.
Dynamic sports Non-dynamic sports

Soccer Archery
Yachting Bowling
Squash Shooting
Hockey Dart
Ice-hockey Snooker
Baseball Chess
Sports can be Dynamic and Non Dynamic or Controlled. Dynamic sports

are the events where the athlete is relatively uninhibited in the explosive
expression of their effort. This does not mean that control is not required, it is
just that the explosive elements of the event predominates and is critical
measure of the difference between the performance of the two athletes. Typical
examples are 100 m running, Hammer throwing, Soccer, Yachting, Squash,
Hockey etc. In control sports the action of the event is normally repetitive and
may well continue over many hours. The athlete who is able to maintain a
consistency of performance through out the event is usually the one who
wins. The skill in the great control sport is not just hitting the bulls eye once,
or hitting the gold in archery once, but its consistency over a day shooting.
The key skill is physiological control against all the elements of metabolism
that tend to detract from this control including muscle fatigue, dehydration,
blood sugar level, and mental fatigue. Again, it can be seen that no one sport
is easier or better than other, what water sport may lack in speed and
explosion—it makes up for in microscopic control and endurance. Other
examples of controlled sports are Archery, Bowling, Shooting, Darts, Snooker,
Sports 3
Chess. One extreme example of the mental extremes to which some athlete go
in sport , is chess. In many ways, it appears to be static, but the player is in
fact in great dynamic equilibrium. A body held in a controlled position where
the eyes co-ordinate precisely at places on the chess board, and the mind is
feeding back a complicated image of spatial awareness and position. What
the sport lacks in dynamism, it more than makes up for mental effort and is
in no way less competitive. Fast moving sports are usually into the dynamic
category. This classification is based on the concept to allow the sport to be
considered more precisely in terms of hazards and the speed at which it is
played. In reality, sports are generally a mixture of the two in varying
proportions. The consideration for visual correction changes as the balance
in sports shifts from the dynamic to non dynamic, from physical to cerebral.
In sports like Ice-Hockey and Tennis, things happen very quickly and there
is a great risk of trauma. In Chess there is very little movement and a lot of
thought, so less risk of eye injuries. The intensity of competition in both these
sports, however, should not be underestimated.
Figure 1.1: Squash-dynamic sport Figure 1.2: Snooker-non-dynamic sport
Different sports demand different visual skills and present new challenges
under varying conditions. However, the basic vision requirements of every
individual sports are made up of two primary visual skills - aiming and
anticipation and the proportion of these skills vary according to different sports.
Accordingly sports may also be classified as Aiming sports and Anticipating
sport. It is also likely that depending on the individual visual characteristics
of the athlete, that they will be pre-disposed to some sports more than others.
Tennis is not predominantly an aiming sport. Depth perception which allows
the player to anticipate the arrival of the ball by judging its speed and direction
is more important. It does not mean that the aiming is not vital, it is also
needed when the racket is directly in line with the aiming eye and also
during a serve. Clay shooting is predominantly associated with high aiming
demand where distance of the object also need to be seen accurately to judge
the relative speed of the clay through the air. The affect of aiming is not just
peculiar to sport. The only thing which distinguishes sport from any other
occupation is the level of the visual demand, which is at its most extreme in
competitive sport.
Sport is also an occupation like many others. It has its own visual
requirements. Sporting potential is nothing more than occupational potential.
Occupation involves how human beings relate to their environment—this
may have specific requirements at work or in sport or have general
requirements in terms of navigating your way through the world, or
interacting with the human beings or even learning to read and write. All the
interaction can be summarized as behaviour. The words “sporting potential”,
“occupational potential” and “behaviour”in this sense are interchangeable.
Today more than 60% population plays sport, depending on the available
resources and this number is increasing because of more money involved in
it and also because of people have more time and more money to spend on it.
One of the biggest causes of hospital admission for serious eye injury is now
sports, which reflects its increase in popularity.
Today it is a established fact that sport has become a physiological
necessity. The reality in sports as in life is that there can be no winner without
losers. The champion sits on top of a huge pyramid at the base of which all
the spectators who attend, and works up through the people who built the
tracks and financed the project, to the coaches who trained the athlete and
the clubs and officials who supported them, right up to the person who came
second or third. Winning has no meaning unless someone else loses. To win
one day, probably means to lose another day, and in the end every competitive
athlete knows that they must eventually lose. To say that nothing else matters
but the win, makes no sense. Nothing else is possible without all the other
people who support the event and who are prepared to lose by competing In
life this is also true, we all depend on one another, one person on another ,
and one nation on another. Competitive sport is a way for individuals and
nations to co-exist. It is a civilized way of replacing war and the rules of the
sport are the marks of civilization.
Figure 1.3: A winner

Sports 5
Figure 1.4: Winning has no meaning unless someone else loses
Sports, if well conducted, have always raised the standard of nation to a

very high degree. “A sound mind in a sound body”– can be thought of
through the sports. Athletics refresh the body, tranquilize and enlighten the
mind, and develop moral character. The student who is involved in sports is
always fresh and vigorous, he seldom gets sick and tired. When he is busy
with athletics during recess time his ideas do not deviate any more to the
path of impurity, to think of such trivial things and health and strength
which he acquires will help him in overcoming such temptations. Generally,
a healthy person is endowed with a will stronger than that of a weak person.
Figure 1.5: Sports-mark of civilizations and harmony among different nations
The media are now promoting sport in an unprecedented manner and

interest has increased enormously. Participation in sport is widely accepted as
a beneficial, convenient and popular means of exercise and improved fitness.
The boom in sports has been catalyzed by the increase in school and
community involvement, such as coaching schemes at local centres, and by
increase in leisure time and healthy life expectancy, which means sports
participation increasingly extends into and beyond middle age. While sports
participation has undoubted advantages, such as improved physical fitness,
cardiovascular performance, strength, speed , response and reaction times,
these have to be traded off against possible adverse effects. The latter may
include penalties in terms of time, money and competitive stress which may
result from performing poorly, but more seriously there is the risk of injury.
Hooliganism, professional fouls, gouging in rugby, elbow injury in soccer,
assault, bribery, drug abuse, racism and political boycotts are also unwanted
byproducts of today’s sports. This is the malaise within society and is definitely
a travesty of the sporting ideal.
To conclude we may say that sport, recreation and play are the fun way to
learn values and lessons that will last a life time. Sports promote friendship
and fair play. Sports teach team work, discipline, respect, and the patience,
skills necessary to ensure that children develop into caring individuals. Sports
prepare young people to meet challenges they will face and to take leadership
roles within their communities. In fact, sport teaches us humility in victory,
a genuine recognition of talent in others and that ultimately we all depend
on one another.
Chapter 2
Vision
Vision may be defined as an act or an art of seeing. It is an act as we do it and

is an art because we need to practice and refine it. It may be with contact
lenses on, or spectacle or without any optical aid. It can be maximized by the
correct use of lenses and the right choice of tints. Visual acuity, on the other
hand, is a time dependent measurement of retinal health and is specified by
the date on which the eye examination took place. It is measured with the
help of various eye test charts in a clinical environment. If it is measured by
Snellen’s chart, 20/20 or 6/6 is taken to be optimum visual acuity, denoting
the perfect eye sight. Optical aberrations, such as, nearsightedness,
farsightedness, or astigmatism reduce visual acuity. Eye diseases, such as,
cataract, glaucoma or retinal degenerations can also reduce visual acuity.
An instant improvement in vision due to the use of correct filter or lens, will
have a long term effect on the preservation of visual acuity. Visual acuity
needs to be preserved to maximize vision through out the life. This in turn
will allow prolonged enjoyment of the sport and if a sport can be enjoyed, it
will be played for longer duration of life, which means the athletes maintain
a healthy lifestyle, meaning potential to increase the life expectancy. This
explains why vision is so much important for the life.
Is this 20/20 or 6/6 is the true indicator of perfect vision? The answer is
pretty simple. It all depends on how the professionals, eye doctors or nurses
define it. Devised in the 1800’s by an eye doctor Snellen’s chart took 20/20 or
6/6 as an arbitrary standard of what size letters most people who do not need
glasses agreed that they could see from a distance of 20 feet. So this 20/20 or
6/6 visual acuity or eye sight merely means you can see a particular size of
letter at a distance of 20 feet or 6 metres. Visual acuity and vision are vastly
different. Vision is the ability to take in the information through the eyes and
derive meaning from it. Visual acuity has little to do with how the taken
information is processed and integrated so that it has some meaning. Good
vision also involves the ability to use the eyes for extended period of time
without discomfort, to analyze and interpret information and to respond to
what is being seen. It is learned ability and can be enhanced. It allows us to
understand things that we cannot touch, taste, smell or hear. Vision is the
process by which we perceive the space as a whole. Good vision goes beyond
the measurement of 20/20 or 6/6 visual acuity. It also includes normal
binocular vision, good depth perception, good peripheral vision,

accommodation – vergence facility, oculomotor skill, glare recovery time and
if we go a little deeper into the application proprioceptive system, which
allow us to respond to our environment. Thus vision is the act of perceiving
and interpreting visual information with the eyes, mind, and body, where
the role of light is fundamental. Once light reaches the eye, signals are sent to
the brain, where the information is processed. The whole process, as complex
as it is, would not be possible if it were not for the presence of light. Without
light, there would be no sight.
Unfortunately, most eye doctors do not spend time to diagnose or treat all
those elements of vision. Very few of them have interest or specialized training
in detecting and treating these vision related abilities. All eye examinations
are not similar. These are the strong elements which severely effect visual
performance and in occupations like sports, they severely affect peak
performance of the athlete .When we talk about sporting performance at the
peak level, we can not rule out any such element of vision as it may affect
their reaction ability. The surprising thing is that they do not even complain
or tell others about the disorder of these elements, because they themselves
do not even realize they have a problem. We are all focusing in working
upon the physical ability of the athlete and their equipments to improve their
sporting performance. But we always tend to forget our eyes which are the
source of our vision. In all our reaction to an information, our eyes lead and
the rest of the body follows. If the leader is week in any of its elements, how
can you expect the peak performance by rest of the factors.
Figure 2.1: Mechanism of vision

Vision 9
HOW DO WE SEE?
The eyes are the wonderful sensory organ. They are the medium to our visual
perception ability. Light from the object travels through the air and strikes to
the tear film and then to the cornea and enters into it through the pupil. The
crystalline lens inside the eyes converges these light rays onto the retina. The
tear film, cornea, aqueous humor, crystalline lens , vitreous humor- all together
form a convergence system which produce inverted image of the object on
the retina . The retina being excited , changes these light rays into the electric
signals and then sends them to the brain, which interprets these electric
signals as visual images. The iris with the help of its muscles changes the
size of pupil to regulate the amount of light to be admitted to get the proper
image on the retina. The black pigments in the choroid coat prevents any
internal reflection and muscles attached to the crystalline lens changes its
dioptrical value to focus on the retina. The retina is covered by millions of
light sensitive cells, some shaped like rods and some like cones. Rods are
mostly concentrated around the edge of the retina and cones are concentrated
in the middle of the retina, with fewer in the periphery. There are three types
of cone cells – each sensitive to the long, medium or shorter wavelengths of
light. These cells, working together, give the brain enough information to
interpret and name colour. Rod cells mostly transmit black and white
information to the brain, and more sensitive to the dim light vision than cone
cells. That is why peripheral vision is less colourful and we lose colour
perception in dim light. Our eyes are inset in the orbit with the help of six
extra ocular muscles, which controls the oculomotor skill of the eyes during
the process of the vision. To get the clear view of the world, the brain must
turn the eyes so that the image of the object of regard falls on the fovea. Any
failure to make the correct eye movement lead to serious visual disabilities.
Imagine all that a blind man misses even though he has eyes. This is because,
there is some problem either in visual system of the eyes or in the nerves that
connect the eyes to the brain.
In a subject if the focus of the image falls before the retina, the subject is
nearsighted which is corrected by minus correction and on the other hand if
the focus of the image falls behind the retina, he is farsighted, which is
corrected by plus correction. Irregular curvature of the corneal surface results
in focuses at different points, which is known as astigmatism and is corrected
by cylindrical correction.
Figure 2.2: Nearsightedness Figure 2.3: Farsightedness

Figure 2.4: Astigmatism
Figure 2.6: Mesopic vision
Figure 2.5: Photopic vision Figure 2.7: Scotopic vision

Vision 11
PHOTOPIC, MESOPIC AND SCOTOPIC VISION

Human eyes can see over a light intensity of several range. In order to achieve
this, while maintaining good contrast sensitivity, the eye adjusts to the
prevailing condition and changes its mode of operation as light level decline
from day to night. Vision during sunlit day is termed as photopic vision.
Both rods and cones cells are active and is characterized by high acuity, low
sensitivity to light, good colour vision, and constricted pupil aperture
reducing the effect of wide beam aberrations. Scotopic vision occurs during
very low light level in the night and exhibits high sensitivity to light, poor
acuity, no colour vision and wide pupil diameter increasing the effect of
wide beam aberrations. Once the sun is over the horizon, twilight begins and
change from photopic to mesopic and eventually to scotopic vision begins.
Mesopic vision is the term given for the combination between photopic vision
and scotopic vision in low but not quite dark lighting situation. There is a
transition zone between photopic and scotopic vision when the level of
illumination level starts reducing. Both rods and cones are active in this
range of light, with rods more dominating than cones due to lack of light.
This reduces colour perception .This vision is used in a normally lit room, on
a cloudy day, before sunrise, or after sunset. An emmetrope may have a shift
towards low myopia during the extremely reduced illumination. This is
called ‘night myopia’, which is relatively of minor importance, as no visually
resolvable target is visible, when it occurs. When a target is not visible, the
eyes rapidly readjusts. Problem, however, may occur in the initial detection
of the target.
EFFECT OF HIGH ALTITUDE ON VISUAL PERFORMANCE

Research has shown lot of visual disturbances following high altitude exposure.
The filtering affects of the atmosphere decreases with increased height, which
increases the radiation intensity . Increased UV radiation is one of the biggest
risk at higher altitude, which has a long term bearing on the ocular structure.
This is particularly concerning for activities carried out at high altitude on snow
covered terrain or aviation sports. The partial pressure of oxygen in the
atmosphere reduces with altitude, which causes hypoxia. There are lot of
effect of hypoxia on our vision. The prolonged exposure to hypoxia is a great
threat to ocular integrity. It can lead to increased retinal blood flow. When a
hypoxic vascular bed is accompanied by raised retinal venous pressure due
to other stress , the result is the predisposition to intraretinal haemorrhage.
However, studies show that all these retinal changes are reversible within
weeks and that high altitude retinopathy can be prevented by ascending
slowly and use of supplemental oxygen. High altitude also exhibits reduction
in temperature and studies show that eye redness is the most common
complain of RGP lens wearer and soft lens wearer shows slight reduction in
vision at high altitude. High altitude exposure in the early postoperative

period following LASIK can lead to visual acuity fluctuations due to
temporary myopic shift in the refractive error. Possibility of reduction in
visual acuity has also been noted at high altitude. Colour perception has not
found to have been affected. Glare effect is more critical at the high altitude,
especially near the snow covered terrain, which also reduces visual
performance temporarily. Besides, headache, fatigue, dizziness and
symptoms of dehydration affects the visual reaction speed.
Figure 2.8: Underwater imaging is plagued by poor visibility conditions
EFFECT OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

ON VISUAL PERFORMANCE
Aquatic sports are those that take place immediately above or in the water.
There is no refraction of light as the refractive index of the water and cornea
is similar, leaving the eyes with only crystalline lens to do the work of
refraction. That is why all objects become blur. They appear bigger and closer
than what they do in the air. Moreover, there is lot of light loss and scattering
that results from light hitting and reflecting off the particles in the water. It
creates a veil-like blinding effect which also obscure vision. With the
increasing depth , more light is filtered out by the water. There is a selective
absorption of colours such that red is lost first and then yellow. At the extreme
deep, all objects appear blue-grey colour. That is why the world inside deep
sea is blue. Some general guidelines are to be observed while prescribing
contact lenses for water sports. The prescription of rigid lenses should be
avoided in view of the greater risk of loss with this type of lens. Larger,
thicker and low water content lenses provide the greater stability and they
may be more suitable for shorter duration of sports.
EFFECT OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENT ON VISUAL

PERFORMANCE
The sporting performance of an athlete is the function of many variables and
visual comfort during sporting event is one of the important variables. In an
Vision 13
indoor sport, the athlete is confronted with different environment than what
he finds in an outdoor sport. The illumination level and its distribution
pattern, amount of glare, contrast and visual contact with the exterior- all
influence the visual performance. The general quality of the indoor
environment including air quality, humidity and temperature may also have
influence on the visual performance. An increased attention to these
environment factors can certainly improve the overall physiological and
psychological well being and thereby, visual performance which will certainly
improve athlete’s sporting performance. In a nondynamic sport, if the eyes
are static or in indoor environment with no air flow and low humidity,
contact lens comfort decreases. When the concentration is more, contact lens
dehydration is the most common problem, which could also be because of
infrequent and incomplete blinking.
VISUAL AWARENESS AND DECISION MAKING

Vision is the most variable and important of all human senses. Attempting to
observe fast movements in sports places great demands on human vision. Vision
involves many subtle and sophisticated links between the brain, muscles
and eyes. The eyes receives information, transmits to the brain where it is
interpreted and integrated as a three dimensional phenomenon. This
integration is known as “ fusion”. The eyes continuously move throughout
the visual field until something gets our attention, then both eyes focus on
that object. This is known as “fixation”. Fixation are important because focus
ability is limited to a very small area of the visual field, which makes
peripheral vision very important in sports. The information gathered from
peripheral vision is processed quickly to facilitate the detection of motion, so
that our visual focus can be directed to other events. The eye movements of
the athletes have been measured to determine visual search strategies used
in sports. The assumption is that when the performer looks or fixates the
eyes, information is gathered. The location, order and duration of these
fixations are assumed to reflect the perceptual decision making strategy used
to extract information from environment. Good eyes are important for motor
skills like catching a ball or contacting a ball with the bat, but also contribute
to the rapid succession of decisions that comprise tactical elements like player
movement and shot selection in everything from table tennis to soccer.
The visual information so gathered is fundamental to their spatial
orientation, anticipation, timing, reactions, static and dynamic balance. The
focusing of visual attention by the players on important cues during game
will lead to effective anticipation and hopefully correct decision making.
Thus we see that vision leads our decision taking procedure in sporting
activity. However, other factors, such as skill, fitness, fatigue, environment,
sporting knowledge and training also impact on our decision making ability.
The idea is that if we can take the “blinkers” of the athletes and get them react
to what is in front of them, we hopefully can provide them an additional time

to react faster and create more dynamic players. Ideally, we should have
vision training system in our coaching sessions. The dictum should be:
Figure 2.9: Effect of visual fatigue Figure 2.10: Effect of visual fatigue
VISUAL FATIGUE
Look, Think and React
Visual fatigue comprises all those symptoms that arise after excessive stress
on any of the functions of the human eyes. Today in a highly competitive
world, in addition to the assessment of the various other factors, an
assessment of the individual capabilities is required to determine whether
the visual abilities match the visual requirement of the occupation.
Occupations like sports which is highly competitive and where momentary
lapse in visual concentration may result in drastic results, performance of all
the functions of the eye is very critical. Our brain always tries to interpret the
visual information sent to it. When this information is of poor quality, the
brain attempts to improve it by sending feedback signal to the eye. Strain and
visual stress results when this is an almost continuous process. In a normal
day to day life protection against the effects of visual fatigue is an often
neglected factor, that relates to everyday task and has profound effect on the
ability of an athlete to perform, as it decreases the quality of visual input, and
results in poor and slow decision making and reaction time, therefore, poor
performance. Among the most important elements of visual stress are:
1. Uncorrected prescription or binocular instabilities are important reasons
for the visual fatigue. Image not focused on the retina, sends unclear
signal to the brain, resulting in other functions of the eye to compensate
for the blurred image.
2. Breakdown of the accommodation and convergence relationship of the
eye is the most common and frequent cause of the visual stress. The size
Vision 15
of the detail of the task is too small causing problem of focusing and
convergence. Our eyes need to focus onto an object to see stereo image
sharp. Any disparity in the ability of the eyes causes unnatural
environment for our visual system, resulting in stress.
3. High values of the parallax error also causes visual fatigue. Parallax
results in disparity on the eye retinas. If the values of disparity is too
high, oculomotor muscles are compelled to converge the eyes into
unnatural positions, thus causing uncomfortable viewing situation.
4. Sunlight, bright light and glare as well as other environmental factors
such as wind and dust may all cause squinting of the eyes to constrict
the pupil and reduces the aperture as an unconscious way of providing
protection against these disturbing or irritating factors. It also improves
the visual input since the decreased aperture would block out wide
beam aberrations and provide improved picture. Unfortunately, the
squinting, which is achieved by contraction of the muscles, may cause
visual fatigue if this is sustained for a continuous longer period of time.
Besides squinting of the eyes is achieved by tensing the facial muscles
and that in itself results in a general tension in all facial muscles. Once
the facial muscles are tense, the tension moves to the shoulders, back,
arms, body and lastly the legs and therefore, resulting in general body
fatigue.
5. The low contrast between parts of the detail or very high contrast between
the task and its background, may also result in visual fatigue.
6. Environmental factors like flicker from fluorescent lamps, need for
ventilation, overall satisfaction of an individual with environment as a
whole, may also lead to visual fatigue.
Visual fatigue is a critical factor in determining the athlete’s ability. It may
manifest itself as reddening of the eyes, double vision, headaches, poor
accommodating and converging power, reduction in visual acuity and
sensitivity to contrast and speed of perception. The result athlete makes
more mistake, takes more time to decide and reacts sluggishly. Performance
reduces drastically and he starts losing interest in the sport earlier.
IMPACT OF VISION AND VISION TRAINING ON SPORTING

PERFORMANCE
Society has a very indifferent relationship with sports. Most people accept
that we need some exercises to stay healthy and therefore, when we train
ourselves for our sporting activities, we probably work on our aerobic capacity,
endurance, strength, muscle tone and flexibility. But we tend to take our
vision or eyesight for granted. Some critic goes even beyond and argues to
include certain eye exercises to enhance our vision. But the biggest problem
with eye exercises is that some may perform well, others may perform worse
and some other may not have any change and it is very difficult to assign the
reasons for the same. Moreover, medical professionals are not very clear
about the exercises and their importance. New researches in the field of
sportvision by optometrists who now work with athletes have already
established that in most sports nothing affects performance more than the
ability to see clearly and correctly. Whether an athlete is tracking a fly ball,
returning a serve or throwing a pass, it is his eyes that lead his body. People
often forget that eyes are the part of the same physiological system as legs,
hands and general body. If one aspect of the bodily function is healthy, then
all others will be healthy too. People who play sports for longer, because they
are visually able to, will be extending the useful life of their eyesight. The
stamina, flexibility and fine-tuning of the visual system may sometimes
provide with the split- second timing an athlete needs to truly excel at his
chosen sport.
The most obvious way that the optometrists work with the athletes is by
presenting them necessary visual aids either in the form of spectacles or
contact lenses, suggest them suitable tints for various lighting conditions or
in case an athlete does not require any visual correction, they train other
skills of the visual system to perform better. If certain skills are not up to the
mark, he may unconsciously compensate and weak spots may develop in
his sporting ability. These weak spots become obvious to the opponent who,
depending on the level of competition, may play on them. Optometrists teach
athletes how to improve their vision not just for an instant, but for a sequence
of actions. For example changing the position of the head so that his dominant
eye have a clear line of sight to the pitch in baseball, watch the pitcher with
a relaxed focus until the ball is released, and then follow the ball with the
eyes as long as possible before swinging. They also give them advice on
exercises to relieve visual fatigue, such as shifting focus between far and
near objects. A motivated athlete will definitely find lot of improvement
following the optometrist’s advice.
Today in a highly competitive sporting world where one mistake or one
slow reaction can ruin the sporting career, good vision is as important to
sporting performance as good physical conditioning and consistent mental
concentration. As physical conditioning has already proved its worth, visual
conditioning will gain more and more converts. Many studies show that
visual ability of the athletes are better than normal population. They are
better at focus flexibility, reveals greater depth perception or better eye- hand
coordination as well as many other excellent visual skills. Their visual system
is fine tuned to aim and anticipate and respond more quickly to complete a
visual task. It has also been seen that fast eyes are associated with fast sports.
In fact , today in elite level vision is the one thing that makes a difference
between a good athlete and an exceptional one.
Vision 17
PSYCHOLOGY OF VISION AND COMPETITION

