Explore Sport Science at accredited Level 3. Course level is distinct from the school year in which you study it.
Confirm your cohort: Check the linked course version and school availability for your cohort.
What will I learn?
ATP, fuels and the energy continuum
Accredited course guide — check versionExplain ATP demand first, then compare pathway rate, capacity, fuel and recovery. All pathways contribute; predominance changes with the sporting task.
Oxygen delivery, VO2 and lactate inflection
Accredited course guide — check versionFollow oxygen through ventilation, transport and muscle use. Calculate units carefully and interpret VO2, steady state and lactate-workload evidence as related but distinct measures.
Acute responses and chronic training adaptations
Accredited course guide — check versionDistinguish timescale and test condition. Link cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular changes to function, and use measured evidence to support appropriately limited conclusions.
Designing training for a defined sporting demand
Accredited course guide — check versionBuild a program from performance needs, specify its variables, calculate work and recovery explicitly, and adjust using evidence of both progress and readiness.
Fatigue, recovery and preparation for the next effort
Accredited course guide — check versionMatch recovery to the preceding demand and next task. Separate rapid energy restoration, fuel and fluid replacement, soreness and longer-term readiness, then monitor the response.
Classifying motor skills and recognising their structure
Accredited course guide — check versionDefine the action and context, then classify precision, organisation and environmental predictability separately. Use those demands to justify a specific learning or analysis decision.
Learning stages and the organisation of practice
Accredited course guide — check versionUse task-specific learning stages to select support, and organise practice around retention and transfer. Match rest, component isolation and variation to the learner and objective.
Reaction time and feedback in skilled performance
Accredited course guide — check versionMeasure initiation and movement separately, consider accuracy and anticipation, and use feedback that addresses the actual performance problem at a usable time.
Biomechanics of force, motion and stability
Accredited course guide — check versionDefine the object, direction and objective before applying a model. Keep motion measures, forces, momentum and moments distinct, and state the limits of simplified calculations.
Designing and reporting a two-dimensional movement study
Accredited course guide — check versionChoose an observable question, secure ethical approval, control recording geometry and code consistently. Report an individual evidence-based interpretation with explicit limits and a testable recommendation.
Information processing and memory in sporting decisions
Accredited course guide — check versionTrace information from detection to action, organise instructions meaningfully and test whether stored knowledge can be used in the relevant sporting situation.
Self-confidence, self-efficacy and evidence-based belief
Accredited course guide — check versionBuild task-specific belief through credible accomplishments, relevant models, useful messages and accurate interpretation of sensations. Keep confidence aligned with evidence and preparation.
Goal setting that directs practice and supports review
Accredited course guide — check versionConnect outcome ambitions to actionable process and performance goals. Define measures carefully, involve the athlete and review progress against the real sporting purpose.
Competition preparation, coping plans and debriefing
Accredited course guide — check versionPlan practical requirements, rehearse a flexible routine, use actionable competition cues and prepare proportionate contingencies. Debrief with the athlete using evidence and clear next steps.
Motivation, self-determination and sustainable engagement
Accredited course guide — check versionIdentify the athlete's reasons and barriers, support autonomy, competence and relatedness, and evaluate whether a technique creates meaningful sustained engagement rather than compliance alone.
Arousal, stress and anxiety under competitive pressure
Accredited course guide — check versionIdentify the athlete's appraisal and symptoms, compare models without overclaiming, and select a practised regulation method that moves activation in the direction the task requires.
Attentional styles, concentration and task switching
Accredited course guide — check versionMatch attentional width and direction to the current phase, practise useful shifts and identify overload or mismatch from evidence. Flow is a possible experience, not a guaranteed outcome.
Mental rehearsal and multisensory imagery
Accredited course guide — check versionChoose a clear purpose, accessible sensory content, suitable perspective and realistic timing. Integrate rehearsal with physical preparation and evaluate its task-specific usefulness.
Designing the selected sport-science investigation
Accredited course guide — check versionAlign the question and measurement, control plausible confounds, protect participants and retain transparent data. Interpret the result within the study's actual design and scope.
Evaluating sport-science evidence and justified recommendations
Accredited course guide — check versionCheck measures and variability, distinguish association from causation, evaluate source relevance and connect recommendations to evidence. Preserve the current distinction between numeric exam marks and course criterion ratings.
How will I be assessed?
School arrangements: TASC course assessment applies to the accredited course and level, whether you take it in Year 11 or Year 12. Check criteria, work requirements and any external assessment in the course document, plus your provider’s internal assessment outline.
Needs verification: Accredited course guide (Sport Science Level 3 (SPT315127), accredited from 1 January 2027. Examination structure carried over from the 2026 SPT315126 External Assessment Specifications Version 2 (February 2026) until TASC publishes an SPT315127 specification.): The written examination assesses Criteria 1–5; C6–8 are internal only, and the award is decided from 13 ratings (8 internal, 5 external). The 2026 SPT315126 specification set 150 numeric marks in a 150-minute examination: C1=25, C2=25, C3=35, C4=35, C5=30. TASC has not yet published an SPT315127 specification, so treat those marks and timing as carried over until it does. No official percentage exam weighting is stated. Confirm the syllabus and assessment schedule for your own completion year.
Progression and companion subjects
No complete companion or exclusion review is attached to this profile. Check the official course-entry conditions, language eligibility and your school’s sequence before enrolling. Links between resource hubs show related learning; they do not establish a compulsory prerequisite.
Will I find it hard?
Difficulty depends on your experience, interests, teaching and assessment. These are our reflection prompts, not an official difficulty rating.
- Look at how much data, calculation and graph interpretation appear in the sample for this particular science.
- Can you explain the ideas in your own words as well as recall the terminology?
- Do investigations and evaluating evidence interest you? Check the course’s practical requirements.
Does it scale up or down?
TASC awards and scaled TE scores are distinct. The old requirement for three final-year results was removed from 2025.
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Scaling is not a measure of difficulty or a guaranteed bonus. Prioritise content you can engage with and required subjects for courses you are considering.
Try a little of the subject
ATP, fuels and the energy continuum
1. ATP connects chemical energy to muscle contraction A muscle fibre needs a continuous supply of usable chemical energy, even when the sporting movement appears smooth and uninterrupted. Adenosine triphosphate, ATP, is the immediate energy carrier used by processes such as cross-bridge cycling and ion pumping. Hydrolysis converts ATP to ADP and inorganic phosphate. The overall reaction releases energy that can be coupled to these processes. Avoid saying that simply breaking a bond creates energy: bond breaking requires energy, while the complete reaction has a net energy release because its products are more stable under cellular conditions. Muscle stores only a small immediately available ATP supply. A sprinter therefore cannot rely on stored ATP for an entire race. ATP must be resynthesised from ADP and phosphate throughout the movement. The phosphagen, anaerobic glycolytic and aerobic pathways differ in how quickly they support this resynthesis, the fuels they use and how long their contribution can be sustained. They are pathways for regenerating the same ATP carrier, not three different types of muscular energy. Imagine the start of a six-second acceleration. Demand for ATP turnover rises sharply before oxygen uptake has reached the level that could support the work aerobically. Stored ATP contributes immediately, phosphocreatine supports rapid resynthesis, and glycolytic and oxidative metabolism also contribute. Explain predominance rather than exclusivity: a large phosphagen contribution does not mean aerobic metabolism has switched off. In a written answer, connect the duration and intensity of the acceleration to ATP demand, then identify