Psychological problems are likely to follow from behavioural difficulties
which in turn are often related to vision. The increased stress of competition
can cause athletes to react in a manner that can negatively affect their
performance in sports. They may become tense, their heart rate races, they
break into a cold sweat, they worry about the outcome of the competition,
and find it hard to concentrate on the task in hand. The 4 C’s –concentration,
confidence, control, and commitment are generally considered the main
qualities that are important for successful performance in sports at elite level.
Concentration is the ability to maintain focus. In sports like running, tennis,
squash, chess sustained concentration is needed. Cricket, golf, shooting
require short burst of concentration, whereas intense concentration is needed
in downhill skiing. Little distraction which may be due to inability to focus
or ocular muscle imbalance or visual fatigue may bring in adverse results.
Confidence can be boosts up by visualizing previous good performance and
control over oneself is lost if the athlete becomes irritated, the cause of which
is often associated with poor aiming and anticipation which are primary
visual skills in sports. Commitment is the function of enjoyment. If a sport
can be enjoyed, it can be played for longer, and an athlete can play a sport for
long only if he is visually able to do so. This is similar to the case of the
developing child. The evidence suggests that if a child cannot read and write
because he is not visually able to do so, the resulting deficiency will affect his
growth through out the life.
The primary visual skills in all occupations including sports or reading are
aiming and anticipation. All the occupations can be analyzed in terms of the
proportions of these two skills that are required. In tennis anticipation
predominates and in rifle shooting aiming predominates. In snooker , both
the skills are likely to be equally important. The most important visual skill
in reading is aiming because the need to judge how far away the text is, is
controlled simply by the distance at which it is held. As the distance is fixed by
the reader, very little flexibility or control is needed in the skill of depth
perception. Imagine the level of frustration when the misleading messages are
sent from the eyes to the brain and the reason for which is not understood by
the individual. The main philosophy behind learning difficulties is to give the
brain and the eyes better information so that it can readapt, understand and
control the visual problems that causes the difficulties.
The most amazing fact is that the blind or partially sighted athletes also
participate up to high level, who could perform even better if they could see
more. Similarly, normally sighted people can improve their sporting
performance by using their whole visual system to better effect. The authors
do not mean only wearing corrective lenses but also improving other aspects
of their vision when they are already wearing their best optical correction.
Vision in the “ sportvision” context means far more than the ability to read
the bottom most line of a test chart. It certainly include this (visual acuity) but
also covers a host of other visual faculties, such as, dynamic vision, visual
memory, eye movements, central peripheral awareness, visual reaction time
and focus flexibility. Even in running, a sport one would not generally
associate with good vision, it has been established that both visual acuity
and peripheral awareness are reduced. Million of us know the value of taking
our bodies to gym or the job of taking our teeth to the dentists, but many of us
do not realize the importance of looking after our vision. Specialty sportvision
facilities are helping athletes train skills that many believed were “
untrainable”. Skills like aiming, anticipation, reaction speed, focus flexibility
and thereby sport intelligence. One of the worst mistakes an athlete can
make is to believe that he is born with or without these kinds of skills, and
that they are consequently not trainable. If an athlete wants to be an exceptional
in his chosen sport, he must sharpen his sensory system including visual,
auditory and brain processing speed in addition to physical and mental
conditioning.
SUMMARY
What we have seen is only the tip of the iceberg. In fact vision is the most
important aspect not only in the sports but also in the development of the
reading ability of a child and his development. It represents a marriage of eyes
and brain, an interpretation of colours, light, line and form, clarity, tone
proportion, depth and dimension. As vision diminishes, we see and record
the world completely in a different way. It appears to affect sporting
performance in the most fundamental way and can have profound effect on
the ability to keep the ball in play, hit the clay or to score goals, and this is
particularly important during the formative years. Optometrists in the world
are in continuous research to establish the most suitable way of vision
screening for the athletes. Therefore, the first consideration of the team
managers and coaches should be to make sure all the athletes have a recent
eye examination done by a sportvision specialist optometrist.
19
Chapter 3 Sports and Vision
Sports and Vision
Sport is one of the biggest and most diverse occupations and occupation is
how human being relate to their environment. Each occupation has got its
own visual demand in terms of navigating its own way through the world. A
simple understanding of different characteristics of sports in terms of control
needed or the explosion—gives an indication of the huge visual demands of
this occupation. “ You cannot hit it, if you cannot see it !” Or, “You cannot
catch it, if you cannot see it !” It is intuitively obvious that vision or sight is
very important in sports. Today in a fiercely competitive world, sports people
are always looking for that “elusive” something which will give them an
extra edge over their rivals. And research has proved that “VISION” is that
elusive thing. Sporting performance is strongly related to visual skill.
Generally, the eyes lead and the body follows. Research has shown that
visual performance controls development of sporting performance
throughout the life and for this reason sporting performance is dependent
on the maintenance of established binocular vision. It follows that if there is
deficiency in visual performance, it will inhibit sporting potential. Although
blind or partially sighted athletes also participate up to the high level but
they would perform even better if they could see more. Vision in “sportvision”
context means far more than the ability to read the bottom line of a text chart.
It certainly includes host of other visual facilities. The specific vision
requirements of each individual sport need a combination of the two primary
visual skills of aiming and anticipation (based on depth perception). The
proportion of one to another varies, from nearly all aiming, in sports like rifle
shooting to nearly all anticipation in sports like tennis. Golf combines both
and is highly visually dependent. It is also likely that the individual’s visual
characteristics of an individual athlete may decide his choice of a particular
sport.
Aiming involves correct positioning of the sights in relation to location of
the target. Focusing and convergence ability are the critical aspects for aiming.
We aim with our dominant eye. The dominant eye is the one that focuses on
specific point. It procures and transmits information to the brain a few
milliseconds faster than the other. The dominant eye or the sighting eye also
guides the movement and fixation of the other eye. The other eye gathers
information to help us determine distance, and the relationship of the objects
surrounding our point of focus. The importance of aiming and the dominant
eye has been clearly illustrated in archery. Strongly right dominant athlete
can shoot without closing their non-dominant eye, i.e. left eye, as the brain is
able to ignore what it sees. It is, therefore, always better to keep both eyes
open in a right dominant eye and right hand dominant athlete while aiming
because it maximizes acuity, contrast sensitivity, depth perception and
peripheral awareness. It also stops the muscles around the eyes from getting
tired. On the other side if the left eye is dominant in a right handed archer, it
often has to be occluded to stop it taking over. While aiming, generally there
is an alignment. When a team player hits, nothing is in alignment but in
serve and volley game, the arm and the ball are relatively in alignment,
which is halfway status between the true aiming and no aiming at all. Aiming
is very important in fixed target sports like rifle shooting. Difficulties of aiming
is also seen when there is no fixed target like in golf. In golf aiming is achieved
by general direction of the target assuming it to be through the centre of the
fairway with peripheral awareness and sideway stance to fix up the body
and then hit the ball. In football the ball is kicked by lining up the foot, the
aiming eye and the goal. In fencing, similarly the tip of the foil and a target on
the body of the opponent.
Anticipation is the ability of an athlete to block, hit or avoid a rapidly
moving ball. The athlete anticipates the expected trajectory and the speed of
the ball and then block or hit it. Having good reflexes does not necessarily
guarantee the successful timely hit, if the athlete can not anticipate its direction
and speed. By anticipating a course of action, such as which way the tennis
ball will be hit, or the way cricket ball will turn, response time can be improved.
Anticipation can make up for the physical limitations of reaction time and is
very much affected by visual skills like eye movements, visual acuity, contrast
sensitivity, accommodation facility, glare recovery and eye-hand co-
ordination which are amenable to investigation, correction and therapy. The
ability to anticipate greatly depends on rapid interpretation of visual clues
like ball spin, direction of gaze, speed and direction of bat, body movement,
wind direction, speed of approach, angle of the racket, hand grip, etc.
Physiologically, the human visual system is limited by the rate at which
sensory input is transmitted, i.e. how quickly the image of the ball moves
from the eyes to the brain, and also to some extent by the physical strength of
the player. What makes the difference between a good player and a great
player, a part from physical development, is the ability to anticipate. The
ability to anticipate is the function of depth perception. Depth perception is
an important aspect of normal, healthy binocular vision; a result of good
stereo vision ; the ability to visually judge relative distances between objects
and a perceptual skill that aids accurate movement in three-dimensional
Sports and Vision 21
space. The loss of binocular depth perception robs a person of many sporting
participation. This ability to perceive depth is not innate and unless binocular
vision is established early in life, stereopsis can not develop. The lack of
binocular vision is a serious visual disability that deserves more attention.
Loss of binocular vision decreases quality of life as well as choices in life.
Athletes need to be aware of this as well as full range of treatment options.
Usually, contact lenses are the choice of correction in sports often in
combination with prescription and plano appliance. The exception is the
aiming sports where shooting spectacles are preferable.
The affect of aiming and anticipation is not just peculiar to sport only. The
only thing that distinguishes sport from any other occupation is the level of
the visual demand, which is most extreme in competitive sport. The newly
born child begins to use aiming as they become visually aware. The first
object they reach out to touch, requires their right hand to be in line with their
aiming eye and the object to which they are reaching out. If there is any
problem with eye dominance, the object will not be in the place that they
anticipate it to be. The developing brain will accept it as normal and makes
adaptation and correction to allow for this. This may mean that it takes
longer time to find the object. But the problem of judging where objects are in
space become greater and more dangerous, when the child begins to walk
and move around the room. If they misjudge the position of sharp table edges
and chairs, then they will tend to walk into these instead of avoiding them.
This will have profound effects on their mobility and confidence, in just the
same way that sporting performance is inhibited by poor visual judgement.
The physical development of the child will be inhibited.
In summary, the two primary sport vision skill are very important and
these are common to all sports. Any subtle effects of deficiency in these skills
will be very frustrating.
VISUAL DEMANDS IN SPORTS

Each sport has a proportion of two primary visual skills, i.e. aiming and
anticipation.
There are some sports which are predominantly aiming, like rifle shooting,
archery and pistol shooting, whereas tennis, table tennis, squash are
predominantly anticipatory, i.e. relying more on depth perception. One of
the best examples of sport which is a complete balance between aiming and
anticipation is snooker and this is coupled with a very high visual demand,
another example would be batting in cricket. Now it is possible to do a visual
task analysis to estimate the overall visual demands common to all sports.
Viusual Acuity
Eye watches two objects, for example two black dots,

it will see them under a certain angle
For a visual acuity of 6/6 (20/20), one of the strokes

of the letter subtends one minute of arc at the eye.
Visual acuity of 6/6, the whole letter subtends an angle

of 5 minutes of arc at the eye, and is viewed at 6 metres (20 feet)
Figure 3.1: Visual acuity
Visual Acuity is a time dependent measurement of retinal health and is

specified by the date on which the eye examination took place. It is the spatial
resolving capacity of the visual system, which affects aiming ability of the
athletes. It is most commonly measured statically, and is therefore, also
referred to as static visual acuity (SVA). There are many factors which affect
visual acuity. Contrast and lighting are among the most important factors.
Vision is a function of contrast sensitivity. If the contrast between the object
and the background is low, the object needs to be larger to have similar
visual acuity. Greater illumination tends to improve acuity, but the effect
tends to interfere with vision. Vision may be with contact lenses on, or with
spectacles. An instant improvement in vision due to the correct use of the
correction or the correct use of filter lens will improve visual acuity and will
also have long term effect on the preservation of visual acuity. Vision in
sports is influenced by many factors:
1. Target size and its distance.
2. Speed of target.
3. Speed of the athlete.
4. Contrast of the target against its background.
5. Colour of the target and background.
6. Ambient light level.
7. Position of the luminaries.
8. Precipitation and wind speed.
9. Reflectivity of the playing surface and surroundings.
10. Environmental distractions like rain, mist, fog, etc.
Figure 3.2: Right portion is reduced contrast

and left portion is high contrast
Research indicates that vision measured at low contrast chart is more
likely to elicit a visual deficiency. It also demonstrates to the athlete that the
life is not always played at high contrast and when they see that their vision
is adversely affected at low contrast, they understand the idea that this is
going to affect directly their play when the light is poor and during difficult
situations like dirty kit, or colour blending into the background of the crowd,
rain, mist and early sunset. Therefore, deficiency of performance at low
contrast test chart is significant, even if high contrast vision is reasonably
good.
In most of the sports, the events are characterized by motion, i.e. either the
athlete is in motion or the object is in motion. It is, therefore, argued that static
visual acuity does not provide a realistic representation of visual acuity
demands. Unless the dynamic visual acuity threshold is determined, the

true picture of visual acuity can not be assessed. The term dynamic visual
acuity is defined as the ability to resolve the details when there is relative
movement between observer and the test object. The measure of visual acuity,
while there is relative motion between the object and the observer is termed
as Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA). Since most sports are dynamic, dynamic
visual acuity may be an important variable in sports performance. The small
correlation that does exist between static visual acuity and dynamic visual
acuity decreases greatly as target velocity increases. Unfortunately testing of
dynamic visual acuity is seldom practiced in regular optometric assessment
routine. However, several researchers group have attempted to develop a
suitable test for dynamic visual acuity. Yet standardization of these tests is
limited due to many factors:
• Males have slightly higher dynamic visual acuity than females.
• Dynamic visual acuity worsens with age. Dynamic visual acuity rapidly
develops between the age of 5 and 15, peaking at approximately 15 years
and declining steadily from the age of 20 years.
• Level of athletic performance, particularly, participation and training on
dynamic visual acuity. Elite athletes possess visual abilities superior to
those of ordinary athletes. Athletes in dynamic sports might have innately
superior dynamic visual acuity or might have developed superiority
through repeated practice.
• In order to reduce the variables, dynamic visual acuity assessment are
designed on the basis of restriction of either the target or the subject’s
motion. In restricting target motion, the subject is encouraged to move the
head at a certain frequency, but this can never be precisely measured.
Target motion may be more easily controlled and monitored.
Dynamic Visual Acuity is related to the efficiency of the entire oculomotor
system, with eye movement playing an important role. The maximum velocity
at which a target in motion can be followed accurately by the eyes is
approximately 40 deg/sec. Smooth pursuit eye movements are responsible
for the continued foveation of the target in this tracking eye movement. At
angular velocities above 40 deg/sec the eyes cannot track targets accurately.
Saccadic catch-up is utilized along with the pursuit system to keep the target
foveated. The ballistic movement of saccades can be used to foveate intervals
of a target trajectory, with angular velocities up to 1000 deg/sec. Also used
in conjunction with saccade and pursuit eye movements is the vestibular
ocular reflex. This reflex is responsible for eye movements that compensate
for head, body and external move-ment, to maintain a stable retinal image.
The immediate understanding from the above is very clear that vision is
the most important aspect for sports. It directly affects the ability of an athlete
to hit the target or to pass a ball or to score a goal. If vision is degraded, it may
adversely affect aiming, stereopsis, focusing ability and thereby performance.
BINOCULAR VISION
Figure 3.3: Each eye captures its own view and

the two separate images are sent on to the brain
for processing. When the two images arrive
simultaneously in the back of the brain, they are
united into one picture
Binocular vision pertains to the motor coordination of the eyes and the
sensory unification of their respective views of the world. It allows us to
perceive depth and carry out detailed visual processing. The images projected
by each eye are aligned and matched up in brain regions called the visual
thalamus and cortex, wherein both the images are successfully combined
into one image. The combined picture appears to have three-dimensional
because it has added depth dimension. In today’s competitive world
stereoscopic binocular vision is very important to provide information
everywhere whether in school or in workplace or on sports field, or in making
a judgement about depth. The binocular individual also has the advantage
of a large field of vision which is usually 30 degree larger than monocular
field. Binocular visual acuity is normally better by approximately half a line
of letters on the Snellen’s chart, compared with either eye alone. The difference
is even greater when there is uncorrected acuity in each eye. Binocular
summation of ocular images significantly heightens contrast by about 40%.
Practically speaking binocular vision makes a profound difference between
binocular sight and the monocular sight.
Sporting performance is dependent on the established binocular vision.
This is not just an immediate effect, but because anticipation based on depth
judgement is affected, confidence will be lost and the normal development of
muscle groups through playing sport efficiently will be inhibited and longer
this goes on, the harder it will be to reverse the problem and therefore the
maladaptation. This has been proved in tennis, where blurring the vision in
non-dominant eye had been found to have profound effect on the ability of
the player to hit the fast approaching spinning ball. The strongly dominant
right eye swamped the vision of the non-dominant eye and made the player
effectively monocular which prevented him to judge distance, thereby
inhibiting anticipation. Even in aiming predominant sport like shooting
and archery, it has been proved that strong right dominant athlete can shoot
without closing their left eye, because the brain is able to ignore what it sees.
It is always better to keep both eyes open because this maximizes acuity,
contrast sensitivity, depth perception and peripheral awareness, and stops
the muscles around the eyes from getting tired. In a research conducted by
sportvision group it was found that one of the archer’s right dominant eye
was slightly short-sighted. With her vision of the target already slightly
blurred, when the string partially covered her right eye as she aimed, it
reduced her view so much that the left eye took over. During the aiming
process, this happened sub- consciously–her brain did not know which eye
was providing the information. Unfortunately, left eye was not in line with
the peep sight and the arrows were shot to the left of the gold. The problem
was corrected with a minus 0.75 D soft contact lens in her right eye.
Depth Perception
Figure 3.4: Stereoscopic vision or having depth
Depth perception is an important aspect of normal, healthy vision and is

the result of good stereo vision. This provides the ability to visually judge
relative distance between the objects and to percept accurate movement in
three-dimensional space. The two eyes see one object individually and creates
the disparity between two images. This disparity gives us the ability to
perceive depth. This ability is not innate and unless binocular vision is
established early in life, stereopsis cannot develop, leading to poor depth
perception ability.
Depth perception is an important skill for anticipation, i.e. to judge the
distance and the speed of the target. Sports like tennis, squash are highly
dependent on depth perception. The critical visual components in tennis is
depth perception and binocular visual acuity. With these two components
the direction and the speed of the ball can be anticipated. Using this
information and proprioceptive feedback from the arm and wrist, the racket
head can be angled for the return shot. So aiming follows anticipation which
is the result of depth perception. If there is any delay anywhere in between,
shot will not be executed in time. So poor timing also seems to be associated
with reduced stereopsis. In cricket also it has been seen that when a player in
the outfield runs to catch a ball, correct timing depends upon the correct
judgement of distance and speed of approach of the ball.
Depth perception is important even in aiming predominant sports like
shooting or hunting. If an athlete is consistently over or underestimating the
distance of the target, poor depth perception may be the reason, which may
be because of uncorrected hyperopia or anisometropia.
Central-Peripheral Awareness
When a subject notices something right in front of him that may be important
to his occupation, he fixates the visual image in central portion of his visual
field. Peripheral vision is usually used to detect information that may be
important for the safe and effective navigation of the work. When we talk
about central- peripheral awareness, we mean to define it as the ability to
keep focused centrally while being able to perceive what is going on at either
side of the athlete without turning the head. Since much of the happenings of
the sports does not happen directly in front of the athlete, it is important to
have the ability to see action to the side without having to turn the head.
Sports like soccer and rugby may not have a high visual demand, but requires
strong peripheral awareness. This does not mean that central vision is not
important. The primary dictum in all sports is “keep the head as still as
possible and also move the eyes as minimum as possible”. This establishes
the importance of central-peripheral awareness in sports. In some sports like
boxing and motor racing, central peripheral awareness can be life saving.
Central peripheral awareness is very important and it affects both aiming
and anticipation. In tennis where some aiming is required, is based on
peripheral awareness and body position on the court.
Central vision is no doubt important, but so is the way in which peripheral
awareness interacts with the central vision. In many sports, not only is
peripheral awareness key to competitive ability, but it can also be directly
affected by deficiencies in central vision. Any residual uncorrected refractive
error will tend to diminish visual performance and make the athlete less
peripherally aware. The visual system tends to concentrate on the most
important aspect and usually the priority is given to foveal fixation. It has
been seen in racing drivers, peripheral awareness decreases as the speed
increases. The evolutionary reason for this, is that the immediate danger is in
front, and secondary danger from objects approaching from the side has a
smaller priority. Whenever vision is compromised, it is central vision which
receives the greatest attention, often to the disadvantage of peripheral

awareness.
The peripheral visual system is more primitive part of the whole and its
original purpose is to detect movement. A relaxed athlete who is peripherally
aware, will be able to detect the movement of the ball or other players, much
quickly than someone who is concentrating too much on deficient central
vision. In sports like football, where acuity demand is not the greatest, this is
a big advantage for the players. The peripheral system is very fast at detecting
movement, whereas central foveal area is relatively slow.
Peripheral awareness can be maximized using high based curve lenses or
contact lenses. Contact lenses avoid blind areas in the field of vision caused
by lens aberrations with positive lenses, and the loss of vision because of the
rim of the frame and the blurred vision when the eyes look beyond the rim.
Eye-hand-body Coordination
Figure 3.5: Eye-hand-body coordination
Eye leads and the rest of the body follows and good coordination starts with
good vision. Eye-hand-body coordination is how your hand, feet and body
and other muscles respond to the information gathered through your eyes. It
is not innate and is developed pretty early in the life and can be improved
further with various exercises. It is an important part of most of the sports
because it affects both timing and body control specially in fast moving
sports where eye-hand coordination and body, movement in response to
visual information is very critical. Good eye-hand and body coordination
necessitates that the athlete should be aware of his whole body and the
relationship to its parts. A key to body awareness is the awareness of the
centre and then the crucial to the hand and body response is the awareness
of the position of the opponent with respect to your position, which needs
peripheral awareness.
Accommodation Vergence Facility

Accommodation is the ability to change focus from near to far and vice-
versa. Vergence is the ability to rapidly and accurately fuse the two images
from two eyes into one image when focus is changed from near to far
(divergence) and from far to near (convergence). The two eyes work as a team
to maintain this in all direction of gaze and also when focus changes from
point to another. Any deficit in this ability, a slowness or a slackness can
lead to double vision and impede anticipation and reaction time and thereby
affecting the performance of the athlete.
Accommodation vergence facility facilitates the speed of the eye to focus
clearly and accurately at different distances, which depends on the good
oculo-motor control and cognitive ability. In modern sport, downhill skiers
traveling at a speed of up to 80 mph and ice hockey players trying to hit a
small dangerous puck, develop eye speed to almost superhuman levels. It,
therefore, appears that fast eyes and fast sports go together.
Physiologically eye muscles are same as leg muscles and physio-chemical
responses underlying their activity are similar. The extra ocular muscles are
also under the same hormonal influence as the other skeletal muscles, but
they are isolated from the external rigours of training and normal physical
development. The speed of muscles decreases with age which reduces the
accommodative ability. In fact skeletal muscles are very adaptable. Their
efficiency can be improved and maintained by various exercises.
Glare Recovery
Figure 3.6: Right side shows Figure 3.7: Effect of glare

effect of glare effect of glare
Glare is a visual perception created when external light scattered within

the eye to cast a hazy veil over the retinal surface, thus reducing the contrast
of the retinal image. The reduction in the contrast causes reduction in the
visual performance which is termed as Glare disability. It may occur in the
presence of an extremely bright direct light source like sun or lighting

luminaries, then it is known as Direct glare. The reflective glare, on the other
hand is the concentrated light that bounces off the shiny surface, such as,
lake, a wet road, snow, or glasses. Ocular media opacities also causes light
scattering within the eye resulting in glare.The effect of glare often results in
squinting, headaches, fatigue, eye strain, impairs vision and makes colours
less vibrant. Studies have shown an individual’s age and eye colour also
contribute to disability glare. Glare problem is often taken as a serious threat
to the performance of the athletes. In sports glare can be caused by stadium
light, camera flashes from spectators, surrounding environment, excessive
sunlight, luminaire arrangement, etc. The effect of glare seems to be difficult
to eliminate. However, it can be minimized by good design of lighting
arrangement.
Glare recovery is the time taken to recover from the effect of disability
glare. Susceptibility to discomfort glare because of hypo-pigmentation in the
iris and retina, aberrations from a large pupil, or fluorescence of blue and UV
light in the ocular media, could be helped with an appropriate tint. A course
of action would be confirmed after a full eye examination.
Oculomotor Skill
Oculomotor skills are the neuro-muscular control skills developed to point
the visual system on the target and move it to either follow a moving target or
jump from one object to another. The basic skill is developed in the infancy
and refined through the early years. Clear vision occurs when a precisely
focused image of the object of regard is centred on the fovea and the accurate
eye movements or oculomotor skill maintain the relationship. The
components of oculomotor skill include:
1. Fixation
2. Vestibular and optokinetic movements
3. Saccades
4. Pursuit movement.
Fixation
Fixation is the ability to direct and maintain steady central visual attention
on the target. It needs the combined involvement of all types of eye movement.
Saccades
Saccades eye movements are abrupt shifts in fixation. A good clinical average
velocity to consider would be about 300 degree per second. The velocity of
saccade changes during its course, being faster at the beginning and slower
towards the end of the sweep. There may be several performance problems if
the saccadic eye movements is poor. Words may be omitted, lines may be
skipped, frequent loss of place while reading, finger reading may indicate
the need of hand support, excessive head movement. The subject may present
the history of trouble hitting a ball, or doing poorly in an event, or poor eye-
hand coordination.
Pursuits
Pursuit eye movement refers to the movement of eye fixating a moving object.
The speed of pursuits is about 40 degree per second. They may be slower but
not faster. If the target velocity is too high, the pursuits breaks down into a
jerky motion and faster saccade has to play in order to regain the fixation.
Drugs, fatigue, emotional stress and even the test anxiety may adversely
effect pursuit. Pursuit eye movement is very important in sports. For example,
it would be much more difficult to track a tennis ball accurately if head
movements are necessary, because the gross neck muscles are not as efficient
as the finely tuned extra ocular muscles.
Vestibular and Optokinetic Movements

The reflexive vestibular ocular system stabilizes the eyes on a target during
head movements. It generates slow eye movement in response to head
movements. This is present at birth. This is an orientational reflex not
requiring visual stimuli. Optokinetic reflexes are essentially slow eye
movements in response to image movement.
The immediate practical implications is that in many sports, vision may
be the single most important barrier to enhance performance. It is likely to be
the most important consideration in the preparation for competitive sports.
This does not mean that vision enhancement makes a great athlete. It simply
removes the barrier to enhance athlete’s performance and allows them to
compete at least on equal terms. It is likely that the great athletes in highly
visual sports will have great eyes. They simply would not have achieved
that level of performance without them. Managers, therefore, need to ensure
that teams are screened regularly. It is a common experience of most eye care
practitioners that many of us are unaware that their vision is under
performing and athletes are no exceptions. At least all athletes should be
screened regularly to inform them about the visual process and to make sure
they have no deficiencies as even the smallest amount of blur in just one eye
can directly affect the ability to hit a target or score goals.
Table 3.1: Primary skill in different sports

Sports Important visual skill
Cricket Anticipation (Batting)
Aiming (Bowling)
Eye-hand coordination (Fielding)
Football Peripheral awareness
Eye-hand coordination
Archery Visual acuity
Glare recovery
Yachting Peripheral awareness
Oculomotor skill
Table Tennis Oculomotor skill
Snooker Depth perception
Accommodation vergence facility
Hockey Dynamic visual acuity
Tennis Anticipation
Clay pigeon shooting Anticipation
Visual acuity
Oculomotor skill
Downhill skiing Contrast sensitivity
Dynamic visual acuity
MAINTENANCE OF SIGHT
The vision enhancement side of optometry says that vision and sporting
performance are directly linked.Vision has profound implications on the
ability of an athlete to perform. This automatically establishes the importance
of its maintenance. The good vision or the enhanced vision, if not maintained
can not provide a long sporting life to the athlete. People who play sports for
longer because they are visually able to, will also be extending the useful life
of their eyesight. One thing intimately depends on the other. One of the main
aspects of sports is that it is often played outside during all sorts of weather
conditions, including bright sunlight or conditions where there is strong
reflections from the ground or from water or from the surroundings. There is
lot of evidence that non-ionising radiation contributes to an aging effect in
the eye, specially cataract and macular degeneration.
Aetiology of Cataract
It has been accepted that shorter wavelength of the light is more damaging
because of the higher energy contained in each photon of light. Despite, the
blue eyes tend to be more susceptible to macular degeneration and brown
eyes towards cataract. The reason may be the predominant effect in cataract
may be the heat or the low energy in the longer wavelength of red and infrared.
The mechanism is thought to be that the dark iris absorbs heat more readily
than the pale blue iris and acts as a heat sink as it sits over the lens of the eye,
suggesting that environmentally related cataracts are simply caused by the
iris cooking the underlying lens, just like an egg is cooked in a hot frying pan.
Another reason may be suggested as posterior sub capsular cataract is that
discreet area which coincides with the nodal point of the lens through which
all energy is focused and it seems logical that tissues having to deal
continuously with the amount of energy will be more susceptible to
degeneration.
Aetiology of Macular Degeneration

Ocular media absorbs the higher wave lengths of light and therefore, it is
unlikely that macular problems occur because of infrared radiations. Most
UV rays are also absorbed by the ocular media before it arrives at the retina.
But the UV radiation beyond the range of 380 to 400 nm where UV becomes
blue light, is transmitted as we can see them. Every photon of light that lands
on the retina causes bleaching effect in the rods and cones, which increases
the metabolic demand of the eye and regeneration of the pigments within
these cells, producing the metabolic by-products which have to be dispersed
by the blood system. If the demand is too great as it might be in over exposure
to intense sunlight, especially with highly reflective surfaces on the ground,
then normal metabolism falls behind in the demand to clear up these by-
products which are typically called macular drusen. The build up of drusen
eventually form a barrier between the photo receptor cells and the underlying
bed of vascular tissues. The characteristic response for any tissues within
the body, when it is deprived of oxygen is to send out chemical messengers to
stimulate the formation of new vessels and these new vessels form underneath
the macular in a circular pattern corresponding to the geography of the
macular, and like new vessels are prone to leaking plasma and blood and
this is the beginning of the end stage of macular detachment and macular
degeneration.
This strongly supports the clinical importance of dispensing because the
right use of lens materials and filters can prevent the occurrence of cataract
and macular degeneration.
HAZARDS OF NON-IONIZING RADIATIONS

The hazards of non-ionizing radiations can be studied in the following
groups:
• Ultraviolet radiations
• Blue light
• Infra-red
• Visible light
Ultraviolet radiations extends from 380 nm into the lower regions of the
electro-magnetic spectrum. They are the shorter wavelength end of the
spectrum and are more damaging to the eyes. The extent of damage depends
on the intensity of the energy reaching the tissue and the time of exposure.
Any part of the eye or adnexa, which is impacted by shorter wavelength
radiations is at risk. Those point which bring light to focus are, therefore, at
greater risk. This includes the nodal point of the lens and fovea. The posterior
sub-capsular cataract in the proximity of the nodal point, is always more
affected. Since the ocular media absorbs UV strongly, particularly the cornea
and the lens, this has reduced its effect on the retina. Only a small part of
spectrum that does reach the macula is between 380 nm and 400 nm is the
cause of concern.
The region above 780 nm is referred to as the infra-red end of the spectrum.
The effect of radiant energy from the infra-red region, depending upon the
intensity and degree of duration, has thermal effect. Of the total incident
infra-red radiation energy more than 90% is absorbed by the cornea, iris,
lens, and vitreous, only a small percentage reaches the retina, thus affecting
all the tissues of the eyes. Infra-red has been a neglected area of importance,
referred to as the cause of glass blower’s cataract. The relationship between
cataract and macular degeneration is interesting. If the cause of macular
radiation is non- ionizing radiation, then absorption of this radiation at the
lens, developing sclerosis will actually prevent macular changes. It seems
clear that those eyes which let light in most easily are at greater risk of macular
degeneration due to non-ionizing radiations.
Between 380 nm to 780 nm the energy is transmitted to excite the sensation
of vision and usually does not have any harmful effects on the tissues under
the ordinary intensities of radiation. But it should be remembered that if the
light is of sufficient intensity, as in the Mediterranean heat of summer sun,
enough photons of light will have the same accumulative effect on the retina
and the lens.
The blue light hazard remains a controversial topic. Unlike UV light, blue
light is visible to us. They are also very short and scatter easily, so a great
deal of the glare we experience from sunlight is because of blue light. It’s
shorter wavelength end is also the carrier of UV radiations.
OTHER PATHOLOGIES
Besides, cataract and macular degeneration, there are other pathologies
which are peculiar to the non- ionizing radiations.
Pinguecula
Pinguecula is a small area of conjunctival degeneration which frequently
occurs nasally to the limbus. It is thought that one reason for its particular
location is the refraction of side incident light by the cornea. This effect can
be seen clearly with a pen torch shone to the side of the eye. The focusing of
the light in this area causes the typical degeneration seen in pinguecula, of a
slightly raised yellowy area of tissue. This is typical of a benign lesion caused
by sunlight.
Pterygium
Pterygium is an extension of conjunctival tissue onto the epithelium of the
cornea, due to a breakdown in the structure of the eye at the limbus. The
limbus is very important as a source of stem cells which regenerate the corneal
epithelium and form a barrier between the conjunctiva and the epithelium.
The breakdown of this barrier, is likely to have the same etiology as the
pinguecula which occurs in the same area on the eye. It is simply due to over-
exposure to sunlight and UV.
Basal Cell Carcinoma

This is one of the several signs of malignancy, typically related to over
exposure to UV radiations occurring in the soft tissues of the adnexa.
36
Chapter 4
Visual Needs in Tennis
Tennis is a dynamic sport and is played with a racket and a ball on a court
divided by a net. It can be played by two players (singles) or four players
(doubles). The object is to propel the ball over the net in such a way that it
bounces in court and beats any attempt by an opponent to return it.
Tennis is played by both men and women on a great variety of court surfaces.
The size of the court varies depending on whether a singles or doubles match
is being played, but the height of the net is constant. Each player has a
special racket to hit a hollow rubber ball with. Play begins with a service,
each player serving in turn for one game. The opponent returns the ball
across the net so that it falls within the other player’s court. The ball is
allowed to bounce only once after being struck, and a rally is broken when a
player allows the ball to bounce twice or causes the ball to hit the net, or land
outside the court or misses the ball. Thus when a rally is broken, the opponent
gains a point.
Figure 4.1: Anticipating to aim the racket to serve

Visual Needs in Tennis 37
Tennis is predominantly an anticipatory sport. In tennis the ball has to

travel only 24 metres before it reaches the returner. The speed of ball traveling
makes anticipation very important visual element. In fact, the evidence
suggests that for a ball served at 150 km per hour, the responding player only
gets half a second to determine the speed, direction and spin of the ball
before executing the shot. Accurate anticipation relies on two forms of
information—prior information, based on knowledge of how a particular
opponent usually play and detection of visual cues that predict the direction
and force of the opponent’s response. The ability to anticipate what is about
to happen and when, provides a distinct edge to a player over another.
Together with it there is a residual aiming requirement when the racket is
directly in line with the aiming eye as it might be during a serve or a hit.
While aiming, generally there is an alignment. When a team player hits,
alignment is missing, but in serve and volley arm and the ball are relatively
in alignment, nearly halfway status between true aiming and no aiming at
all. In tennis, the player constantly focuses on the net with fixing bars at the
two sides. This gives the cues to the position in relation to opponent and the
aim is achieved with body alignment with the net. Hence aiming is not very
important and is achieved using the subliminal cues. The visual need in
tennis under its various components can be as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Tennis is a fast moving sport where either the target is in motion or the player
is in motion and the time available to the player to react is very short, requiring
fast reaction time. Dynamic Visual acuity is very important and since it is played
with coloured ball and a specific background, there is a good demand for
contrast between the two. Static visual acuity is crtical while fixation during
serve. Small target size, speed of the target and the player and a great demand
for anticipation introduce some very complex visual equation for the brain to
compute. If vision is degraded, it may disrupt aiming and thereby
performance. Colour vision is not very critical as it is played with
predetermined set of colours.
BINOCULAR VISION
A perfectly balanced binocular vision is very critical visual skill in tennis as it
affects depth perception which has a direct bearing on anticipation. Since tennis
is predominantly anticipatory sport, binocular vision will immediately affect
the performance. This is also important visual skill to have the awareness of
complete playing court and the position of the opponent so that the return
shot can be placed to the advantage. Importance of contrast also necessitates
good binocular vision.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 4.2: Depth perception–anticipating the

speed and the direction of the ball
Probably good depth perception ability is the biggest attribute of the elite
tennis player. This is an important visual skill to anticipate the speed and the
direction of the ball and also to judge whether the ball will land in or out of the
bounds. This is also critical for accurate shot placements and becomes most
important during serve to keep the spatial awareness of the tossed ball so that
the racket is correctly aimed at the ball.
CENTRAL-PERIPHERAL AWARENESS
The player must concentrate centrally on the opponent’s court position and
the possible direction of the ball which will come off his opponent’s racket.
Meanwhile he must be peripherally aware of where the net and the boundary
lines of the court are. It helps in picking up lob shots when running backwards
while looking over your shoulder. However, in doubles the player must have
additional peripheral awareness of his partner’s body and racket to avoid
collision and injury.
EYE-HAND COORDINATION
Figure 4.3: Fast detection of approaching ball to

bring hand in line with its direction
Visual Needs in Tennis 39
In tennis the eyes detect the position of the fast approaching ball, the
information of which is transported via optic nerve towards the central
nervous system. The incoming information is identified by comparison with
past experiences, allowing for a decision on the most appropriate response.
Once the movement sequence or motor program has been selected, the motor
neurons transport the relevant information to the muscular system, where
information about the force and timing of muscular movements allows for
an efficient response. All the above procedure happens very quickly, the
novice or average player takes time to organize his response. He may seem
fast, but not quick enough to beat an elite competitor. The speed of the tennis
necessitates fast eye hand coordination.
ACCOMMODATION VERGENCE FACILITY

This is an important visual skill in tennis. The player who is serving needs to
focus on immediate target and then to opponent’s position at the opposite end
to place his shot. The receiver, on the other hand, has to focus on the server’s
racket, his body movement and then to fast approaching ball. The player has
to have the ability to shift the focus rapidly through out the contest even during
general body stamina is running down due to heavy exertion. Poor focusing
ability will severely affect anticipation and poor convergence will affect aiming.
GLARE RECOVERY
Mostly tennis is played outdoors under the bright sunlight condition. So lob
shots may get lost in the sun momentarily, if dazzle is caused to the retina.
The player must recover quickly before the next return shot is imminent.
Longer duration of the sport also necessitate the glare protection as it causes
headaches, visual fatigue and impairs vision.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation is critical in serving the ball. Quick, accurate saccades are needed to
follow the rapidly changing location of the player and movement of the ball in
relation to the net and the boundary lines. Studies have shown that if the head
has to move to aid ball tracking, it will not only reduce stamina, but will also
affect the balance.
SUMMARY
This sets the importance of the need of good binocular vision in tennis. The
dispensing becomes important also because of probable ocular injuries which
can occur at the nets specially in doubles. They may be the result of a mis-hit
or partner’s racket.
40
Chapter 5
Visual Needs
in Table Tennis
Table tennis is a fast-paced indoor sport that require individual skill and
excellent eye-hand coordination. The key skills for a successful table tennis
player includes racket bounce, forehand volley, backhand volley and serving.
It is a non weather dependent sport having specific requirements regarding
size of hall, lighting, flooring etc depending upon the level of the competition.
The ball used in table tennis is a light object and its flight can be easily
affected by the gusts of air or the spin of the ball.
Figure 5.1: Different types of serves and shots in table tennis
Table tennis is a visually demanding sport. Watching the ball and the bat
is the best way to make sure that the bat goes to exactly where the ball is.
Watch the ball closely from the time the opponent hits the ball until it hits
your own bat. It is also important to be watching the opponent and what he
is doing, in order to plan where you are going to hit the ball. Otherwise you
are likely to hit a great shot right to where the opponent is waiting for it.
Watching the opponent and anticipating his defensive position are equally
important to have an idea of what shot he is going to play next. Thus
anticipation is more predominant in table tennis. Every time the player
anticipates the speed , spin and the direction of the shot to aim his bat to
execute the return shot. Opponents position, net and the size of the table
Visual Needs in Table Tennis 41
facilitate aiming during return shot. Aiming is also needed while serving to
bring the bat to the line of the ball and place the serve to your advantage.
The visual demands in Table tennis can be studied under its various
components as under.
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 5.2: Watching the ball and the opponent’s movement
Once you hit the ball, you need to watch the opponent closely up until he
makes contact with the ball. Then you should be watching the ball closely up
until you hit it again, and once you have hit again, you should go back to
watching the opponent again, until he makes contact with the ball and so
on. Every time the player needs to watch either the fast moving ball or the
opponent in motion or he himself is moving. So Dynamic Visual Acuity is
very critical in table tennis, as either the target is moving or the observer is in
motion. A table tennis player tracks the objects with different speed and at
different distances. Table tennis is played indoors in low illumination. In
low illumination there is a tendency for the Purkinje shift, i.e, the peak
sensitivity of the human eye shifts towards the blue end of the color spectrum,
thereby ,reducing the contrast. An expert table tennis player will definitely
develop better acuity in reduced illumination than a non player. The
importance of contrast becomes more critical to have a good discrimination
between ball color and the table color. Color vision is not terribly critical as
the ball is easily contrasted against table. The small target size, high target
speed and the need of good contrast establishes the huge demand on good
visual acuity in table tennis. Research has shown that visual acuity in
reduced illumination in table tennis players was significantly developed
than the non players in restricted aspects.
BINOCULAR VISION
The huge demand of focus flexibility ,high contrast , good visual acuity with
the need of some peripheral awareness ,make binocular vision an important
visual need for table tennis player. Any anomaly in binocular vision will disrupt
body balance and cause anomalies of accommodation which in turn will
affect performance. Table tennis, being predominantly anticipatory sport,
the importance of binocular vision cannot be overruled.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 5.3: Spatial judgement of ball
In table tennis the player should anticipate the speed of the ball , its spin
and the direction of opponent’s stroke and the spatial judgement of the ball
in a short time. The player also needs to know the correct spot to place his
shot and to judge whether to play the shot with backhand or forehand or
leave it. Thus, he uses depth perception to decide how to play a shot most
effectively. Depth perception is also important when the ball is tossed high
up in the air before serving.
The table tennis player should also be using his peripheral vision when
hitting the ball to get an idea of where the opponent is moving to and where
he may be vulnerable. Central-peripheral vision should be much better at
locating a far away slow moving opponent in relation to a static table and
then tracking a close up fast moving ball in relation to yourself. This skill is
especially critical in doubles when already fairly small playing area becomes
more congested to avoid collision and injury.
Visual Needs in Table Tennis 43
Figure 5.4: Anticipating ball trajectory to execute his shot
An expert table tennis player should anticipate ball trajectory, direction of

opponent’s stroke and opponent’s stroke movement and accordingly aim his
own bat at the ball to execute his counter stroke. During all such process the
velocity of the ball is very high and the eye should see it clearly, so that the
player can hit the ball successfully. So eye-hand coordination is not only very
important in table tennis but it has to be very fast. The table tennis player
fixates on the centre of the target, i.e. ball and moves their head and eyes to
search for the line before initiating motor movement of the arm or hands to hit
the target. Sometimes the player may not be quick with his hand and wrist,
they may be fast on their feet and have excellent body balance. In table tennis
balancing the body in correct position before executing the shot effectively is
very critical, making eye-hand-body coordination a very important skill.

A table tennis player should fixate on a small ball that moves very rapidly in
free space with lack of spatial clues from opponent’s court to your court.
Additionally, he should see the opponent and the table simultaneously.
Saccadic eye movement fixates only at the first and the last point of fixation.
Therefore, accommodative system should follow fixation point appropriately.
As the ball approaches towards you ,the eye quickly focuses and converges.
After striking the ball ,the eyes diverge and relax accommodation very rapidly
to follow the flight of the ball and the positions of the opponent. So there is a
huge role of accommodative convergence and divergence. The player has to
be able to shift focus from near to far or intermediate targets rapidly through
out the contest, while the general body stamina is running down due to
heavy exertion.
GLARE RECOVERY
This is not a too big problem for table tennis player as it is an indoor game
and is played under light focused on the table right from the top of the table.
General hall lights are not very bright to cause any glare. Perhaps a
photophobic player may suffer glare from the lights directly or from the
reflection caused by the table surface.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Figure 5.5: Saccadic eye movement for fixation
The ocular motor skill is highly critical in table tennis to track the high
speed spinning ball properly and to communicate its relative position in the
space to the neuromuscular system to position the bat to make contact. In
table tennis the fixation points changes as fast as the ball and the position of
the opponent. The velocity of the ball is very high and the eyes should see it
clearly. Therefore, any player who can follow the ball as fast as possible ,he
would be more successful. Saccadic eye movement are used for fixation on
the ball. Suppression takes place in saccadic eye movements. Only the first
and the last point of fixation can be seen and the saccadic pathway is
suppressed. Therefore, the first and the last point is very important from
visual acuity point of view. Smooth pursuit movement is not that important.
SUMMARY
In table tennis the opponent hits the ball and you swing….a little late and
you hit a weak foul down the line or worse you miss the ball completely or
serve. In table tennis the average total time to react to a shot is usually around
0.25 of a second. With lots of training and practice it can be reduced to 0.18 of
a second. This is one of the biggest factors in what separates the greats from
top players, this proves the importance of vision and visual reaction in table
tennis. You need to improve your vision and visual reaction time or the
speed with which your brain interprets and reacts to your opponent’s action.
45
Chapter 6 Visual Needs in Badminton
Visual Needs
in Badminton
Badminton is a dynamic fast paced racket and shuttle sport played as an

indoor or outdoor sport. It is played at many levels throughout the world by
males or females or both together. It can be a fun game on lawn or beach or
highly competitive atheletic game, played at national and international levels.
The object of the game is to hit the shuttle over the nets so that it lands in your
opponent’s court before it can be returned. The important shots to achieve the
object are serve, forehand, backhand, smash, delicate touch and so on. The
rally begins with a serve and is broken when the shuttle falls on the court or
outside the court or at the nets and thus the point is scored.
Badminton is predominantly an anticipatory sport. The shuttle has to
travel 44 feet long distance before it reaches the returnee. This makes
anticipation a very important visual need. The responding player needs to
anticipate the speed of the shuttle, its spatial location in the air and direction
in a very short span of time before aiming the racket in line with the shuttle to
hit. Like tennis aiming is achieved with subliminal cues to the position of the
opponent,net and the court side boundaries. Hence aiming is not very
important in Badminton.
Figure 6.1: Anticipating the shuttle to hit

The other visual elements in badminton are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 6.2: Watching the shuttle in the air
Badminton is a fast dynamic sport where either the player is in motion or

the target is in motion and the time available to the player to react is very
short, requiring fast reaction time. Dynamic visual acuity is more important
than static visual acuity. Since it is usually played with white shuttle,there is
a good demand for high contrast between the target and its background.
Small target size, speed of the target and the need of high contrast increases
the importance of good visual acuity in badminton. If the vision is interrupted
because of the need for correction,it may affect anticipation and also aiming
which is needed to place the shot.
BINOCULAR VISION
A good teaming of both eyes is essential in badminton to have good
anticipation of the fast approaching shuttle. The awareness of the width of
the court and opponent’s position in the court are all influenced by binocular
vision. The big demand of contrast in badminton because of it target color
and high speed also necessitates binocular vision.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 6.3: Judging the speed and direction of the shuttle

Visual Needs in Badminton 47
Depth perception is extremely important for accurate placement of shots,

and to judge the distance and the speed of the shuttle. Also depth perception is
needed for placing the shuttle at the sweet spot of the racket while hitting to
have maximum power. Good depth perception is equally important to judge
whether the shot is in or out the court during the rally.
The player must fixate centrally on the opponent’s court position and on his
racket and torso and at the same time he must be peripherally aware of the net
and the boundary lines of the court to place his shot correctly. Peripheral
awareness in badminton is more important especially in high tossed returns.
Besides, awareness of partner’s body and his racket in doubles is also needed.
EYE-HAND-BODY COORDINATION
Figure 6.4: Excellent eye-hand-body coordination
Badminton is characterized by fast movement from front to back and from

one side to another while looking at the shuttle in the air.In fact there is a good
demand for eye and entire body coordination as the shots are executed once
the body is positioned correctly. The faster the eye communicates the signals
to the central nervous system to bring the body into position, the more reaction
time is available to the player to execute the shot.

Rapid shift of focus at distance, near and intermediate throughout the game
is critical. Moreover, long sustained focusing ability is essential because of
long duration of the game. Ill- sustained focusing ability will affect athletes
performance at the later stage of the game and poor vergence will affect aiming
considerably.
GLARE RECOVERY
Nowadays elite class badminton is mostly played indoors in artificial diffuse
lights, therefore, glare is not a big issue. However, if it is played outside in the
sun, the players must be able to recover fast from dazzling sun while
negotiating with a high tossed return.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
The speed of badminton makes oculomotor skill a very important skill in
badminton. Good, quick and accurate eye tracking ability is needed to develop
the athlete’s performance in badminton. Fixation is needed while serving to
place it at the aimed spot. Saccades are very important to follow the fast
traveling shuttle. Delicate touch placements of shots are great skill in
badminton where pursuit eye movements and reflexive vestibular movements
are essential.
SUMMARY
The shuttlecock is one of the fastest moving racket propelled objects in sports,
making it a highly visually demanding sport. It requires fast eyes and also fast
head movements while keeping the clear image. Although it relatively safer
sport. But the sure speed of shuttlecock indicates the need of eye protection
in badminton.
49
Chapter 7 Visual Needs in Cricket
Visual Needs
in Cricket
Cricket is an outdoor dynamic sport played between two teams consisting of

eleven players each. The main playing arena is known as Pitch which is 22
yards long ,10 feet wide strip. On the middle region of the pitch a set of three
stumps on its either end is digged. The two captains of teams decide their turn
to bat by tossing a coin. Two umpires are stationed in the ground. The two
batsman are on the pitch from the team which is batting and all eleven players
are spread on the field from the team which is fielding. The match is won or
lost by the runs scored by the two teams. One of the players from the fielding
side bowls to the batsman who hits the ball with his bat and the rest of 10
players from fielding side fields the ball. The game basically has three
activities:
1. Batting
2. Bowling
3. Fielding
BATTING
Figure 7.1: Watch the ball, anticipating the speed, co-ordinating eye,
hand and feet to aim the bat to execute the shot
Probably batting is the toughest job in the game as a slight mistake can send
the batsman back to the pavilion. One mistake and his life in the inning is
finished. The bowler can commit mistake and the maximum penalty that he
can incur is to concede a four or a six runs at the most. The batsman, therefore,
must take care of the following points when the bowler runs to deliver the
ball:
• Watch the ball right from the time the bowler starts to run.
• Anticipate the speed and the direction of the ball.
• Co-ordinate eye, hand and feet to strike the ball with the bat at the correct
time.
• Aim the bat to bring it in line with the ball and decide the stroke.
Anticipation is predominant visual skill in batting. The batsman looks at
the bowler’s torso while he is running into bowl and moves his gaze to the
bowler’s hand just before the ball is delivered. He needs to perceive several
visual cues like bowler’s action, the speed with which he swings his arm,
whether he turns his body or drops his shoulder. All these information are
used to anticipate the speed, line and length of the ball. At times perfect
anticipation decides the fate of a batsman in an inning. The batsman, then,
brings his bat in line with the ball to hit it to complete the process of aiming.
Aiming is achieved with the bowler’s torso and the bowler’s hand movement.
BOWLING
Figure 7.2: Aiming to bowl
Bowling is basically of two variables—pace or fast bowling and spin

bowling. There are innumerable kinds derived from these two basic varieties.
The pace bowling is usually characterized by its speed which may vary
between 80 to 150 kms per hour. The spin bowler runs from a shorter distance
to deliver a flighted turning delivery which swings in the air as well as turns
off the pitch. The bowler in fact tries to disguise his bowling action by
movement pattern. The bowler needs to look at the batsman and his position
constantly to aim the ball at the correct spot. Length and direction of the ball
Visual Needs in Cricket 51
is changed by the bowler according to the weakness or strength of the batsman

and also in conformity with the field. Therefore, the bowler needs to aim at
merry spot. The bowling is ,therefore, predominantly an aiming sport. Aiming
is achieved by the batsman stance and by anticipating the type of shot with
the peripheral awareness of the field placements.
FIELDING
Figure 7.3: The fielder is anticipating the direction of the shot to field the ball
All the players of the fielding side are spread on the field to chase the ball
hit by the batsman or to catch it in the air or to pick up and throw at the stumps.
However, there are some specialized positions in the field for which the
technique to field the ball is quite special. Slip fielders on the off –side should
watch the ball coming down the wicket onto the bat with their hands totally
open. Close –in fielders must switch their eyes to the batsman just before the
bowler releases the ball. Fielders away from the wicket must start moving in
when the bowler is nearing the end of his run. The wicket keeping is very
specialized position in the fielding. He must always be vigilant to get a good
sight of the ball so that he can gather it quite neatly. Whatever be the position
of the player in the field, anticipation seems to be predominant visual skill of
the fielder at all positions. To catch the ball , the distance and speed of
approach of the ball has to be judged to aim the cupped hands by lining up
with the ball.
The visual need in various activities of cricket can be:
VISUAL ACUITY
The batsman while batting looks at the running bowler, anticipate the speed
of the approaching ball and aims his bat held in the hands at the ball to hit it.
So there is a need of good dynamic visual acuity because every time he is
watching the object in motion-either the running bowler or the approaching
ball or the hit ball or the fielder running towards the ball. Whereas the bowler
runs the predetermined number of steps to throw the ball at a fixed static
target, so he also needs to have good dynamic visual acuity to aim the ball
correctly. In fact, they need to have good distance vision so much so that they
can see head pin on the pocket to aim the ball. The fielders are repeatedly
looking at the batsman from their position and switch their eyes to the ball as
soon as it is hit by the batsman. They need to have both good static and
dynamic visual acuity. The need of high contrast also increases as the day
passes. Contrast is affected by mist or fog and the game is stopped when the
light level reduces below stipulated level. Color vision is not very critical.
Figure 7.4: Anticipating the speed of the approaching

ball and aiming his bat to hit it
BINOCULAR VISION
Good binocular vision is very important in cricket batting as the batsman
needs to be aware of both side’s field placement to execute his shot into the
gap . Unless binocular vision is established early in the life, stereopsis cannot
develop which affects catching ability while fielding. Besides, good binocular
vision also enhances contrast and thereby visual acuity.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Anticipation is a primary visual skill for the batsman who anticipates the
speed and direction of the ball to hit. The batsman need to develop the spatial
judgement of the ball so that he can time his shot correctly. Poor timing may be
associated with reduced depth perception. In cricket we often see that the
batsman is deceived by the slower ball. The bowler that have success with this
ball are the ones that manage to keep their action exactly as if they were going
to bowl a faster ball. The batsman, anticipates a faster ball, would then make
his decision as to shot that he is going to play at the moment the ball leaves
Visual Needs in Cricket 53
Figure 7.5: Spatial judgement of the ball
the bowler’s hand. By the time he realizes that it is a slower bowl, he often
does not have enough time to change his decision. The consequence is that
he is too early on the shot, resulting in the ball being scooped up in the air.
Depth perception is very important to know the spatial location of the ball
and judge its relative position and direction of it fall in the air while catching.
Depth perception is not so critical while bowling which is predominantly an
aiming activity.
The batsman fixates at the bowler to face the delivery and also looks at the
positions of the fielders so that he can hit at the empty area. Central –peripheral
awareness is critical to achieve the result. Good peripheral vision is very
important for the fielders. Central visual acuity is more important while
bowling.
EYE-HANDS COORDINATION
The batsman hits the ball with the bat held in the hands .He fixates on the
center of the target, i.e. ball and moves his hand and eyes to search for the
position before initiating motor movement of the arm or hand to hit the ball .
So eye –hand coordination is not only very important in batting but it has to be
very fast. Eye –hand coordination is not as important while bowling because
the motor movement of the hands is initiated as soon as the number of
predetermined steps is over and the bowler is onto the crease to deliver the
ball. But again while fielding eyes, hand ,body and foot coordination becomes
very important because if the fielder cannot balance himself while running
towards the ball to pick it up, he will not be able to aim at the stumps correctly.

The batsman looks at the bowler’s torso while he is running into the bowl
and will move his gaze to the bowler’s hand just before the ball is delivered.
Bowlers are bowling from a distance of 22 yards before which they run in
from further away. Besides the batsman has to take the decision when the
ball is still to travel approximately 10 meters. Any decision taken later than
that will be ineffective. So the role of accommodation is almost negligible.
Accommodation does not seem to have any role while bowling. However,
poor accommodative flexibility may result in poor catching while fielding.
GLARE RECOVERY
Usually cricketer use visors while batting and fielding which prevents the
effect of any glare on the eyes. At times during fielding they use glare protection
glasses. Fast glare recovery is very essential while catching a scooped shot.
Glare recovery is not very critical issue while bowling.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Cricket is not as fast as table tennis, although the batsman needs to sail with
the fast swinging ball properly from relatively static position, just by his
footwork. Throughout the pathway of the ball, he needs to keep his eyes on it.
So pursuit movement coupled with saccade is important in batting. Saccadic
eye movement is relatively more important while fielding. But fixation ability
at the target is more important for the bowlers.
SUMMARY
Cricket is predominantly an anticipatory game. In cricket batting response
time needs to be related to the speed of the ball and the length of the pitch.
The fast bowler delivers the ball at a speed of 80 to 150 kms per hour, implies
that the response time has to be very fast—a critical factor specially while
trying a hook shot. Fast response while picking up the ball and throwing at
the stumps may prevent an extra run scored or may fetch a wicket to the
fielding side. Fast reflexes and reactions are the traits of the great wicket
keeper. Visual reaction time is not so critical for a bowler. As far as ocular
injuries are concerned, not much have been reported.
55
Chapter 8 Visual Needs in Baseball
Visual Needs
in Baseball
Baseball is one of the well known sports within the family of bat and ball games.
It is a power hitting, explosive and dynamic sport in which two teams of 9
players each plays against each other. One team has possession of the ball and
delivers it to one of the members of the batting team who tries to hit it. The two
teams take their turn in two distinct roles one after another. The batting team
tries to score runs by hitting ball with a bat which is made of narrow and round
wood, while the members of the other team field the ball in an attempt to prevent
Figure 8.1: Baseball
scoring and put batting players out. A game of baseball consists of nine
innings. The game is played on a diamond shape field, the four corners of
which are home plate, first base, second base and third base. These bases are
square white bags that are secured to the ground. The distance between
bases is 60 feet in most soft ball league. The batter stands next to the home
plate as he tries to hit the baseball . His intention is to advance around the
other bases and return “home”, thus scoring a run. At around the middle of
the diamond, there is a pitcher plate, which is made of rubber. The pitcher
has to have his one foot touching the rubber when he delivers the ball to the
batter. There are basically three aspects of baseball game:
1. Batting.
2. Pitching
3. Fielding
BATTING
Unlike cricket, batting in baseball is mainly characterized by power hitting.
Some batters who are particularly skilled have the ability to place the hit and
direct the ball to desired location. The batter needs to choose a comfortable
stance among closed stance, open stance and even stance. The body weight is
on rear foot with hips and shoulders are at level. Hands away from the body
about 8 to 12 inches on the same plane. No matter what stance the batter is in,
the trick to good hitting is getting the body right behind the line of the pitch.
The ideal hitter would probably have a combination of strength,
determination, coordination, confidence, vision, rhythm, style, body control,
quick hands, and the will to learn and to take advice. In order to get the bat
started, he moves his hands back slightly as the pitcher is getting ready to
release the ball. If you like the pitch, go ahead and hit it. If you don’t like the
pitch, then hold up your swing. To accomplish this successfully the batter
always keeps the eyes on the pitcher’s arm and the ball, anticipates the
speed and direction of the pitch and then aims his bat to bring it in line of the
ball to hit it. Anticipation is predominant visual skill for the batter. Aiming
follows it and is achieved aligning with pitcher’s hand, torso and his stance.
Figure 8.2: Power hitting batting

Visual Needs in Baseball 57
PITCHING
Pitching denotes the delivery of the ball to the batter. The pitcher throws the
ball from the stationary position at the pitcher’s plate using changes in ball
speed and movement caused by air friction and spin to deceive the batter. The
aim of pitching is to prevent the batter from scoring runs and getting them out.
A single pitcher starts the game and makes every pitch until a point where the
coach replaces tiring pitcher with a relief pitcher. The replaced pitcher cannot
return to pitch again in the same game in normal course. Pitcher takes one
step backward and one forward, to aim the ball at the batter. Aiming is
achieved in accordance with the batter’s stance.
Figure 8.3: Aiming to pitch
FIELDING
Baseball is a lower scoring game. The largest combined total runs in a single
game in the history of major league baseball has not yet crossed 100 . Therefore,
moments of poor pitching and individual fielding mistakes are much more
Figure 8.4: Fielding in baseball

costly. A player who is good batter, but not a competent fielder, may not play
in the international games for long regularly. Baseball fielder must throw
immediately after catching the ball. Only the pitcher’s and the catcher’s
locations are fixed, and that only at the beginning of each pitch. Thus, the
players on the field move around as needed to defend against scoring a run.
Many variations of this are possible as locations depend upon situations.
Whatever be the locations, the catcher anticipates the ball in air to aim his
hands to catch the ball and then throw it. Anticipation is predominant than
the aiming while fielding.
The other elements of vision in baseball can be looked at as under-
VISUAL ACUITY
In baseball visual acuity is the most important visual skill to enhance the
competitive edge. A baseball player requires an excellent visual acuity over a
wide range of distances to improve his potential. For example the batter
must see the ball leaving the pitcher’s hand at about 60 feet, or an outfielder
must be able to focus on a fly ball that starts some 300 feet from him. Also , an
infielder must see ground ball all the way into his glove. The importance of
dynamic visual acuity is , therefore, more when referring to a batter trying to
hit a pitched ball, an outfielder tracking the movement of a fly ball as he is
running, and to a base runner trying to pick up any signals that a base coach
may be giving him as he is running. Good contrast leads to enhance visual
acuity and the color vision is not very important because of predetermined
set of colors used for all accessories
BINOCULAR VISION
Good binocular vision is very important in baseball batting as the batter
needs to be aware of his both sides to execute his shot effectively. Unless
binocular vision is established early in the life, stereopsis cannot develop
which affects catching ability while fielding and anticipating ability while
batting. Besides, good binocular vision also enhances contrast and thereby
visual acuity.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Anticipation based on depth perception is the primary visual skill for the
batter who anticipates the speed and direction of the ball in the air to hit. He
needs to develop the spatial judgement of the ball so that he can time his shot
correctly. Poor depth perception may lead to poor timing or missing the hit.
Therefore, the batter must judge where the ball comes from and where it is
heading in order to calibrate the proper swing to hit the baseball. A fielder
must use the same tactics to judge the position and eventual path of a batted
Visual Needs in Baseball 59
Figure 8.5: Anticipating the speed and direction of the ball in the air to hit
ball. He must also judge the distance that they need to throw the baseball.
Depth perception is not so critical while pitching the baseball which is
predominantly an aiming activity.
A baseball player must be aware of all of his surroundings at all times and be
able to utilize his peripheral vision as a means to pick up objects such as a
baseball, then be able to fixate on them. Take the instance of a batter, the batter
knows the general beginning of where exactly a pitch may be coming from.
The same is true for that of an outfielder. The general start of the ball is known,
but exactly where is it going to drop is a question.
The baseball must be recognized in the fielder’s peripheral vision before a
player can jump to it and fixate on it.
EYE-HANDS COORDINATION
The batter hits the ball with the bat held in the hands .He fixates on the center
of the target ,i.e, ball and moves his hand and eyes to search for the position
before initiating motor movement of the arm or hand to hit the ball. So eye –
hand coordination is not only very important in batting but it has to be very
fast. Hard hitting nature of baseball makes eye-hand coordination a very
important skill in baseball. While fielding eyes, hand, body and foot
coordination becomes very important because if the fielder cannot balance
himself while running towards the ball to pick it up or catch, he will not be
able to aim at the target correctly .

A baseball player utilizes focus flexibility or vergence eye movements in
baseball every time the baseball is moving. A baseball player must be able to
focus at varieties of distances both far and near as the ball is moving towards
them while they are batting and when they are running to chase a fly ball that
has flown over the head. Focus flexibility allows a baseball player the ability to
have clear, focused vision at all aspects of the game of the baseball.
GLARE RECOVERY
Since the baseball is played during the day, for the majority of its players, the
importance of glare protection from sunlight cannot be over ruled. A player
may wish to utilize tinted lenses when the sun can be blinding to a fielder.
However, if the baseball is played under the stadium lighting, fast glare recovery
becomes more important. The effect of glare tends to reduce the acuity and
slows down the reaction time, creating a higher possibilities of injuries and
resulting in poor performance.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
In baseball saccadic eye movements, vestibular ocular movements and pursuits
are all used in eye tracking. Saccades are used to scan a wide peripheral area
and can be used to jump the eyes to a new fixation target. Vestibular eye
movements are used to maintain fixation on an object during head movements
when an outfielder is tracking a fly ball as he is running. Pursuit eye movements
are used to track a moving baseball. However, fixation ability at the target is
more important for the pitcher.
SUMMARY
In a study it has been seen that professional baseball players showed excellent
ability to discriminate moving objects against various backgrounds. Compared
to minor league players, they demonstrated higher stereopsis and contrast
sensitivity. Also, a greater number of players in baseball have better visual
acuity than 6/6. However, baseball is listed in the high risk categories for sports
related eye injuries due to baseball being a hard and fast projectile. Younger
players are more at risk because they could easily be hit by a pitched ball because
of their poor skill and slow reaction time. Several organizations have developed
a list of standards for protective eyewear equipments and other used in baseball
to increase the safety of eyes and vision. The most important property of the
protective goggle is a strong polycarbonate lens with a durable and supportive
frame design. Prescription devices in baseball may be designed with padding
that fits comfortably and absorbs shock and provides cushioning effect.
61
Chapter 9 Visual Needs in Golf
Visual Needs
in Golf
Golf is an outdoor sport played with a set of club and a small white ball over
cross country course of eighteen holes. Each hole is several hundred yards
long and have its fixed starting point. The object of the game is to complete
the course which is several miles long, in as few strokes as possible. There
are basically three types of shots-driving, approaching and putting mostly
played in golf. The starting point is a flat ground on which the athlete “tee
up” his ball on a small rubber peg or “tee”. He, then hits the ball towards the
hole, concentrating on achieving distance. From the tee to near the hole is the
“fairway” which consists of fairly smooth ground but not entirely devoid of
natural obstacles. The player continues to play towards the hole, concentrating
mainly on direction . The actual hole is on the “green”. The player covers the
last few yards by the delicate art of “putting”.
Whether the golf is a dynamic or a controlled sport-is very difficult to
categorize. Many people consider golf as fairly relaxing and “ easy on the body”
activity and therefore, consider it to be a sport of lazy people. In controlled
sport action of the event is normally repetitive and continues over many hours
and important skill required is not just hitting the target once correctly and
skillfully, but its consistency over the entire day. Golf is characterized by the
slowness with regard to the speed of the game and the repetitive action of the
three main shots, spread over many hours, which requires long sustained
skill to maintain consistency over the day. This may be the reason why they
put golf into the category of controlled sport. But research shows that
swinging a golf club is highly physical and neurological taxing event . In
fact hitting a golf shot requires the same amount of exertion on the body as
lifting a weight that one can lift four times before having to rest. And the
number of such strokes through the game is also not less. Even an amateur
golfer can swing the ball at over 100 mph . 90% of all their muscular strength
is needed to execute it which is nowhere less than what is needed in football
or hockey. Every joint in the body must rotate during a golf swing. Although
golf does not require body building but really requires static and dynamic
stabilization as well as inter-muscular coordination. This shows the
explosiveness involved in the golf , which puts it into the category of dynamic
sport. In view of the above we may categorize golf as a dynamic sport which
has some elements of controlled sport also.
Golf is predominantly an aiming sport. Aiming is needed to hit the ball

from the teeing to fairway and also while making the putt. Whereas anticipation
is needed to judge the distance between ball and the fairway and then between
the ball and the hole while putting. In golf while hitting the ball there is no
fixed alignment available to aim with. The golfer aims by aligning his body
with general direction through the center of the fairway. Peripheral awareness
becomes very important in this respect. Fixing the body posture in sideway
stance helps hitting the ball at the aimed point.
Figure 9.1: Fixing the body posture to aim in golf
The following is the comprehensive outline of the various aspects of visual

demands in golf.
VISUAL ACUITY
The game of golf consists of hitting a small ball with the club from the teeing
ground to the green, where it is putted into a small round hole. Static visual
acuity is more important than dynamic visual acuity. Good contrast is needed
to hit the white ball. Color vision is not very critical.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is the predisposing factor for an elite class golfer. Binocular
vision facilitates aiming especially in golf as there is no fixed alignment
available. It also provides golfer good depth perception ability to judge distance
and direction. Wider field of vision , better contrast are the other attributes of
binocular vision.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception provides valuable aid in estimating yardage. If the golfer
does not estimate the distance correctly , assessing the green as well as making
Visual Needs in Golf 63
Figure 9.2: Judging the distance between the ball and hole to putt
the correct putt will be difficult. The golfer will have a tendency to either hit
the ball too short or too long and possibly too much to the left or right.
Central-peripheral awareness allows to be aware of the ball while at the
same time knowing where you want to hit the ball. This is a very important
skill in golf as peripheral awareness helps in aiming and anticipation both.
Figure 9.3: Typical eye-hand-body coordination in golf

Watching a professional golfer tee off is a thing of beauty. He addresses the

ball, legs apart. The club appears to be an extension of his hands and arms as
he begins the backswing head down, eyes on the ball, knees slightly flexed,
arms firm. All muscles work in concert with one another, producing one fluid
movement, as he makes the downswing, hitting the club head perfectly on the
ball and continuing with his follow-through to complete the circle. This looks
like a step of a beautiful dancing sequence and is a result of good eye-hand-
body coordination. Address the ball, keeping your body square to the target
line and positioning your feet appropriately for the club you are going to use.
The line of the tips of your toes, knees, hips, and shoulders should be parallel
to your target line. All these are the essential qualities of a good golfer which is
the function of good eye and body coordination.

The predominance of aiming requires good convergence and divergence
facility in golf and the ability to shift focus from near to distance effectively is
particularly linked with putting performance.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare disability can be a major problem on the golf course. Bright sunlight
takes its toll on both the mental and physical aspects of performance and makes
reading the green difficult. Glare can also be caused by annoying reflections
from sands, water, etc. Fortunately , varieties of products in the form of
sunglasses are available to protect the eyes from glare.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
The ability to fine-focus on a target, quickly and accurately, using a series of
eye movements. The ability to properly focus on the ball and the target, whether
three feet or 300 yards away, is essential in making good contact between the
club head and the ball. Fine focusing techniques can help both in hitting the
sweet spot and stroking a smoother putt.
SUMMARY
Golf is a slow moving sport and involves each participant taking turns.
Surprisingly visual dynamics of golf are very essential elements for big success.
So far safety is concerned ocular injuries in golf are not very common , but the
golf ball can produce serious eye injuries.
65
Chapter 10 Visual Needs in Hockey
Visual Needs
in Hockey
Hockey is a dynamic team sport played outdoor with eleven players in each
side-one of them is a goal keeper. It is played with a wooden stick and a ball
on a big ground with goal post at its both ends. The entire team wears an
identical dress to provide an aesthetic brilliance to the game. The goal keeper
is only one who is allowed to use pads, gloves and front cover helmet for the
safety. Hit, flick, push, scoop, dribbling, jab, lunge are the prominent strokes
employed in the game. Physical fitness, supple wrist, quick reflexes, speed,
agility and eagle eyes which may be innate or acquired are important qualities
for a successful hockey player. But most important thing which differentiate
between a good player and a great player is the ball control which is highly
visually dependent. The team that has better ball control invariably carries the
day. The first thing, of course, is to gain the possession of the ball,then the time
of its release is equally important. A game of hockey consists of two 35 minutes
playing periods, separated by a five minute break. The team changes their
halves after the break.
Figure 10.1: Ball and stick in hockey

The player needs to have a constant awareness of their spatial relationship

to their teammates and the opponents and have to anticipate the speed and the
direction of the ball to make his position to aim his stick to hit the ball. So it is
predominantly an anticipatory sport. Even the goal keeper anticipates the
direction and the spatial location of the ball to fix up his position or aim his
stick or legs to stop the ball. Aiming is, therefore, secondary and is achieved
in relation to the position of the other player, his stick and the ball. But the
visual characteristics of the goal keeper is slightly different which certainly
include anticipation through good depth perception and ability to aim in
terms of knowing where the ball would be in relation to his stick and body.
The goal keeper needs great courage and confidence which is dependent on
visual performance.
The elements of visual needs in hockey are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 10.2: Both players and the ball are in motion
Dynamic visual acuity is more critical in hockey due to its explosiveness

than static visual acuity, which also necessitates the need of high contrast.
The importance of visual acuity becomes more critical because of small size
target and its speed of movement.
Contrast becomes more important during fog or mist. Color perception is
not very important.
BINOCULAR VISION
In hockey the players are scattered through out the ground. The player who
is moving with the ball needs to know the position of the teammates on his
Visual Needs in Hockey 67
either side and also the position of the players of the opponent team. Binocular
vision is very critical. It also facilitates depth perception and enhances contrast
and peripheral awareness. Binocular vision is also important while aiming
at the goal post during the penalty shot.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 10.3: Goalkeeper is anticipating the direction of the ball to defend
This is a critical visual skill for a goalie. Excellent depth perception allows
him to judge the distance, speed and direction of the ball as it approaches the
net. Players need to know where their teammates are in relation to the opposing
players in order to make effective passes. In a one on one situation, good
depth perception helps you judge when to make your move in relation to the
defensive player between you and the net. Poor depth perception directly
affects the anticipation skill which ultimately reduces performance at the
competitive level.
Central-peripheral awareness is very important visual skill needed to know
the position of the opponents and the teammates and also to be aware of the
goal keeper position at the goal post. Good central-peripheral awareness
also facilitates anticipation and movement in between gaps.
The process of taking a pass and accurately shooting to the open part of the
net is one of the prime examples of this skill. Eye-hand coordination plays an
important part in deflecting shots and knocking down high passes, or in
helping a goalie to make a glove save.

The ability of the eyes to work in unison while tracking a moving ball and to
change focus instantaneously as the distance of the ball changes in relationship
to your own position, is very important in hockey. It becomes really very
important for the goal keeper to adjust the eyes rapidly over a great distance in
order to keep an eye on the ball.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery is not much of the importance in hockey.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation is important skill for the goal keeper during penalty shots and the
player needs to have a momentary fixation when they aim to pass the ball to
the fellow teammate or at the goal. The explosive nature of the sport requires
full range of quick tracking ability to receive a pass or defend a goal.
SUMMARY
With the explosive dynamics of 22 players accelerating and rapidly moving in
all directions on the playing field, not only physical fitness is essential but also
efficient visual system and quick visual reactions are necessary for the success.
If you increase the speed at which an athlete perceives and responds to the
stimulus, you decrease the duration of his reflex and thereby improves his
performance. That sets for the fact that the hockey is highly visually demanding
sport. All positions in hockey require good visual system with the highly skilled
jobs demanding more. Ocular injuries in hockey are rarely reported.
69
Chapter 11 Visual Needs in Basketball
Visual Needs
in Basketball
Basketball is team game of five players each. It is a fast and dynamic sport
played on a rectangular hard surface of 26 m in length and 14 m in width,
measured from the inside edge of the boundary lines. The goals consists of
posts that have iron rings and short nets attached to them and back boards. It
is played with a ball resembling football. It is purely a handling game and the
ball is advanced by dribbling, bouncing and passing. Advancing more than
two steps with the ball in hand is not allowed. Deliberate body contact is not
allowed. The aim of the game is simple – to score points by putting round ball
into goal, known as basket and to prevent the opposing team from scoring.
The game consists of two halves of 20 minutes each with an interval of
10 minutes. Basketball is a man dominated sport, although female also plays.
Height seems to be the most important asset in addition to the long sustained
stamina.
Figure 11.1: Game of basketball
In basketball all the players are spread on the field and they look for the
ball either from their team mate as a pass or try to steal away the ball from
opponents and finally shoot it into the basket. During the process they keep
the eyes on the spatial localization of the ball with the peripheral awareness
of the other players. Anticipation is the predominant visual skill. Aiming is
needed to shoot the ball into the basket or to pass to the team mate which is
achieved aligning with the target.
The outline of the other visual skill is as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Both static and dynamic visual acuity are important in the fast moving
basketball. Vision may be affected by the position of the luminaries if the
game is played indoors. Color vision is not very critical. Contrast of the target
against its background is not very important in basketball.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is important in basketball as it directly affect the depth
perception ability which is very critical for basketing the ball. It also improves
both sides peripheral vision.
DEPTH-PERCEPTION
Depth perception helps to anticipate the position of opponents to steal away
the ball from them, the position of team mates to pass the ball and also to judge
the speed and direction of throw so as to ensure accurate pass. Depth perception
is also critical to shoot the ball into the basket.
Figure 11.2: Trying to steal away the ball
This is a very essential skill for superior performance in a game like basketball.
Peripheral awareness of the basket and the other players while keeping the
eyes on the moving ball facilitates making empty area to reach to the target.
Visual Needs in Basketball 71
Figure 11.3: Fast eye hand and body coordination in basketball
The fast eye hand coordination is definitely a great skill in basketball.

Great basketball player does have great eye and body coordination also
which can be seen when they catch a pass while running or slipping.

The players have to constantly and quickly shift his focus from near to far or
intermediate targets through out the contest. At times long sustained
accommodation vergence facility is needed in basketball.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery is not very important in basketball as it is mostly played
indoors in diffused lights.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation is very essential to shoot the ball into the basket. Saccades are more
important than pursuits. Overall fast eye tracking of ball is important for good
performance in basketball.
SUMMARY
The game of basketball is very fast where the players do not have time to
think and visualize. Fast eyes and fast reaction are key to success. As far as
ocular injuries are concerned, they are not much reported in basketball.
Chapter 12
Visual Needs
in Volleyball
Volleyball is considered one of the fastest sport in the world. The speed,
aggression and the agility of the players makes it a dynamic sport. Volley- ball
is played between the two teams of 6 players each. The object is to shed the ball
over a net and within the boundaries of the court, so that the opposing team
is unable to return or prevent it from hitting the ground. Basically there are
two types of pass, the upper hand pass and the underhand pass. These can
be executed from fixed position, in jump, after movement and also with body
throw. The athletes may use one or both hands to perform. The game starts
with a toss to decide either the end or the service. The winner of the toss decide
to choose either the end or he prefers to serve first. All international matches
are decided to the best of three or five sets. After each set the team changes the
end, except when the following set is the decider. Ends of the court in the
deciding set are choosen after the second toss.
Like tennis, volleyball is predominantly an anticipatory sport. The players
anticipate the direction and the speed of the ball and accordingly jumps onto it
or makes his position to bring his body and hands in line with the ball to return.
Figure 12.1: Game of Volleyball

Visual Needs in Volleyball 73
Aiming follows the anticipation and is achieved with the position of the
opponent, net and side poles of the net, keeping eyes onto the ball. During the
serve also the player anticipates the gap or weak point in the opponent’s court
to aim his shot.
The outline of the other visual elements can be studied as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Good eyesight is the foundation for all visual abilities. Every athletes should
strive for optimum vision or better with or without correction. In fast moving
volleyball, dynamic visual acuity is more important than static visual acuity.
Color perception is not terribly critical to a volleyball player’s performance
as both teams stay on their own sides of the net. There is no need to sort out
intermingled opponent player by the colors of their uniform. High contrast
definitely improves the visual acuity.
Figure 12.2: Dynamic visual acuity and high contrast in volleyball
BINOCULAR VISION
Good binocular vision adds to the visual skill as it improves peripheral
awareness and depth perception which are important skill for volleyball player.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception is very critical skill for volleyball player as it directly affects
anticipation. This is very essential for accurate serving, setting and boundary
line play, or no play determinations. It also enables a player to correctly perceive
where the ball is in free space as well as other players.
Figure 12.3: Spatial localization of ball
This is a very essential skill for superior performance in a game like volleyball
irrespective of his position on the ground. The player needs to know the position
of the team mate and also the position of the opponent player while keeping
his eyes on the ball. Peripheral awareness is also critical for no play
determination.
Throwing of body onto the ball, stretching hands to hit the ball, moving back
while keeping the eyes on the ball in front–all these are the result of faster
Figure 12.4: Eye-hand-body coordination at the back and on the nets

Visual Needs in Volleyball 75
body reaction and accurate eye-hand-body coordination. In volleyball all of

these skills are helpful to performance, particularly eye-hand as all balls are
received in this fashion. During the overhand serve, being able to arm toss the
ball precisely so that it falls to the spot just inside of the lead foot and in line
with the hitting shoulder, guiding the hand so that it follows the ball to the
target, and finishing with the hand alongside or within the bodyline-
necessitates extreme amount of eye-hand-body coordination.

This is also an important skill in volleyball because the ball and other players
move quickly and one has to be able to shift focus from near to far or
intermediate targets rapidly through out the contest, while general body
stamina is running down due to heavy exertion.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery is of some minor importance in volleyball due to bright lighting
inside gymnasiums and sports arenas and especially in games being televised
because the TV crews bring their own spotlighting equipments.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation is somewhat important during serving process in volleyball.
Otherwise it is not as critical a skill to master as it is for archer or shooter.
Knowing where you are in relation to the ball, the position of the other player
and opponents–all these require fast moving eyes. Quick, accurate saccades
are needed for the purpose.
SUMMARY
This diving, leaping, net and ball team sport which caught the world around
the World War II, is a visually demanding sport. One team serves the ball
and the other returns and during this process they need good eyesight.
However, ocular injuries are not much reported in this sport.
Chapter 13
Visual Needs
in Football
Football is a fast paced, dynamic outdoor game. It is a ball game, played on a

rectangular field having a length not more than 130 yards and breadth not
more than 100 yards. At the two ends of the field there are two goal posts. Two
teams play a match, each consisting of eleven players one of whom is the
goal keeper. The play starts by the choice of end or the kick–off,which is
decided by toss. The game is officiated by a referee and two linesman who
enforce the law in the game. The duration of the game is two equal periods of
45 minutes each, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon. The result of the
match is decided by the number of goals scored by the teams.
The object of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing
goal. In general play, the goal keeper is the only player allowed to use their
hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to
kick the ball into position, while they may also occasionally use their torso or
head to intercept a ball in mid air. The team that scores the most goals by the
end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw
is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty shootout,
depending on the format of the competition.
Goal-keeping is a specialized position in football and is very vital for building
up a strong team. The cardinal principle of goal-keeping is “safety first”.
Both hands should be used and whenever possible, the goal-keeper should
place his body behind his hands to form a second barrier to the ball. For a
successful performance, a goal-keeper must develop following additional
skills:
Catching, throwing, fisting, diving for the ball and covering it together
with stance and balance while kicking, trapping, passing, dribbling, heading,
throwing, tackling and charging are the main activities of all other players.
Football is highly visually demanding sport. Anticipation based on depth
perception is the predominant primary visual skill. The player anticipate the
ball during the play and accordingly position himself to hit at the target.
Aiming therefore is secondary and is achieved in relation to the position of
the other player and the ball. But the visual characteristics of the goal keeper
is slightly different which certainly include anticipation through good depth
perception, and the ability to aim in terms of knowing where the ball would
be in relation to his catching hands. The goal keeper needs great courage and
confidence, which is highly dependent on visual performance.
Visual Needs in Football 77
The visual need in football can be:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 13.1: Dynamic visual acuity in football
Football is a highly explosive team game. Basic tasks in football include

kicking, throwing, passing, dribbling, heading, tackling and punting the ball.
Good visual acuity is recommended for all position for spatial localization
anticipation timing reactivity and confidence. Players must be able to see the
ball on the move and measure the accuracy of aim. Dynamic visual acuity is
more important than the static visual acuity as either the ball or the player is
always in the motion. Good contrast is necessary for quick identification
and tracking of the fast moving ball against various backgrounds. The need
of high contrast increases when the football is played in mist and fogged
weather. Good visual acuity is more critical for goal keeper because any
residual uncorrected refractive error might lead to missing of long balls and
thereby loss of confidence while diving for the ball.
BINOCULAR VISION
Figure 13.2: Binocular vision is critical

Binocular vision provides an advantage of larger field of vision than the

monocular vision. Since football is a team game, where players are wide
spread on a big ground and is characterized by short, long and high tossed
shots, binocular vision is very critical. Anticipation, based on depth
perception is directly affected by the binocular vision.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 13.3: Spatial judgement of ball
Depth perception is very critical for all position in football. The spatial
position of ball, efficient and accurate perception of speed and direction of ball
trajectory determines the timing for eye/hand/body/and foot response. The
ability to pass the ball out of the reach of a defender and into the goalpost is
an example of depth perception skill in football. At times the player needs to
anticipate the ball in the air and makes his position accordingly to receive it.
Figure 13.4: Watching the ball and also aware of the

attack from the sides by opponent
Visual Needs in Football 79
Positional relationship between teammates and opponents, finding the open

receiver to pass the ball, maintaining the awareness of lines while running
from sides, awareness of goalkeeper’s position—all these necessitate the
demand for peripheral vision. The skill is necessary not only for distance
performance but also at near to avoid collision. Defensive backs often use
central or foveal vision to watch the attacker while relying on peripheral
awareness to monitor the pattern of attack. At times central – peripheral
awareness in football is considered to be more important than good visual
acuity.
EYE-HAND-FOOT-BODY COORDINATION
Figure 13.5: Eye-foot coordination in football
All position of players require good eye, foot, body and hand coordination
rather than just eye-hand coordination. Eye-hand coordination is particularly
more important for the goalkeeper as he must look the ball into his hands
with full body behind it. A fast, controlled coordination among eye-body-
hand-foot is essential because of it explosiveness. Slight delay during a pass,
the gap will be filled. Similarly slight delay on the part of goal keeper to bring
his hand or body behind the ball may cost the entire match. Eye-hand
coordination is a function of the two primary components of visual
performance—aiming and anticipation.

Tracking the football, looking for the opponents and the teammates and finally
receiving the ball on the toes and then hitting it, do not necessitate so much
of accommodation vergence facility.
GLARE RECOVERY
Football is a team game where there are teammates to take care of the
temporarily disabled player. Glare is not a critical factor in football. Only
time when it can matter is the time when the goal keeper is aiming to receive
a penalty shoot and his eyes are dazzled because of some malpractice from
the public.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Football is highly explosive game. Full range smooth pursuits, and accurate
saccadic eye movements are important in receiving a pass, identifying the open
teammate and also catching the ball for the goalkeeper. At times during penalty
shots fixation ability also becomes important.
SUMMARY
With the explosive dynamics of 22 players accelerating and rapidly moving in
all directions on the playing field, not only physical fitness is essential but also
efficient visual system and quick visual reactions are necessary for the success.
If you increase the speed at which an athlete perceives and responds to the
stimulus, you decrease the duration of his reflex and thereby improves his
performance. That sets for the fact that the football is highly visually
demanding sport. All positions in football require good visual system with
the highly skilled jobs demanding more.
81
Chapter 14 Visual Needs in Judo
Visual Needs
in Judo
Judo is a event of bare – handed fighting between two persons, played on a

square of 8M × 8M mat . The sport emphasizes moral and intellectual training
as well as physical training. It is a competitive and relaxing sport that is
incidentally used as self- defense. The main objective of the sport is attainment
of strength, health and utility by means of spiritual, moral and mental
training. In spite of being a combat sport, discipline and control are the main
essence of the sport and the main feature of the fight is the attainment of
maximum results with minimum amount of energy expenditure. The sport
last for a very short span of time and the winner is the athlete who scores
more points at the completion of the time. A contest usually lasts for 3 to 10
minutes.The most important skill in Judo is the art of falling. Others include
throw and grappling. Each throw consists of a series of steps in the sequence
of unbalancing, moving into the position and actual throw. The sport
comprises the elements of both dynamic sport as well as controlled sport.
The player must maintain perfect balance at all times for, the instant the
balance is broken, the opponent can throw him. The head is an important
part of balance; the direction in which he faces is the direction of balance.
The way the body is moved is also an important part of balance. He must
keep the feet close to the mat at all times and walk erect. This suggests that
aiming is an important skill in judo which may be achieved by opponent’s
position and his own body stance. Aiming is also needed to hit the opponent
at the targeted point. Anticipation is needed to judge the opponent’s reaction
and also to reach to the targeted point while attacking. Therefore, anticipation
is equally important.
Other visual skills in judo are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Judo is usually played in good lighting, where the target size is big and is
characterized by comparatively less speed, all these reduces the demand for
visual acuity. However, both static and dynamic visual acuity provide the
additional edge to the athlete to make accurate judgment of the distance of the
opponent before kicking or throwing. Contrast and color perception are of
little or no importance.
Figure 14.1: Need for visual acuity in indoor judo
BINOCULAR VISION
Figure 14.2: Binocular vision in judo
In judo the opponent attacks from both sides, so a good binocular vision is
needed. Even the peripheral awareness is increased by binocular vision
which is very critical in judo.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception is very important in judo to anticipate the correct distance
of the opponent and to kick or hold him effectively. Poor depth perception
may result in week hold or ineffective kick, thereby affecting the performance.
It also facilitates the ability to judge the opponent’s attack.
Visual Needs in Judo 83
This is an advantage which a sighted judoka enjoys over a visually impaired
judoka. The sighted judoka gets the advantage to be aware of the relative
position of himself and the opponent’s position, which enables him to kick
and throw successfully and also react fast enough to save the opponent’s
attack. In judo peripheral awareness affects both aiming and anticipation.
We are talking about comparative advantage in an elite competition. The
spatial localization enables the athlete to plan, attempt and successfully
make the desired move to obtain the desired result.
Figure 14.3: Grappling with opponent
The fast reaction is the only key to success in judo which makes eye-hand-
body coordination an important factor. Judo player spend a large percentage
of their time grappling with their opponent. The goal is to manipulate an
opponent’s body in order to take or throw him to the ground. Another important
skill required is the ability to drive block and move the opponent behind. Judo
players at the elite level develops strong eye-hand-body coordination. That
is why this sport is many a times used as an exercise to develop this skill in the
sport like football or others where eye-hand-body coordination is needed.
Eyes are also the important source of cue to understand the next move of the
opponent.

The player constantly focuses on the opponent’s eyes, so focus flexibility is
not very critical. Vergence facility is important as the judoka is constantly
fixating at the opponent’s eyes to anticipate his next move.
GLARE RECOVERY
It is of less importance in judo, since it is an indoor sport with proper
illumination facility and the player hardly look any where other than the
opponent’s eyes during the competition.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation ability is very critical in judo as the player constantly keeps his eyes
on the opponent’s eyes. The entire body balance right from the head to the feet
is an integral part of the successful execution of attacks and defense in judo.
Eye motility must not be impaired during this process.
SUMMARY
Judo is a highly explosive game in which in addition to vision, past
experience combined with good visualization techniques can help the athlete
tremendously. Recalling, after a bad fight, what the opponent was doing to
get through your defenses can enable a good athlete to adjust properly and
quickly to close down the vulnerability, which may change the outcome of
the repeat match between the same opponents. As far as ocular injuries are
concerned, the most common are foreign body in the eyes, superficial injuries
to eyelids, abrasion of lids, cornea and conjunctiva, contusion of eyeball and
surrounding tissues.
85
Chapter 15 Visual Needs in Wrestling
Visual Needs
in Wrestling
Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two unarmed persons.

It is a combat sport played on a mat between two contestants, in which each
wrestler strives to get an advantage over or control of the opponent. The physical
activity which embody the style of wrestling are clinching, holding, locking
and leverage. Modern professional wrestling is like an art which requires skill
and proper training. Tremendous amount of quickness, agility, balance,
strength and reaction skills are essential for a successful wrestler. The
aggression , power and strength involved in the sport make it highly dynamic
sport with good physical control. Wrestling is not a visually intensive sport.
Therefore, both aiming and anticipation are not very critical in wrestling.
Moreover, anticipation by depth perception is needed to the extent of arm’s
length and aiming is needed to get the hold to the targeted portion of the
opponent’s body.
The demand for other visual skills in wrestling can be studied as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 15.1: Bright indoor light and big target size in wrestling
Unlike other sports, big target size, bright light environment and the
relatively less speed of the target as well as of the athlete make it a less visually
demanding sport. However, good static visual acuity enables the wrestler to
read the scoreboard or the time remaining and accurately judge the distance of
the opponent’s leg before a takedown attempt. Contrast and color perception
are of little or no importance.
BINOCULAR VISION
One wrestler attacks other from both sides, therefore, good binocular vision
is important in wrestling. Good binocular vision improves peripheral
awareness which is very important for a wrestler.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 15.2: Depth perception is important only

to the extent of the arm’s length
Depth perception ability is important only to the extent of the arm’s length,
as the target outside this distance is too far to reach.
This is the chief advantage that a sighted wrestler has over a visually impaired
wrestler. More than any other visual skill, the ability to be aware of the
relative position of oneself, opponent’s full anatomy can allow the wrestler
Visual Needs in Wrestling 87
to maintain control of the fight to a successful end. The sense of spatial

localization can also make the difference between attempted and completed
moves.
Figure 15.3: Integrating a sense of balance with the visual–motor system
The wrestler has to integrate a sense of balance with the visual – motor
system. Fast sport and fast reaction needed to be effective in the competition
needs a high degree of eye-hand-body coordination. The exact time to stretch
the hands, time to bring the body down to hold from the legs and constant
front push of the body – all these are very critical in wrestling.

There is almost no demand for accommodative facility beyond 40 cm. Also
precise focusing is not of great importance as long as it does not affect visual
acuity.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery is of minor consideration due to bright light in and around the
wrestling area and also because of flash photography. This is especially true
during telecast bouts due to the extra lighting necessary for the TV cameras.
If the wrestler can not recover quickly enough from a photographer’s flash
that catches him just before the opponent’s attack , he may get knocked down
in that split second of vulnerability.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
The entire body balance right from the head to the feet is an integral part of
the successful execution of attacks and defense in wrestling. Eye motility
must not be impaired during this process. At times the wrestler does not
have the choice or control of his head position and this is the time when eye
motility becomes very critical for visual information. Fixation is pretty critical
for accurate attack onto the opponent to score points.
SUMMARY
Wrestling is a highly explosive game in which in addition to vision, past
experience combined with good visualization techniques can help the wrestler
tremendously. Recalling, after a bad match, what the opponent was doing to
get through your defenses can enable a good wrestler to adjust properly and
quickly to close down the vulnerability, which may change the outcome of
the repeat match between the same opponents.
89
Chapter 16 Visual Needs in Boxing
Visual Needs
in Boxing
Boxing is an explosive, dynamic and power sport, characterized by punch,

blow and hits. Two fighters of similar weight fight within a ring. The game
continues in a set of rounds of 3 minutes each. The victory is achieved when
one of the fighters is able to knock the other down and who is unable to get up
till the referee counts 3. Good boxer must be strong, quick, skilful and excellent
in his physique. He should also have courage and determination to play the
cruel game of boxing in spite of pain and exhaustion. The boxer wears gloves
in his hands, a protection guard in his jaws, a half helmet on his head and a
plastic cup to protect the groin area.
Before the game starts, the boxer adopts a basic stance in the ring, that
helps sighting towards his opponent and stands with his feet apart allowing
him easy and quick motion. He keeps his elbow close to his body to protect
the ribs. Many left handed boxer adopt the same stance, though some of them
may reverse it. The basic stance puts the boxer in the best position to avoid or
block the punches of his opponents. The straight forward implication of this
is, boxing is predominantly an anticipatory sport. He anticipates the speed
and direction of opponents punch to save himself and then aims at him to hit
with his counter punch. Aiming is achieved with an alignment of his
opponents eyes with the peripheral awareness of torso. Even while aiming
to hit, anticipation becomes critical to judge the exact distance of the opponent
so that he can hit him with full blow and power.
The demand for other visual skills in boxing can be studied as under:
Figure 16.1: Anticipation becomes critical to judge the exact

distance of the opponent to hit with full blow and power
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 16.2: Typical boxing posture, pretending to be

tiger who is ready to attack his prey
Tucked chin, lead shoulder slightly shrugged, elbows in, hands up, knees
slightly bent, feet shoulder width apart, eyes wide open and staring at the
opponent’s eyes, all these pretending a posture of a tiger who is ready to
attack his prey indicates the importance of vision in boxing. Boxing is a highly
visually demanding sport where both static and dynamic visual acuity are
important. Contrast may not be very critical as long as visual acuity is good
enough as it is played in good illuminated indoor stadium. Color perception
is also not very critical . The visual acuity is so critical because of the speed of
the punch .
BINOCULAR VISION
Figure 16.3: Good binocular vision is very critical in boxing

Visual Needs in Boxing 91
One boxer attacks other with hard punches from both sides, therefore,
good binocular vision is very critical in boxing. Good binocular vision
improves peripheral awareness which facilitates anticipation and also
develops stereopsis which gives the ability to perceive depth to make the
punch hard enough to knock down the opponent. The importance of
binocular vision can be understood with the fact that monocular boxers are
not allowed to play the game of boxing for safety reason.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception is critical in boxing within the range of an arm’s length.
The boxer needs to judge exact distance of the opponent to hit him with full
force. A blow administered by a boxer involves a snapping and twisting
motion for which exact determination of the distance of the opponent is
necessary for the blow to be most effective. It is also very critical to anticipate
the speed and direction of the opponent’s punch to make a good save.
However, beyond this distance depth perception may not be as critical.
It is important for the boxer to be aware of the relative positions of himself,
his opponent, and surrounding environment. This sense of spatial
localization can make the difference between attempted and completed
moves. In fact, peripheral awareness is more important than visual acuity
which is restricted because of soft leather helmets used for safety reasons. It
is an essential requisite for perfect anticipation.
The boxer has to integrate a sense of balance with the visual – motor system.
Fast sport and fast reaction needed to be effective in the competition needs a
high degree of eye-hand-body coordination. The exact time to stretch the
hands, time to bring the body back and constant jump on feet – all these are
very critical in boxing.

This is not very critical in boxing because the entire fight is generally within
five feet and the constant focus is on opponent.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery is of minor consideration due to bright light in and around the
ring and also because of flash photography. This is especially true during
telecast bouts due to the extra lighting necessary for the TV cameras. If the
boxer can not recover quickly enough from a photographer’s flash that
catches the boxer just right, he may get knocked out in that split second of
vulnerability.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation is pretty critical for accurate landing of blows on the moving target in
the scoring range. This is the way points are scored in boxing. Eye tracking
ability is important for the boxer to hit the opponent who is constantly moving
in front and around the ring. Quick, accurate saccades are needed to fixate
on the moving opponent’s vulnerable areas.
SUMMARY
Boxing is a highly explosive game in which in addition to vision, past
experience combined with good visualization techniques can help the boxer
tremendously. Recalling, after a bad round, what the opponent was doing to
get through your defenses can enable a good boxer to adjust properly and
quickly to close down the vulnerability. This is also highly exposed to injuries.
Injuries in and around eye is quite common in boxing.
93
Chapter 17 Visual Needs in Yachting
Visual Needs
in Yachting
Yachting is a sport in which athletes race against each other on river, lakes,
or on the ocean, depending upon the type of the race and discipline. The
boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed
against the water. The sport is highly competitive where overall fitness plays
a large role. While sailing, one, two, four or eight athletes sit in the boat
facing backwards, and uses the oars which are held in place by the oarlocks
to propel the boat forward. It has a very high energy demand requiring lots of
physical strength and endurance. The sport has both dynamic and control
elements in almost equal proportion, with explosiveness being more
dominating. The visual demand in yachting is considerably quite low but
the environmental conditions make it very important. The sailor needs to
see the wind. Patterns of the wind on the water provides clues to its direction
and intensity and even its sensation across the face and eyes will be used to
make tactical decisions in the race. Aiming and anticipation-—both are
needed in equal proportion. Aiming is mainly peripheral, using the banks of
the river or lane markers as a reference. The general direction comes from a
marker buoy often at a great distance. Anticipation or depth perception is
critical to the timing of the stroke and the rhythm of the crew.
The other elements of visual demand in rowing are:
Figure 17.1: Yachting

VISUAL ACUITY
Both static and dynamic visual acuity are important, due to the need to
discriminate fine details while looking for markers, wind on the surface of
the water, other boats in the distance, etc. Although it is not a very fast
moving sport, dynamic visual acuity may become important in foul weather
and other extreme conditions. Contrast may not very important except during
the foul weather. Color perception is needed to discriminate colored flags
and other markers. Precipitation and wind speed, and reflection of the
sunlight off the water surface may affect visual acuity.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision enhances peripheral awareness and provides good depth
perception ability. Good binocular vision becomes more demanding during
the end of the race when most attempts are made to reach the target and
visual, mental and physical fatigue start affecting performance.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception ability is very critical to anticipate the timing of the stroke
and the rhythm of the crew. Any compromise in depth perception ability will
certainly contribute to decreased performance, as to the anticipation of the
relative distances of the fellow competitors.
Central-peripheral awareness is important in racing conditions to maintain
awareness of the whereabouts of the other boats and navigational markers.
Typically, in rowing peripheral awareness is important to maintain aiming.
Therefore, in rowing it is important to know not only how well the rower sees
in the periphery of his vision but also how quickly he can react to a peripheral
stimulus.
Sports like rowing, where repetitive motion is more important than the quick
reflexes, little connection is apparent between the eye-hand coordination
and the success.

Fine judgement of relative speed and distance is needed when dipping behind
other boats and for that there is a constant rapid adjustments from distance to
near. Although there is no time to look at the competitor rowers directly and
Visual Needs in Yachting 95
this is judged entirely by peripheral vision, in fierce competition, ocular

fatigue may become a problem in the later stages of the race where there is
convergence weakness.
GLARE RECOVERY
The fast glare recovery is not very critical in rowing. But the danger from
solar radiation is a known fact, although water is a poor reflector of radiation,
but the specular reflection off a sunlit sea can be very intense. The immediate
main consideration in competitive sport is not the long-term risk, but the
complete physical efficiency during the competition. Vision is an important
sense that visual stress can have a marked effect on physical performance.
Besides, if the brain is using all its spare capacity to interpret a degraded
ocular image, there will be less energy left to deal with tactics and anticipation.
Therefore, glare protection glasses may be used during the competitions.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
In yachting the yachtmen propel the boat in a rhythm with the eyes mainly
on buoy, navigational signals and other competitors by peripheral awareness.
So eye movement is negligible.
SUMMARY
Yachting is for everyone, not just for collegiate and Olympic athletes. It is a
non-impact activity, which can be enjoyed round the year and by persons of
all ages. Those who are not able to express their talent effectively in any other
sport, may try yachting as their alternate choice. As far as ocular injuries are
concerned, direct impact to the eyes are rare while sailing. More commonly
sailors can be knocked in the head or face, sometimes they may be tipped out
of the boat. However, the most concerned factor for sailor’s eye protection is
UV exposure. In addition, water may also be splashed into the eye while
sailing but that will cause temporary irritation than injury. Eye protection
used for UV exposure will prevent any probable impact as well as water
splashing into the eyes.
Chapter 18
Visual Needs
in Scuba-Diving
Scuba diving is a sport in which the athlete swim underwater for extended
periods using special equipments. The word “scuba” is actually an acronym
for “ self contained underwater breathing apparatus”. Scuba diving can also
be a very relaxing sport. One learns to dive more quickly than any other
sport. It is also suitable for people with physical disability as long as they
can propel themselves under the water. Light rays are scattered and absorbed
under the water. The light absorption increases as you go deeper into the
water. The selective absorption of light wavelengths occur at varying depths,
causing change in color perception. Red color or longer wavelength disappear
first at about 30 feet, yellow at 75 feet, and only blue and green remain at
depths below 100 feet. There is a change that occur with refraction of light by
the eye under water. Water has a high refractive index than air and is similar
to that of the cornea. Light entering the cornea from the water hardly refracts,
leaving the eye’s crystalline lens to focus the light. This leads to very severe
hypermetropia. People with severe myopia, therefore, can see better under
the water without mask than normal sighted people. Diving mask or diving
helmets solve this problem by enacting an air space in front of the diver’s
eyes. The refractive error created by the water is mostly corrected by the light
travels from water to air through a flat lens, except that the object appears
bigger and closer than they actually are, resulting in reduction in field of
view. That is why eye-hand coordination must be adjusted.
The implication of different elements of vision in scuba diving is as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Dynamic visual acuity is important for tracking the marine life you are
observing, the prey you may be hunting and for viewing underwater
landscape as you swim through it. Static visual acuity is also equally
important to fixate and study an object of interest.Scattering of the light energy
by particles suspended in the water and the absorption of different
wavelengths cause blurring of the outline of the objects, and thereby reducing
the contrast. Color perception is affected due to selective absorption of
wavelengths and the clarity of the water.
Visual Needs in Scuba-Diving 97
Figure 18.1: Dynamic visual acuity is important for tracking the marine life
BINOCULAR VISION
Good binocular vision is important as it provides depth perception ability
and enhances visual acuity.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 18.2: Depth perception is important to grasp, touch or pick things

Overall depth perception is important to the divers when wanting to grasp,

touch, or pick up something, and is obviously affected by the increase in
magnification of images underwater.
This is most important particularly in a safety aspect to be aware of dangerous
marine life and oncoming boats. If you close your eyes, it may be easy to lose
the sense of orientation because you are floating freely in the water and
proprioceptive cues are minimum. Peripheral awareness is also an important
aiming cue. However, this is often compromised due to face mask.
This is again very important to maintain the desired position in the underwater
environment.

Focus flexibility is important during diving as the divers always need to change
his focus to ensure safety and effective hunting under the water.
GLARE RECOVERY
There is not much glare under the water, so this is not very important in
scuba diving.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
It is one of the key skills used during the hunting underwater. Saccades and
pursuits both are important while keeping a fixation on the target.
SUMMARY
During scuba diving exposure to ambient pressures greater than sea level may
result in various disorders and complications, some of them may have ocular
manifestations. Diving is hazardous for patients who have undergone ocular
surgery. There is a theoretical possibility for corneal rupture in divers
following surgery, however, the pressure differential required to produce
this effect is extremely high.
99
Chapter 19 Visual Needs in Swimming
Visual Needs
in Swimming
Swimming is arguably the only sport that provides opportunities for people
of all ages and abilities to participate, at all levels, whether it be recreational,
acquiring a life skill, to maintain health and fitness, enjoying water based
activities safely, achieving personal goals or winning medals on the world
stage. It can be indoors as well as outdoors. It can be played in chlorinated
pools or fresh water or ocean beaches or lakes.
The athlete moves the arms and legs to push against the water and propel
himself forward. This is called swimming strokes. These strokes may be of
different types like butterfly, breast stroke, crawl, sidestroke, backstroke, etc.
Breast Stroke
Breast stroke is one of the most restful stroke, done in combination with the
breast stroke kick. When the breast stroke is performed correctly, your head
comes well above the water and there is plenty of time to take a breath.
Figure 19.1: Breast stroke
Back Stroke
Back stroke is another restful stroke as your face is always out of the water
and breathing is easy. It is like lying on your back with legs outstretched and
head pillowed on water. The arms move in a windmill fashion, while one
arm propels the other recover and the legs do the flutter kick.
Figure 19.2: Back stroke
Front Crawl
This is the fastest and the most popular stroke of all. The arms move in a
circular motion in combination with the flutter kick. While one arm propels,
the other recovers.
Figure 19.3: Front crawl
Butterfly Stroke
This is the most difficult stroke. Greater physical strength is required, which
renders the stroke unsuitable for long distance. In this stroke, both arms
work together, simultaneously and symmetrically and legs operate together
to make two dolphin kicks during each arm cycle.
Visual Needs in Swimming 101
Side Stroke
The side stroke is done on your side with one ear in the water, the head rests
on your arm which is extended out ahead of you, with palm facing
downwards. The other arm is kept on your side.
With all the strokes except the back stroke, the eyes mostly remain under
water. Hence, vision is not so critical in swimming, except in back stroke.
Whatever the visual need is thought in swimming that suggests anticipation is
predominant. The swimmer needs to be able to adjust to anticipate very
accurately, the distance from the turn and in backstroke, to judge their position
in relation to the ceiling joists. It is also important to be able to see other
competitors before and during the race. In most of the strokes the swimmer
must keep his head above the surface of the water except underwater
swimming. The only time he swims under the water is the first stroke after the
start and each turn. Backstroke swimming involves alternate over the head
arm strokes and flutter kick in a supine position. The use of eyes in backstroke
swimming is very important to swim in a straight line. If the swimmer is
swimming in indoor pool, it may be easier to sight on something overhead,
like a railing or the line where the walls and the ceiling meet each other. On the
other hand if you are swimming backstroke in an outdoor pool, it gets a little
tougher to swim in straight line. Although it is hard to avoid, but try and not
to sight on clouds, birds or jet planes flying over the pool. You will be definitely
in trouble. Instead, look for something that runs parallel to the direction you
are swimming. It could be a power line or a telephone line, the top of a fence
or wall or a row of bleachers. At lower eye levels, possibly right at the water
level, you will need to use your peripheral vision to see the opponent’s
position.
The other aspects of visual need can be outlined as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Visual acuity is useful for orientation and mobility before and after a race. It
may also play some role in judging distances and determining the time of the
turn, although the level of visual acuity needed under water has not yet been
established.
BINOCULAR VISION
The presence of binocular vision may be thought to provide good peripheral
awareness on both sides of the swimmer.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception may be useful to anticipate the distance of turns and curbs
and judging the entry into the water during the start.
Some eye hand coordination is needed in back stroke, breast stroke and
butterfly where hand must touch the wall during turn.
This is an important skill in competitive swimming for self direction within
the lane and for continually processing the status of the rest of the competitors.
This is also essential to align during whatever aiming is needed in swimming.

This is not a very important visual skill in swimming.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation may be considered to be important only while entry into the water.
Besides, during back stroke vestibular and pursuit eye movement may be
considered to know the position of the fellow competitors.
SUMMARY
Swimming is a difficult area of sport, because of the classical concern of
acanthamoeba. Protection from chemical conjunctivitis and water born microbes
is very important. Those swimmer who require vision correction ideally
should wear contact lenses with plano swim goggle over it. Some swimmers
are more comfortable with prescription swim goggle rather than contact
lenses. Keeping the chlorine water off their cornea while underwater provides
clearer vision and a better safety profile. Every swimmer knows that the
water gets in at some point during the training session and generally they do
not take their contact lenses out to have a shower afterwards, so this is
another area where best clinical practice needs to be tempered with common
sense.
Visual Needs in Rifle Shooting 103
Chapter 20
Visual Needs in
Rifle Shooting
Rifle shooting is a target sport that requires good physical and psychological
conditioning. At elite level, rifle shooting requires many years of practice
and training to reach the exceptionally high standard required for competition
shooting. It is more of a mind game than of a physical, though physical
endurance and stamina are also important. The shooter needs to relax, feel
the presence of target, breathe normally and has to clear his mind, thinking
of only what he has to do to shoot perfectly. In rifle shooting the participants
fire from either a prone, a standing or a kneeling position, earning points
with his shots at 10 ring target for the center ring, 9 for the next one, and so
on. The score in the final round is added to the competitor’s score in the
qualification round and the winner is the competitor with the most points at
the end of the match.
Figure 20.1: Different position in rifle shooting

There are 5 contact points between the rifle and the body. The first is the
butt plate and the shoulder joint. Make sure it does not slip off. The right hand
and the grip would be the second contact point. Make sure it is firm. The left
arm would make contact with the gun as it is lifted up. As the left elbow falls
into place on the hip, take note of the balance and weight distribution on the
feet. The fourth contact point is between the cheek and the cheek piece. The
above four points must be checked before the fifth. Relax all the body parts
that are supposed to be relaxed, to see whether there is something that needs
adjustment. The fifth contact point is between the trigger finger and the trigger
blade. Premature placement of the finger on the trigger might cause an
accidental firing of the gun so one must always remember to do this last.
Basically, the main event in rifle shooting is repetitive in nature and is
spread over a period of time. It is, therefore, a non dynamic sport, and can be
played indoors as well as outdoors. It is a highly visually dependent sport
with a particular importance to eye dominance. Good vision is very important
in lining up the gun’s sight with the target. Predominantly it is an aiming
sport. The shooter has to align the front sight and the rear sight perfectly and
consistently. There are four things in this equation – the aiming eye, the rear
sight, front sight, and the target. The participant peeps through the sights,
and sees three circles. He has to align these circles concentrically with the
target in the middle. Don’t expect the gun to stop moving completely. The
point is to minimize its movement. The ideal motion of the gun is circular.
The sights will just play around the target. Unlike pistol it is very important
to have a clear picture of the sights than the target in rifle shooting. Once the
Figure 20.2: Critical aiming in rifle shooting

sights have stabilized, pressure must be applied to the trigger to release the
shot. Once the shot occurs, the shooter must maintain the sight picture for a
few seconds. This follow through is needed to be able to see what possible
errors occurred during the release of the shot. The target in rifle shooting is
stationary at a predecided distance, allowing for precious time to align the
sights with the target and the shot to be taken. Anticipation, therefore, does
not seem to be very important. If you anticipate, and flinch, you will never be
able to shoot well. The importance of anticipation may be considered only to
the extent needed for eye hand coordination.
The need for other elements of vision in rifle shooting can be studied as
under-
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 20.3: Rifle shooter must place the rear peep sight, the front sight
aperture and the target in line before shooting
The rifle shooter must place the rear peep sight, the front sight aperture
and the target in line before shooting. In order to align correctly, it is most
important to have a good focus on the front sight aperture. The target should
also be clear but never at the expense of the front sight. The rear sight serves as
a pinhole aperture for the system, so it may not be in focus. Very fine acuity is
needed to align the sighting pattern. Static visual acuity is more important
than dynamic visual acuity. The use of hyperacuity, i.e. Vernier acuity while
aligning the system enhances the performance. Contrast may be an issue,
depending on the lighting over the shooters head. Shooters may have different
sized rear aperture sights to change the amount of light getting through to the
shooters eye. In fact some rifle shooters may wear an adjustable mechanical
iris or an occluder attachment on their glasses to control the light getting into
the eye. Color vision is not very critical.
BINOCULAR VISION
Figure 20.4: Aiming with two eyes open
The attributes of good binocular vision are better visual acuity and high
contrast which are very important for rifle shooting. In this respect it may be
considered an important visual element. Usually shooter close their non
dominant eye to aim at the target. But closing one eye to aim at the target
deprives them from the many advantages of binocular vision. Long periods of
visual concentration on the target results in high amount of eye strain which
may not occur when the aiming is done with both eyes open. To prevent any
distraction from non dominant eye, the shooter may place some sort of blinder
over that eye. The ideal blinder blocks out any vision of the non-aiming eye
but still lets light through to that eye. It is important for light to get to the non-
aiming eye to keep the eyes from dilating which may cut down on the depth
of focus of the shooter.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
The target in rifle shooting is stationary at a predecided distance, allowing
for precious time to align the sights with the target and the shot to be taken.
Also the shooter usually covers his non dominant eye with some sort of
occluder to prevent any distraction from that eye. Therefore, depth perception
may not be very critical for a rifle shooter.
Good central vision is very essential for a rifle shooter. Peripheral awareness
is not very critical. A very small field of view is required for target shooting.
In fact side shields are placed on the sides of the glasses or a hat to block out
any peripheral movement and help the shooter concentrate on the task of
aligning the target bulls-eye with the pinhole-like sights. Only time when the
shooter is using his peripheral vision is while aligning the front sight in the
center of the rear sight aperture.
In rifle shooting, rifle is in contact with the body from 5 points, which makes
eye-hand –body coordination a very important skill, although not purely
visual. This is a sport which puts extreme emphasis on eye-hand –body
coordination. The fine motor control needed for aiming and shot release
have to be perfected to an almost unimaginable degree to hit the target to
score maximum points.

In rifle shooting the target distance is fixed and the distance between the
sights does not change. Only possibility is that the distance between the eye
to rear sight may change which must be avoided. So accommodation vergence
facility is not very critical.
GLARE RECOVERY
There is not much concern for the glare and any other radiation exposure, as
in today’s competitive level, if the rifle match is played outdoors, the shooter
shoots from under a covered shelter and also uses protective caps and glasses
that protects them from these elements.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Shooting may take long periods of visual concentration on the target which is
done with just one eye which establishes the importance of fixation ability on
the target needed for the purpose.
SUMMARY
Shooting, in general requires a high visual demand which is much beyond
the imagination of a lay person. The shooter is in furious dynamic equilibrium
with all muscles in constantly readjusting mode. Visual fatigue has a profound
effect on the ability to see the object of interest clearly. If visual perception is
not reliable, then the resulting delay in releasing the shot adds to physical
and mental fatgue. But interesting aspect of shooting apart from
predominantly an aiming sport, especially rifle and pistol is that the target
may not be necessarily clear. The technique rifle and pistol shooter mostly
use, is to focus on the foresight of the gun or the rifle, and align this centrally
in the blur of the target. As long as the blurred target is uniformly round, it’s
edges do not have to be defined. As far as safety is concerned when shooting
a rifle there is always the risk of defective ammunition backfiring and
propelling debris back at the shooter. It is necessary for the shooter to wear
eye protection to stop this debris from entering the eye. If at all possible side
shields should be used to further protect the shooter from debris.
Visual Needs in Clay Pigeon Shooting 109
Chapter 21
Visual Needs in
Clay Pigeon Shooting
Clay pigeon is a shooting sport where in flying targets are shot with a shotgun.
The sport is termed clay pigeon as it used to be played by hitting live pigeon in
the past. Now, the live pigeons have been replaced by similar looking flying
targets projected by designated machines. The targets are usually made of clay
in black or white or any fluorescent color and are easily broken by the hit.
There are three main forms of clay pigeon shooting:
Figure 21.1: Clay shooting
Trap Shooting
Targets are thrown either as singles or doubles from one or more traps situated
nearly 15 m in front of the shooter and are generally going away from the
firing point at varying speeds, angles and elevations.
Skeet Shooting
Targets are thrown in singles and doubles from 2 trap houses situated nearly
40 meters apart, at opposite ends of a semicircular arc on which there are
seven shooting positions. The targets are thrown at set trajectories and speeds.
Clay Shooting
Targets are thrown in a great variety of trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations
and distances.
The athlete lines up and stands at designated firing marks, facing the trap
and taking the stance by placing the feet in relation to the area where he
plans to shoot the target. Perfect stance is very important to enable smooth
and free movement and to ensure smooth follow through with movement of
gun. The gun at the point of firing must be at the shoulder of the shooter. The
shooter then looks for the target and shoots it to break the target into fragments.
Three points are awarded for a single barrel kill, two points for second barrel
kill and zero for the loss. 25 lays are shot, allowing a maximum score of 75
points.
Clay pigeon is a controlled sport. The sporting task is same for all the
participants and is repetitive. During the extended competition, the
consistency of performance is more important than hitting the target once.
As the day passes, the effect of visual fatigue like eye strain, epiphora, tension,
headache, retinal bleaching may begin to accumulate, their aiming is most
likely to be affected.
Clay pigeon is primarily an anticipatory sport, the shooter anticipates the
direction and the speed of the clay through the air and then brings his gun to
aim at the target to break it. To achieve the perfect aiming, the shooter stands
at the designated firing marks, facing the trap and adopts shooting stance,
puts his feet in relation to the area where he plans to shoot the target. Alignment
of the feet and body with the peripheral awareness of the trap house gives a
clue for aiming.
The outline of the aspects of other visual needs in clay pigeon are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Both static and dynamic visual acuity are important in clay pigeon because
of the importance of aiming in an anticipatory dominant sport. The target
size are small and are thrown from the traps at very high speed, which
necessitates the need of high contrast. Usually, the colors of the target are
predecided, therefore, color perception is not very important. Wind speed
and its direction may also have some influence on the visual acuity.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is important to anticipate the speed and the direction of the
target through the air. Good binocular vision also improves contrast and
peripheral awareness which are important skills in clay shooting. Even the
correction in amblyopic eye is critical which have a critical input in the ability
to judge depth.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception is important to anticipate the speed, direction and distance
of the target. In clay shooting, the target is moving and the shooter is aware of
Visual Needs in Clay Pigeon Shooting 111
the barrel more than the target. He calls for the target which has to be shot in
a fraction of second through the air. Accurate, fast and intelligent depth
perception is probably most important skill to aim correctly especially in clay
shooting.
Central-peripheral awareness is very critical in clay pigeon as it facilitates
both anticipation and aiming. The barrel of the gun which facilitates aiming
at the target is no doubt at the center of their vision, but they will never be
seen when the trigger is shot. But keeping the barrel in sight is very important
to aim correctly in moving target sport. Peripheral awareness is the skill
which facilitates it. The importance of this can be understood with the fact
that even if the target is shot or missed, the barrel – target relationship has to
be maintained.
Clay pigeon events take place while standing and the body moves to follow
the moving clay. The clay is being fired from the trap on the call of the shooter
who is ready with the rifle positioned in the shoulder. The body is perfectly
positioned on the firing line with feet firmly placed. The visual input from the
eyes has to be translated into spatial location by the brain which informs the
various muscles of the body to move in such a way as to enable the shooter to
aim accurately and fire precisely.

The shooter needs to be able to focus on the moving clay and accuracy of the
focusing ability may be affected by tiredness especially if there is a problem
using the two eyes together. Day long event requires huge amount of sustained
accommodation facility. Fast focusing on target is very critical in clay shooting.
GLARE RECOVERY
The expert clay shooter, apart from requiring steady hands, strength and
concentration, will need to have excellent eye sight to be able to recover fast
from the glare. The glare may disrupt the aiming and result in poor performance.
In clay shooting the shooters usually use filter glasses to protect their eyes
from the fragments of clay. These glasses have glare protection properties also.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
In clay shooting the eyes need to be able to focus on a moving clay. Fixation
ability together with pursuit, saccade and vestibular movements are
important for the shooter. The clays are released from the trap at a speed
which makes saccades the most critical among all.
SUMMARY
Clay pigeon seems to be a visually demanding sport where primary vision
accounts for 10% of the visual task, whereas peripheral vision accounts for
rest 90%. Shouldering a gun becomes a habit through practice, it is not too
difficult in the early stages to change shoulder, to maintain natural eye
dominance. So far as safety is concerned clay shooter always play the sport
with protective eyewear. There is always a possibility of eye injury because
of the fragments of the clay.
Visual Needs in Archery 113
Chapter 22
Visual Needs
in Archery
Archery is a game of bow and arrow. It is played by men and women both.
The archer needs to shoot the arrow at the designated target at different
distances. He gets 6 shots for each distance. The target in general consists of
ten circles with the centre one known as Gold. Top class archer concentrates
to aim at the Gold, to score 10 points. Thus the main action is repetitive in
nature and is spread over a long day. Hitting correctly at Gold once is not the
ultimate skill of a top archer. It is the consistency over the days long game
which differentiates a great archer from a good archer. In this respect archery
is a controlled sport.
The archer stands upright with one foot each side of the shooting line,
takes an arrow and put it onto the bow string, holds the bow with one hand
and draws the string with another, keeping the elbow of the drawing arm as
high as possible and the index finger touching to the centre of the chin. He
closes the non-dominant eye and peeps through the peep sight with the
dominant eye to the tip of the arrow at bow and sights at the target. That’s
how the archer achieves aiming. Anticipation helps to judge the distance of
the target and to decide the extent to which the string is to be drawn. So,
archery is predominantly an aiming sport where anticipation is important
to prevent undershoot.
Figure 22.1: Aiming and anticipation in archery

The outline of other elements of visual need is explained below:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 22.2: Fixed target at a fixed distance
Archery involves shooting arrows at a fixed target set at a fixed distance.

So, static visual acuity is more important than dynamic visual acuity. The
good visual acuity will provide crisp and clear vision to aim at the distant
target. If vision is compromised then aiming will be disrupted resulting in
poor performance. Besides, the long sustained clear vision is more important
to have a consistent performance. Demand of good vision necessitates good
contrast, the need of which increases as the day passes. Colour perception is
not very important.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is important as it gives better vision than monocular vision
and improves contrast and also facilitates depth perception.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception is an important visual skill as it affects anticipation which
is very important skill to prevent over and under estimation of target distance.
Central vision is more important for fixation at the target. Peripheral
awareness is not very critical.
Visual Needs in Archery 115
EYE-HAND-FOOT-BODY COORDINATION
Figure 22.3: Hand-eye coordination and body control is

required for drawing and aiming of the arrow
Archer should place their feet comfortably and firmly apart and point them
at right angle to the target. A right handed archer holds the bow grip with the
left hand. The archer fits the arrow into the bowstring, rests it on the left side
of the bow, and raises the bow to a vertical position. The bowstring is usually
drawn back with the middle three fingers of the right hand, keeping the
arrow between the first and second fingers. At full draw, the string touches
the archer’s chin. The archer, then releases the arrow and remains still until
the arrow hits the target. The entire sequence of procedure from holding of
bow to releasing of arrow and the follow through necessitates steady eye-
hand-body coordination. It seems deceptively an easy sport where aiming at
the target is needed but actually this is not true. Hand-eye coordination,
body control, trained muscles, drawing and aiming of the arrow, hand
relaxation, arm strength and steadiness are required for successful target
hitting. A good stance is essential to distribute the weight of the body which
is essential for consistent performance.
ACCOMMODATION – VERGENCE FACILITY

Accommodation – vergence facility is not an important skill in archery. Only
time the skill becomes important when the archer looks through the peep sight
and then to the target.
GLARE RECOVERY
Archery is an aiming sport, usually played outdoor on day long format. The
archer is exposed to the bright sun light which can cause glare. The archer
might use glare protection glasses during the event to prevent eyes from glare.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Fixation at the target is very important skill in archery. Eye movements are
not very important skills in archery.
SUMMARY
Vision appears to affect archer’s performance in most fundamental way.
Visual fatigue, mental and physical are likely to have effect on the sporting
skill. Archery is usually a safer game, ocular injuries have not been reported.
Visual Needs in Chess 117
Chapter 23
Visual Needs
in Chess
Chess is a recreational and competitive sport for two players. It is played on

a square chequered chessboard with 64 squares in an indoor environment.
At the start, each player controls 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks,
two knights, two bishops and eight pawns. The objective of the game is to
checkmate the opponent’s king. The game do not have to necessarily end in
checkmate. The player may resign if the situation looks hopeless or it may
end in draw by agreement. Chess is advocated as a way of enhancing mental
prowess. It has long been associated with strategic thinking and problem
solving. Chess enthusiasts have long argued that playing the chess leads to
improved scholastic attainment and greater self confidence. It is also argued
that playing chess develops the skill of creative and critical thinking and the
ability to concentrate and solve problems. Chess, by its features, is a controlled
sport. But it is no way less competitive than any other explosive sport for the
huge demand of mental extremes including intense concentration, furrowed
brow, tightened diaphragm, multi-level inward thinking, sequential
processing, stress and autonomic response involved in the sport. The player’s
body is held in a controlled position while the eyes co-ordinate precisely at
places on the chessboard and the mind is feeding back a complicated image
of spatial awareness and position. It all appears to be static but is in fact in
dynamic equilibrium. Chess is predominantly an anticipating sport-
anticipating the next move one can visualize ahead of time so that he can
plan his attack or defense accordingly. Visual aiming does not seem to be an
important factor in chess.
Figure 23.1: Game of chess

The other aspects of visual elements in chess are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Static visual acuity is more important than dynamic visual acuity to see the
positions of pieces on the chess board. Colour perception may not be very
important because of the pre decided set of colours used for the game. High
contrast will add to the visual clarity. Visual acuity may be affected by indoor
light level, position of the luminaries, reflectivity of the chessboard surface.
BINOCULAR VISION
It is always better to have good binocular vision because this maximizes
acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stops the muscles around the eyes from
getting tired.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
There is definitely an element of spatial reasoning to chess or other similar
game, but it has nothing to do with depth perception ability of the visual
system which is critical to manipulate three-dimensional objects in the mind.
The black and white squares make the game a lot easier for the depth
perception ability. One can easily count the squares and figure out the moves.
Depth perception is not related to spatial reasoning in chess.
Central vision is more important as the player always keeps his focus right
on to the chess board. The players would always like to overlook what is
happening in their periphery so that they can concentrate more on the chess
board and the next move of the opponent.
The player’s body is held in a controlled position while the eyes co-ordinate
precisely at places on the chessboard and the mind is feeding back a complicated
image of spatial awareness and position. It all appears to be static but is in fact
in dynamic equilibrium.

Focus flexibility is not very critical in chess, but because of the intense
concentration, the players have tendency to be esophoric.
Visual Needs in Chess 119
GLARE RECOVERY
The chess player gets enough time to play his next move, hence glare recovery
is not very important in chess.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
In chess there is a little ocular movement and a lot of concentration is needed
which makes fixation ability a very critical factor. Other than fixation saccades
are used to observe the positions of pieces on the chess board.
SUMMARY
It is widely acknowledged that chess is the best example of an intellectual
activity among the games. Although practice had the influence on the chess
skill, intelligence explains some variance even after the inclusion of practice.
The outcome of the match totally depends on the player’s intelligence and
imagining power. Luck does not play any role and if a player loses, he can
only blame himself, or his intelligence, not being smart enough to understand
opponent’s move.
120
Chapter 24
Visual Needs
in Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a large baize-covered table with

pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side
cushions. A regulation table of 12 × 6 feet is used. It is played using a cue, one
white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls (worth 1 point each) and 6 balls of
different colours (worth 2-7 points each). A player wins a frame of snooker
by scoring more points than the opponent, using cue ball to pot the red and
coloured balls. A match consists of a previously agreed number of frames.
At the start of a frame the balls are positioned and the players take it in
turns to hit a shot, their aim being to pot one of the red balls and score a point.
If they do pot a red ball, that red ball remains in the pocket and they are
allowed another shot—this time the aim being to pot one of the coloured
balls. If successful, they must try to pot another red ball. This process continues
until they fail to pot the desired ball, at which point their opponent comes
back to the table to play the next shot. The game continues in this manner
until all reds are potted and only 6 colour balls are left on the table. Finally,
all the coloured balls are potted and the frame is over. The player with
maximum points wins. Thus, the main action of the game is repetitive and
spread over a span of time. It is, therefore, a controlled sport, requires lots of
patience.
Figure 24.1: Aiming and anticipating to pot

Visual Needs in Snooker 121
Snooker is highly visually dependent sport requiring almost equal levels

of aiming and depth perception and with a particular consideration of eye
dominance. When viewing the entire playing surface, the player generally
steps back from the table to assess their next shot. Once they address their
shot at the table, the visual need is similar to sighting down a rifle barrel. The
player focuses at the end of the cue stick, the cue ball and aims the ball at
which he is shooting. Then he again anticipates the distance of the ball from
the hole where he intends to pot into. In this respect aiming predominates
the anticipation, although anticipation is also very important.
The outline of other elements of visual needs are as under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 24.2: Indoor environment for snooker, needing high contrast
In snooker, a stationary ball is addressed and propelled towards a

stationary target. Static visual acuity is more important than dynamic visual
acuity. Any uncorrected refractive error may affect the performance as this is
highly a visually demanding sport where aiming and anticipation both are
important. The game is usually played on a table with green base and red
ball, white, blue, black balls. There is a good contrast between the object and
their background. Colour identification of balls are important to score points
in this sport which establishes the implications of colour vision in snooker.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is the predisposing factor for the peak performance in
snooker. Binocular vision facilitates aiming and depth perception which are
very critical in snooker. It also provides better vision and reduces ocular
fatigue in a day long match. Wider field of vision is another attribute of
binocular vision.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception, probably the most important visual skill in snooker,
provides valuable aid in estimating the distance between the object ball and
the hole. If the player does not estimate this distance correctly, the player will
have a tendency to either hit the ball too short or too hard and possibly too
much to the left or right of the hole.
Central-peripheral awareness allows to be aware of the ball while at the
same time knowing where you want to hit the ball. Once the player addresses
his next shot, it is the central vision which is more critical to aim the ball into
the hole.
The player while playing snooker usually stands with his left foot slightly
advanced, his left arm extended and resting on the table to form a bridge, and
his body, not facing the table squarely, but forming an acute angle with the
sides at which he stands. All muscles of his limbs into their usual and most
natural posture– as rigidity of body is at all times awkward and ungraceful,
and seriously interferes with play. The cue, though allowed to rest loosely in
the hand at the time of drawing back, should be held firmly at the moment of
contact with the ball; and in all strokes, except the “jump” and “perpendicular
force”, the direction of the cue should be maintained as much as possible in
the horizontal. The striking motion should be confined to the arm, and chiefly
to the lower division of it. All these require huge amount of eye-hand-body
coordination. Rock like stability of the body, firm fixation of the eyes with
tromboning like arm swinging are the grand essentials of success in snooker.

The predominance of aiming requires good convergence and divergence
facility in snooker and the ability to shift focus from near to intermediate
distance effectively is particularly linked with potting of the ball. The viewing
distance in a snooker game varies within the range of playing surface length,
playing surface width and within this viewing distance is mostly confined
within the distance from shooting position to end of the cue stick. A player
viewing the ball, therefore, needs to accommodate somewhere between
Visual Needs in Snooker 123
0.25 D to 1.50 D. During the potting, the player needs to converge constantly
onto the cue stick, cue ball and then to object with an eye on the hole, which
means long sustained vergence facility is also very critical in snooker.
GLARE RECOVERY
There is no need for UV, infrared, laser or any other form of radiation
protection since the game of pool is experienced indoors. Almost all pool
table have a low hanging light over the top of it. The lighting can have
detrimental effects on the spectacle wearer due to the glare produced. To
reduce this glare and possible ghosting effect, it is suggested that the spectacle
wearer should have anti-reflection coating on both surface.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
The snooker player must be able to maintain steady fixation while hitting the
cue. Any disruption in the fixation ability will severely affect the performance.
The ability to focus properly on the cue ball and the target is very essential in
making good contact between the cue stick and the cue ball. Fine focusing
techniques can help both in hitting the sweet shot and sliding a smoother hit
into the pocket.
SUMMARY
Snooker is a slow moving sport and involves each participant taking turns.
Surprisingly visual dynamics of snooker are very essential elements for big
success. So far safety is concerned ocular injuries are not very common.
There is no need for impact protection, side shields, or a specialty lens
thickness for the game of pool. To protect the integrity of the ocular surface
and tear film, it is advisable not to wear contact lens while playing in areas
with heavy smoke in the air, like bar, pool halls, etc. The smoke can dry out
contact lenses very quickly, which can lead to eye dryness and discomfort.
124
Chapter 25
Visual Needs in
Motor Car Racing
Motor car is now one of the world’s most popular sport involving racing
automobiles. Among the many type of car racing, Formula One is the most
popular sporting event. This is a single seater racing and is one of the top ten
watched sporting event in the world. Formula One is one of the most expensive
sport in the world with some teams spending in excess of $400 million per
year. There are other categories of single seater racing. In a motor car racing
sport the driver is in a furious dynamic equilibrium with all muscles in
constantly readjusting mode. The key skill is physiological control against all
the elements of metabolism that tend to detract from mental fatigue, blood
sugar level, dehydration, muscle fatigue and visual fatigue. The sport might
lack the explosion of boxing or for that to say of football or rugby. But the
amount of microscopic control and endurance needed makes it a dynamic sport.
Figure 25.1: Formula 1 race
Vision and driving skill are directly related. Therefore, care must be directed
towards the driver’s physiological well being as much as to the mechanics of
the vehicle, and vision is the highest expression of physiological well being.
When it comes to the cost effectiveness, many seconds per lap could be gained
simply by attending to driver’s visual needs and without an extra expenditure
on engine development. The fundamentals of car racing must include driver’s
entire physiology including his visual performance in addition to car design,
Visual Needs in Motor Car Racing 125
engine, chassis, drag and tyres. The preliminary visual skill in car racing is
anticipation by depth perception which facilitates peripheral awareness.
The anticipation ability can be further increased if the course is memorized
like a musician who can play from memory and does not have to rely on
reading notes. Aiming is needed to maintain the position in line. Any
disturbance in anticipation may result into turning late on the apex of the
turn, missing brake points or a wet patch on the track.
The other aspects of visual needs in motor car racing can be explained as
under:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 25.2: Driving a race car is more visually

demanding than everyday driving
In a dynamic sport like car racing good level of static visual acuity is desirable.
The air in the cockpit is of particular concern since vision is very sensitive to
reduced oxygen level in the blood. However, very good acuity might inhibit
peripheral awareness, which reacts quickest to visual stimuli. Driving a race
car is more visually demanding than everyday driving. If vision breaks down
towards the end of the race, it can be serious to the results. A driver must be
able to maintain his visual skill level throughout the race. The last few laps of
a race are usually the most demanding, when the most attempts at the passing
are made. Colour perception is important for the drivers to enable them to
discern different colour flags used by corner workers for communication.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is very critical in car racing as it facilitates peripheral
awareness and provides good depth perception. Good binocular vision
becomes more demanding during the last few laps of the race when most
attempts are made at passing and visual, mental and physical fatigue start
affecting reaction time.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Figure 25.3: Judgement of apex of the corners and relative distance

of the other contestants needs good depth perception ability
Good depth perception for accurate steering judgement when approaching

the apex of the corners is very important in car racing. Poor depth perception
may lead to late braking, missing a wet patch on the track and missing
braking points. Depth perception is also important considerations to integrate
the information from peripheral awareness while overtaking other drivers.
Central vision is needed to maintain a line or aiming. More than the central
vision, peripheral vision is important for the drivers to be able to see other
cars along side of him, and to be aware of the edges of the pavements.
EYE-HAND-FOOT COORDINATION
Driver’s ability to interpret visual input, and then successfully coordinate
his hands and feet movement, is a key element in car racing. The driver must
be able to make hand and foot movement for shifting and braking, after
properly interpreting the visual stimulus. Although not purely visual, this
could be the most important skill for a successful car driver. Faster reaction
from the visual stimulus is very critical to prevent serious incidents.

This is not a very important skill for a car racer. A crisp focus for distance as
well on the dash is not always essential. However, study has shown that
Visual Needs in Motor Car Racing 127
convergence weakness may make things appear further away than they
really are and may result in loss of depth perception. This may cause late
braking and therefore give too much speed coming out of the corner.
GLARE RECOVERY
Glare recovery speed is not a very critical factor in car racing.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Saccades are more important than pursuits. Driver must be able to quickly
and accurately locate landmarks, corner workers, pit crew and other
disturbances that may arise. Pursuits are needed when the driver is watching
his competition during practice from the sidelines, also while driving, to
follow other driver’s course line.
SUMMARY
Driving is a visually sensitive sport. The eyes and vision are particularly
susceptible to many external and internal factors. Externally carbon particles
may cause watering and discomfort which lead to degraded vision, reduced
concentration and mental fatigue. Internally the air in the cockpit is of particular
concern as vision is more sensitive to air pollution. These factors will directly
affect lap time and at worst they could lead to fatality. Visual performance in
race drivers can be maximized by attention to:
1. Peripheral awareness.
2. Excessive head movement.
3. Cockpit ventilation.
4. Driver hydration/nutrition.
5. Sudden auditory interruption.
128
Chapter 26
Visual Needs in
Downhill Skiing
Downhill skiing is a recreational activity as well as a competitive sport. The

sport involves sliding down snow covered hills with long, thin skis attached
to each foot. The sport is popular wherever the combination of snow,
mountain slopes, and a tourist infrastructure is available, including much of
Europe, North America, and Japan. The sport is very fast and requires entire
body balancing. The upper body remains more vertical than the lower body
throughout the race and the hands are in front of the body to aid the balance.
The secret of success lies simply into the ability of the skier to control the
direction and speed of their descent. Typically novice skiers use a technique
called the “snowplough” to turn and stop by pointing one or both skis
inward, but more advanced skiers use more difficult but more elegant and
speedier method. As the skiers gain confidence, they tackle steeper, longer
and more uneven slopes at higher speed. The speed, endurance and strength
needed for the sport suggest it to be a dynamic event where good amount of
physical control and balance are needed.
Figure 26.1: Adventurous downhill skiing
Atmospheric condition and the greatest speed involved in the sport make it
a highly visually demanding sport. Both aiming and anticipation by depth
Visual Needs in Downhill Skiing 129
perception are critical in downhill skiing. The skier’s entire body weight
should be predominantly on the downhill skiing while negotiating a turn,
shoulder should remain horizontal, hands in front, poles aiming rearward
and down, knees must be bent, the hip should be oriented uphill, while the
shoulder and forearm are directed downhill and the eyes downhill steadily
without any distraction, looking in the intended direction of travel. The entire
body is controlled with respect to skis and the two poles which serve the
purpose of alignment cues for aiming and is achieved with the help of
peripheral awareness. Anticipation is needed for accurate turn. Poor
anticipation may lead to either turning too quickly, causing overturning, or
turn too slow, causing underturning. Anticipation is also needed to assess
the relative distance and speed of the other contestants.
The other visual cues are:
VISUAL ACUITY
Figure 26.2: The speed in downhill skiing demands

good dynamic visual acuity
The visual acuity in downhill skiing is very much influenced by

environmental hazards and is therefore, very critical. The skier must be able
to see small objects in the terrain that might present a hazard such as rocks,
tree branches, stumps and bare spots. The ability to read signs of marked
trails, snow conditions, changing weather pattern are important ability in
skiing safely and preventing a health hazard. These may be common to an
experienced skier or may seem like common sense, but many newcomer to
skiing sport get lost on a mountain or suffer from hypothermia for failing to
respond to posted changing conditions. Nature is dynamic, and skiing
requires visual information for good judgement. Objects—especially other
skiers, appear smaller, as they are farther away as you stand at the top of a
ski trail. Discerning between people in front of you and those in between the
path is necessary for safe and under-control skiing. All these are important
elements while the skier is in motion, hence dynamic visual acuity is more
important than static visual acuity and as the speed increases, the demand
for this skill increases. Visual acuity is the function of contrast sensitivity.
Poor contrast may affect visual acuity. Without good contrast sensitivity,
you are at the mercy of the hill when the light goes flat and you can not spot
treacherous terrain before it swallows you up. Research shows wearing the
right correction in a suitable filter can enhance the ability to see and
distinguish the details especially in flat lighting conditions. Although colour
perception is not a major factor in skiing, distinguishing between certain
colours may become difficult in a particular lighting condition. Caution
should be taken while selecting the sunglasses that they do not distort colour
perception.
BINOCULAR VISION
Binocular vision is very essential in skiing to maintain attention and
concentration because of the high probability health hazards including the risk
of death. Besides, binocular vision improves visual acuity, provides depth
perception ability, widens peripheral vision and facilitates contrast
sensitivity- all of which are very important in skiing. Binocular vision also
stops the muscles around the eyes from getting tired which may affect the
performance during the last stages of the competition.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
Depth perception ability is important to anticipate the distance between
objects and the relative distance and speed of the other competitors. It is also
critical while making turn. Poor depth perception may lead to either turning
too quickly, causing overturning, or turn too slow, causing underturning.
Although monocular depth cues are available, stereopsis aids the skiers in
processing visual information about depth when monocular cues are
sometimes absent.
Figure 26.3: Critical peripheral awareness for safe navigation in skiing

Visual Needs in Downhill Skiing 131
The high visual acuity demand makes central vision very important skill to
look where the skier is going in front and to maintain the correct direction.
Good peripheral awareness is critical in keeping the skier safe from the
whole field and to maintain body balance and seeing others in your field of
vision. Central–peripheral awareness in skiing is one of the most important
element of visual needs as it affects both aiming and anticipation during the
event.
Figure 26.4: Imagine the demand for excellent

eye-hand-body coordination in skiing
Serious athletes know how important their eyesight is. They know that they
must work to enhance their eye-hand-body coordination. Good coordination
starts with good vision. Eye-hand-body coordination is the way your hands,
feet, body and muscles react to the information gathered by the eyes. The eyes
determine speed, timing and mind-body control. When split seconds can
make all the difference in performance and safety, speed of reaction is crucial.
In skiing speed of reaction skill is used to make decisions about terrain
hazards in an effort to avoid them and permits the redirection of body and
skis almost simultaneously.

Fast sports require fast eyes. Shifting of focus from far to near, from optical
infinity to ten feet, must be efficient. Static focusing does not allow efficient or
pretty skiing. As the skier becomes aware of the terrain in front and at the
gates, other skiers and trees, slow shifting of focus delays processing for
quick decision making. The demand for this skill increases with higher
speed and more difficult terrain. Together with speed of focusing, fast fusional
ability is also very important as the two work hand in hand, affecting the
skier’s overall performance.
GLARE RECOVERY
Bright sunlight and glare from the snow are particularly demanding and
takes its toll on skiers mentally and physically. In addition to the decreased
visual performance, prolonged exposure to bright sunlight and ultraviolet
rays can precipitate the formation of cataract. However, during the explosive
moment of speed and turn, the glare may stun the skier and may cause
accidents. Therefore, fast glare recovery is very important in skiing.
OCULOMOTOR SKILL
Saccadic fixation is critical during the downhill skiing, skiing through trees,
and around gates. Pursuits are used in following the other skiers down the
mountain. Fixation is needed to maintain direction through the terrain.
SUMMARY
Visual skills are very important in downhill skiing as it will directly affect
reaction time, balance, eye-hand-body coordination, which can make a
difference between a good and a great run. Visualization also plays an
important part in the ability of a skier. Unable to visualize at the high altitude
may often lead to panic attack.
Ocular Injuries in Sports 133
Chapter 27
Ocular Injuries
in Sports
According to American Academy of Ophthalmology, more than 40000 eye

injuries are caused by sports and recreational activities. The number only reflects
those that were reported, but the actual estimates may be to the tune of 1, 00,
000. Most of these eye injuries are preventable. Studies show that 90% of
sports related eye injuries are preventable. The sad part about eye injuries is
that they often result in permanent damage. Many athletes have lost their
careers due to an eye injury. The eyes are probably the most important part of
the body needed to compete effectively in sports. However, most people do
not take any measure to protect them. They protect their heads with helmets
and their body with pads, but few wear eyewear to protect their eyes.
There are many factors that increase the risk of injury. Those with low
skill levels, often found in the younger athletes, are at greater risk. Therefore,
the young children should be protected, as any eye injury could permanently
end his future in sport. Also those with pre-existing weak eye condition are
at a bigger risk. For instance, if an athlete is playing with low vision in one
eye and good vision in another, precaution should be taken to protect the
good eye, as any injury to good eye could result in vision loss, reducing
overall vision of the athlete. Also, those with high prescription may be at a
bigger risk for permanent damage due to the inherent weakness pre- existing
in their eyes and those who had eye surgery may also be at a greater risk,
since surgery may have weakened the natural state of the eye. Another factor
Figure 27.1: Ocular injury in sports

that increases the risk of eye injury is the type of sport. Athletes participating
in fast dynamic sports are more prone to ocular injuries than the athletes
participating in non-dynamic slow sports.
Eye Injuries in Racquet Sports

Tennis, squash, badminton are common racquet sports and all of them have
very high velocity projectile, squash ball being the fastest moving sport.
Shuttlecock in badminton can also attain a velocity of 135 mph. Both racquet
and ball can cause injury. Possibility of injury increases in doubles as the two
players occupy the place in the same court. Approximately one-half of the eye
injuries from racquet sports are inflicted by the racquet itself. This type of blunt
injury frequently results in ocular contusion at the site of impact. In most
patients, the impact is on the cornea or the limbus, causing damage to the
underlying vascular tissues. This can lead to bleeding into the anterior chamber
of the eye and is called a hyphema. After the initial pain associated with the
impact, a dull ache continues for several hours. Vision may be markedly
reduced, but will improve as the hyphema (blood clot) settles. Occasionally,
there may be some bleeding of the white of the eye. This looks quite alarming,
but represents exterior bleeding which is not nearly as consequential as
interior bleeding. Shuttlecock and the squash ball can penetrate the orbital
cavity, causing serious eye trauma. In a survey of eye injury in sports, squash
was considered to be the most dangerous in terms of risk of eye injury. Most
of the eye injuries are caused by the ball. The classical risk situation is a
player caught at the front of the court, turning to watch the progress of his
shot, being hit by opponent’s next stroke. Injuries in racquet sports can easily
be prevented through the use of sport goggles. These goggles not only provide
protection from injury, but can also be fitted with your prescription in them.
Even if you need a slight vision correction, it will help you see the ball one
second sooner, or help your aim by a fraction of an inch.
Eye Injuries in Combat Sports

Wrestling, judo, boxing are unarmed combat sport and are aim to cause or
simulate injury. Combat sports frequently experience scratched and abraded
corneas from inadvertent finger pokes. These are very painful, irritating and
result in watering and blurred vision. Boxing among the combat sports is
clearly played with an intension to injure, with loss of consciousness of the
opponent being the most prestigious objective. Although protected by very
hard bone on the side eyes are very vulnerable to direct hits from below.
Damage to the eyes in boxing can result from direct contact or from shock
waves. Depending on the force of the blow damage may result in injury to the
retina, retinal detachment, retinal hemorrhage, etc. Contusion of the eyelids
which is usually the result of a blunt or hit to the orbital margin or eyelids are
Figure 27.2: Ocular injury in Boxing
quite common in boxing. The armed combat sports require body protection.
At times failure to either the weapon or the protection may occur. In 1982,
orbital penetration was reported due to broken fencing blade passed through
the facemask of an international fencer.
Eye Injuries in Bat and Stick Sports
Figure 27.3: Possibility of eye injury in cricket
Cricket, hockey, baseball, golf are some of the popular different bat and
ball sports, but they share certain common characteristics. The projectile is
small, hard and travels at a high velocity when struck by either a bat or a
club. The ball is struck when it is in motion except golf in which the ball is
struck by the club when it is static. Study shows that in hockey most of the
injuries are caused by hockey stick. Hyphema, and orbital fracture are most
commonly reported ocular injuries which can be produced by opponent’s
stick. Cricket batsman are more at risk than the bowlers. Ruptured globe,
retinal detachment, hyphemas and lid laceration are common ocular injuries.
However, many cricket batsmen now wear protective head helmets through
which the ball can not get onto the eye. Although golf injuries are rare, golf
balls can produce very serious injuries. Golf ball and club both can fit within
the bony orbit and result in globe trauma followed by enucleation and globe
ruptured. Due to severity of golf related ocular injury, eye protection should
always be considered and emphasized by the practitioners.
Eye Injuries in Large Ball Sports
Figure 27.4: Eye Gouge in Rugby
Large ball sports are usually fast moving sports and involve handling of
ball. Football, basketball, volleyball, rugby, handball are most popular among
them. Although the ball is always in motion, it is not the major cause of
ocular injuries. The hard shot striking the head may have partial penetration
into the orbit, but such injuries are rare. Physical clashes with opponent’s
hands, elbows, feet or sometimes fists can hit eyes accidentally and can
cause injury to the eyes. Such injuries are typically seen in basketball, and
rugby. Deliberate hit with hands are quite common in rugby. That is why
widespread use of helmets are quite common in rugby.
Eye Injuries in Water Sports

Swimming, yachting, fishing and scuba diving are most popular among the
water sports. Prolonged exposure to chlorine in pools can start to eat away the
corneal surface of the eye. Ill-fitted or badly handled swimming goggle may
cause injuries to the eyes. Over-tightening of goggles may cause swollen eyelids.
Vision loss has been reported after elasticized goggle were pulled away from
the face, slipped from the hand and recoiled with the great force into the face.
Fishing injuries, particularly from hooks, are serious and can result in
enucleation. During scuba diving, the relative changes of the environmental
pressure are transmitted to the eyes and the periocular tissue-barotraumas
Figure 27.5: Fishing hook in the left eye
occurs when there is a loss of pressure equilibrium. Diving may be hazardous

for the patients who have undergone ocular surgery. There is a theoretical
possibility of corneal rupture in divers following refractive surgery.
Eye Injuries in Snow Sports
Figure 27.6: Possible injury in skiing
Snow sports are fast and dynamic sports. Skiing and ice-hockey are most
popular. High altitude exposure can cause hypoxia which can lead to
increased retinal blood flow, resulting into the predisposition to intraretinal
haemorrhage. The loss of an eye has been reported because of stick coming in
between face and face protector in ice-hockey. Puck may also cause ocular
injury.
SUMMARY
Studies show that ocular injuries resulting from modern sports are often
severe. Many athletes argue that they have never suffered any eye injury, and
neither have any close acquaintances. That is why they do not need any eye
protection. The authors would like to point out that accidents do not happen
regularly and when they happen, they do not give alert signals. At times it
may not be because of any mistake on the part of the athlete, nor because of
opponent. It is a matter of appreciating the probability of risks and making
sensible judgments to enhance the sporting life of an athlete. However,
considering the severity of ocular injury sustained during the sport it has
been argued that adequate instruction of the participants in the game, proper
use of eye protectors, and a complete ophthalmological examination after an
eye trauma should be mandatory.
The Future of Sports Vision 139
Chapter 28
The Future of
Sports Vision
Sports have been useful way for people to increase their mastery of nature
and the environment. The history of sports can teach us a great deal about
social changes and about the nature of sports itself. Sports seem to involve
basic human skills being developed and exercised for their own sake, in
parallel with being exercised for their usefulness. The changes in the sports
and its rules also show how society has changed its beliefs with the time.
With the industrial revolution and movement of population from the
countryside to the cities, the rural games moved to the new urban centres
and came under the influence of the middle and upper class. The rising
influence of the upper class also produced an emphasis on the spirit of the
“fair play”, with governing bodies being set up for number of sports in
England by the 19th century. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the
sports and their British codified rules began to spread across the world.
With the advent of mass media and global communication, professionalism
became prevalent in the sports. This further added to the popularity of the
sports. The 20th century saw major advances in the participation of women
in sports. Pressure from sports funding bodies further improved gender
equality in sports. Today in our health conscious society, sports participation
is seen as popular and effective means of enhanced fitness. In the UK alone,
some 60 million people participate in sports and leisure. Indeed, sport is
Figure 28.1
now established as one of the largest industries worldwide and many sports
minded people spend considerable amounts of money on advertisement,
sponsorship, prizes and atletes’s professional fees. Today athletes at elite
level enjoy star personality. The next decade will witness the most significant
changes in the way we look at the sports. The proliferation and fragmentation
of media channels, the internet and the involvement of extremely penetrating
technology into the analysis and assessment of an athlete’s ability to play
will revolutionize the sports. Well managed and planned sports and well
trained and well fit athletes will remain. Forward thinking governing bodies
will grasp the opportunity. Others will vanish. Even the smallest contributing
factor to the athlete’s ability to perform will be trained. The future is definitely
heading for many new faces in the list of great players. The athletes are
becoming aware of enormous amount of competition involved in sports and
also of the fact that any compromise in their overall physical fitness will ruin
their career in sports. Physical exercise and muscle toning have already
proved their merit in improving their sporting ability. They have also realized
that the importance of optimum eye protection and high level visual skills to
perform at the peak level and to enhance their sporting life. Good vision
receives, transmits and process the information at a high speed and allows
the athlete an extra time to react faster. This suggests that sporting
performance may be greatly enhanced by the application of sportsvision in
vision care practice. People will be more comfortable and see more when
glare is eliminated, will be better shielded from eye injuries with suitable
standard protective eyewear and will perform better when their visual acuity
is optimized. These essential services can only be obtained by sportvision
specialist optometrist who specializes and is expert in prescribing and
dispensing eye wears suitable to their respective sports and who can also
work with them to improve upon various aspects of their visual system.
Our quest for vision has a long history. Our ancestors used to use glasses
as magnifying glasses to see the object of interest. Gradually the research in
the field of vision developed the methods to correct the optics of human eye.
Methods to correct the optics of human eye has the history of at least 700
years. Spherical lenses have been used to correct defocus as early as 13th
century and astigmatism since 19th century. From spectacles to contact lenses
to cataract removal to laser surgery, there is a long history of tinkering with
vision. Contemporary optometry began around the turn of the 19th and 20th
century in United State of America where some states erected legal regulations
for those opticians who were performing refractions. Soon optometry was
recognized as a separate discipline in the field of eye care. Complexity of
vision and visual system and ever increasing demands of visual needs in
various occupations and different professions led the foundation for the
development of behavioural optometry where specific visual needs specific
to the occupation was evaluated and an effort was made to establish a relation
between poor performance and non-optimal visual skills. Thus, eyes were
looked at simply as another structure which function within the body-
healthy or otherwise and is the leader of all other structures. The holistic
approach towards the vision has replaced the old style of practice. The
introduction of Sportvision in the field of optometry is justified in view of
ever increasing competition in sports and narrowing of differences between
the sporting ability of good and great athletes. Research conducted by Sport
Vision Ltd, UK over the last ten years suggest that there is now an urgent
need for optometrical services in the field of sports to win Olympic medals in
London in 2012. The development of various Sports Vision Associations,
International Academy of Sports Vision and stardardization and certifications
of training modules in the field of Sports Vision—all these are major steps
towards the development of Sportvision as a separate discipline in the field
of optometry.
The growth of sports as well as the number of individuals participating in
organized athletic competition and recreational sports have been phenomenal
over the last decade. The growth of Sportvision and development of the
specialty of sportvision practice in the field of optometry has not yet mirrored
the growth in sports. Many optometrists and ophthalmologists still do not
understand the sportvision needs of their patients and the opportunities for
practice growth that sportvision can provide. In UK market for sport vision
is potentially served by approximately 12500 optical practitioners, of whom
60% are optometrists and 40% are dispensing opticians. In a country where
40% people participate in sporting and recreational activity, then it seems to
have a great potential for sports vision optometrists. USA has been leader in
understanding the importance of vision and vision training to improve the
sporting performance of their athletes.
Practitioners have been practicing sportvision as long as eye care has
been provided. Formation of sportvision discipline in North America began
with the establishment of Sports Vision Section within the 30000 members of
American Optometric Association in 1978. The same year the section began
a vision care service for athletes of United States Olympic Committee. It is
anticipated that these sports vision associations will play a key role in the
development of sportvision. In India, barring some work done on individual
level, not much work has been done. In a country where millions of dollars
are spent on various aspects of sports, there seems to be huge potential to
explore the potential of vision training to improve the sporting performance
of our athletes. The market looks like wide open and at a nascent stage.
Those who will take a proactive approach towards the development of this
new science will take the charge in the future. There are three ways to deal
with new developments—by resisting, following or leading. A resister always
try to criticize the new developments and tries to put the halt, which is
impossible in today’s changing situation. The majority of people who starts
Figure 28.2
by resisting eventually find they have to follow, trying to catch up and if they
fail, they face competitive disadvantage. Seeking to anticipate and lead to
accept the development is thus, paradoxically, safer as well as more
adventurous. Positive aspects of the development may not be obvious at first,
but using it as a stimulus to encourage new ideas and harness enthusiasm
for further improvement may bring positive results and provide a competitive
edge.
The future may bring in the concept of both individual and teams
appointing their own sportvision consultants in a similar manner to trainers,
coaches, psychologists and physicians. And the involvement of eye care
professionals in concert with sports authorities could constitute an accepted
multi-disciplinary approach to sportvision. The future may see increased
cooperation between manufacturer, sports vision associations, research and
sport persons. The best way to improve the sporting skill is to rule out all the
probable causes that may cause stress in any form and result in poor
performance. With the development of sportvision in the field of optometry,
it is possible to set aside probable problems that may arise due to undetected
visual disturbances.
Bibliography
1. Geraint Griffiths: Eye dominance in sports, a comparative study.

2. Geraint Griffiths:The incidence of ametropia in elite sports.
3. Donald F. C. Loan: Sports eyewear; a survey of UK and USA practitioners.
4. Geraint Griffiths: Visual performance in Yachting.
5. Sports Vision by DF C Loran and CJ MacEwen.
6. 21 Popular Sports and games, Rules and regulations by BK Chaturvedi.
7. The complete guide to the skills of badminton by Barbara M Jones.
8. The complete guide to the skills of hockey by Norman Hughes.
9. The complete guide to the skills of swimming by Paul Bush and Terry
Denison.
10. The complete guide to the skills of basketball by Brian Coleman
11. The complete guide to the skills of golf by Barbara M Jones
12. The complete guide to the skills of soccer by Mike Smith.
13. Website References-
• www.aoa.org
• www.optometry.co.uk
• www.sportvision.com
• www.eyeworks.com
• www.bausch.com
• www.sportseyesite.com
• www.infosports.com
• www.americanscientist.org
• www.britannica.com
• www.encarta.msn.com
• www.optometrists.org
• www.easyhit.com
• www.issf-shooting.org
14. Geraint Griffiths: The clinical application of sportvision appliances.

15. Binocular Anomalies: Diagnosis and vision therapy by John R Griffin and
J. David Grisham.
16. Binocular vision and ocular motility: Therapy and management by Gunter
K Von Noorden and Emilio C Campos.
Index 145
Index
A oculomotor skill 111

Aspects of visual elements in chess 118 visual acuity 110
accommodation vergence facility 118
binocular vision 118 D
central–peripheral awareness 118 Dynamic visual acuity and high contrast
depth perception 118
in volley-ball 73
eye-hand-body coordination 118
Dynamic visual acuity in football 77
glare recovery 119
oculomotor skill 119
visual acuity 118 E
Aspects of visual needs in motor car Eye-foot coordination in football 79
racing 125 Eye-hand-body coordination at the back
accommodation vergence facility 126 and on the nets 74
binocular vision 125 Eye-hand-body coordination in badminton
central–peripheral awareness 126
47
Eye-hand-body coordination in skiing
eye-hand-foot coordination 126
glare recovery 127 131
visual acuity 125 F
Fast eye hand and body coordination in
B basket ball 71
Ball and stick in hockey 65 Fielding in baseball 57
Binocular vision in judo 82 Future of sports vision 139
Bright indoor light and big target size in
wrestling 85 G
Good binocular vision in boxing 90
C
Clay pigeon shooting 109
I
binocular vision 110 Impact of vision and vision training on
central–peripheral awareness 111 sporting performance 15
eye-hand-body coordination 111 M
glare recovery 111
Mesopic vision 10
main forms 109
clay shooting 109
skeet shooting 109 O
trap shooting 109 Ocular injuries in sports 133
eye injuries in 135 Sports 1

bat and stick sports 135 dynamic 2
combat sports 134 non dynamic 2
large ball sports 136 Squash-dynamic sport 3
racquet sport 134
snow sports 137 V
water sports 136 Vision 7
effect of aquatic environment of visual
P performance 12
Peripheral awareness for safe navigation in effect of high altitude on visual
skiing 130 performance 11
effect of indoor environment on visual
Photopic vision 10
performance 12
Power hitting batting 56
photopic, mesopic and scotopic
Psychology of vision and competition 16 vision 10
visual awareness and decision making
S 13
Saccadic eye movement for fixation 44 Visual fatigue 14
Scotopic vision 10 Visual need in football 76
Snooker-non-dynamic sport 3 accommodation vergence facility 79
binocular vision 77
Spatial judgement of the ball 53
Spatial localization of ball 74
depth perception 78
Speed in downhill skiing 129 eye-hand-foot-body coordination 79
Sport and vision 19 glare recovery 79
accommodation vergence facility 28 oculomotor skill 80
binocular vision 25 visual acuity 77
central–peripheral awareness 27 Visual needs in archery 113
depth perception 26 accommodation-vergence facility 115
eye-hand-body coordination 28 binocular vision 114
glare recovery 29 central–peripheral awareness 114
hazards of non-ionizing radiations 34 depth perception 114
eye-hand-foot-body coordination 115
maintenance of sight 32
glare recovery 115
aetiology of cataract 33
aetiology of macular degeneration visual acuity 114
33 Visual needs in badminton 45
oculomotor skill 30 accommodation vergence facility 47
fixation 30 binocular vision 46
pursuits 31 central–peripheral awareness 47
saccades 30 depth perception 46
vestibular and optokinetic glare recovery 48
movements 31 oculomotor skill 48
other pathologies 35 visual acuity 46
Visual needs in baseball 55
basal cell carcinoma 35
pinguecula 35 aspect 55
pterygium 35 batting 56
visual demands in sports 21 binocular vision 58
Index 147
depth perception 58 central-peripheral awareness 67

fielding 57 depth perception 67
pitching 57 eye-hand-coordination 67
visual acuity 58 glare recovery 68
central–peripheral awareness 59 oculomotor skill 68
eye-hands coordination 59 visual acuity 66
glare recovery 60 Visual needs in rifle shooting 103
Visual needs in boxing 89 binocular vision 106
accommodation vergence facility 91 central–peripheral awareness 106
binocular vision 90 depth perception 106
central–peripheral awareness 91 eye-hand-body coordination 107
depth perception 91 glare recovery 107
eye-hand-body coordination 91 oculomotor skill 107
glare recovery 91 visual acuity 105
oculomotor skill 92 Visual needs in scuba diving 96
visual acuity 90 accommodation vergence facility 98
Visual needs in cricket 49 binocular vision 97
accommodation vergence facility 54 central–peripheral awareness 98
batting 49 depth perception 97
binocular vision 52 eye-hand-body coordination 98
bowling 50 glare recovery 98
depth perception 52 visual acuity 96
eye-hands coordination 53 Visual needs in snooker 120
fielding 51 elements 121
glare recovery 54 accommodation vergence facility
oculomotor skill 54 122
visual acuity 51 binocular vision 121
Visual needs in downhill skiing 128 central–peripheral awareness 122
accommodation vergence facility 131 depth perception 122
binocular vision 130 eye-hand-body coordination 122
central–peripheral awareness 131 glare recovery 123
depth perception 130 oculomotor skill 123
eye-hand-body coordination 131 visual acuity 121
glare recovery 132 Visual needs in swimming 99
visual acuity 129 binocular vision 101
Visual needs in golf 61 central-peripheral awareness 102
accommodation vergence facility 64 depth perception 101
binocular vision 62 eye-hand coordination 102
depth perception 62 swimming strokes 99
eye-hand-body coordination 63 back stroke 99
glare recovery 64 breast stroke 99
oculomotor skill 64 butterfly stroke 100
visual acuity 62 front crawl 100
Visual needs in hockey 65 side stroke 101
accommodation vergence facility 68 visual acuity 101
binocular vision 66 Visual needs in table tennis 40
accommodation vergence facility 43 Visual skill in basket ball 70

binocular vision 42 accommodation vergence facility 71
central–peripheral awareness 42 binocular vision 70
depth perception 42 central–peripheral awareness 70
eye-hand coordination 43 depth perception 70
glare recovery 44 eye-hand-body coordination 71
oculomotor skill 44 glare recovery 71
visual acuity 41 oculomotor skill 71
Visual needs in tennis 36
visual acuity 70
Visual skills in judo 81
binocular vision 37
central-peripheral awareness 38
binocular vision 82
eye-hand coordination 38
glare recovery 39 central–peripheral awareness 83
oculomotor skill 39 depth perception 82
visual acuity 37 eye-hand-body coordination 83
Visual needs in volley-ball 72 glare recovery 84
accommodation vergence facility 75 oculomotor skill 84
binocular vision 73 visual acuity 81
depth perception 73 W
eye-hand-body coordination 74 Wrestling 85
glare recovery 75 accommodation vergence facility 87
oculomotor skill 75
binocular vision 86
visual acuity 73
Visual needs in yachting 93
depth perception 86
eye-hand-body coordination 87
binocular vision 94
central–peripheral awareness 94 glare recovery 87
depth perception 94 oculomotor skill 88
eye-hand coordination 94 visual acuity 85
glare recovery 95
oculomotor skill 95 Y
visual acuity 94 Yachting 93

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Elite Sports and Vision

(An Introduction to Implications of Vision in Sports)

Ajay Kumar Bhootra

JAYPEE BROTHERS MEDICAL PUBLISHERS (P) LTD

First Edition: 2008

Vision has enormous implications in terms of health and welfare of the

This book is a small effort to reveal the importance of vision in sports

practitioners, sports coaches team managers, sports clubs, sports

Ajay Kumar Bhootra

Acknowledging the support and motivation received expresses a deep

Play is an essential part in the emotional and physical development of a

Dynamic sports Non-dynamic sports

Sports can be Dynamic and Non Dynamic or Controlled. Dynamic sports

Figure 1.1: Squash-dynamic sport Figure 1.2: Snooker-non-dynamic sport

Figure 1.3: A winner

Figure 1.4: Winning has no meaning unless someone else loses

Sports, if well conducted, have always raised the standard of nation to a

Figure 1.5: Sports-mark of civilizations and harmony among different nations

The media are now promoting sport in an unprecedented manner and

Vision may be defined as an act or an art of seeing. It is an act as we do it and

binocular vision, good depth perception, good peripheral vision,

Figure 2.1: Mechanism of vision

Figure 2.2: Nearsightedness Figure 2.3: Farsightedness

Figure 2.4: Astigmatism

Figure 2.6: Mesopic vision

Figure 2.5: Photopic vision Figure 2.7: Scotopic vision

PHOTOPIC, MESOPIC AND SCOTOPIC VISION

EFFECT OF HIGH ALTITUDE ON VISUAL PERFORMANCE

vision at high altitude. High altitude exposure in the early postoperative

Figure 2.8: Underwater imaging is plagued by poor visibility conditions

EFFECT OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

EFFECT OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENT ON VISUAL

VISUAL AWARENESS AND DECISION MAKING

to what is in front of them, we hopefully can provide them an additional time

IMPACT OF VISION AND VISION TRAINING ON SPORTING

PSYCHOLOGY OF VISION AND COMPETITION

Sports and Vision

VISUAL DEMANDS IN SPORTS

Eye watches two objects, for example two black dots,

For a visual acuity of 6/6 (20/20), one of the strokes

Visual acuity of 6/6, the whole letter subtends an angle

Figure 3.1: Visual acuity

Visual Acuity is a time dependent measurement of retinal health and is

Figure 3.2: Right portion is reduced contrast

demands. Unless the dynamic visual acuity threshold is determined, the

Figure 3.3: Each eye captures its own view and

Figure 3.4: Stereoscopic vision or having depth

Depth perception is an important aspect of normal, healthy vision and is

receives the greatest attention, often to the disadvantage of peripheral

Figure 3.5: Eye-hand-body coordination

Accommodation Vergence Facility

Figure 3.6: Right side shows Figure 3.7: Effect of glare

Glare is a visual perception created when external light scattered within

presence of an extremely bright direct light source like sun or lighting

Vestibular and Optokinetic Movements

Table 3.1: Primary skill in different sports

Aetiology of Macular Degeneration

HAZARDS OF NON-IONIZING RADIATIONS

Basal Cell Carcinoma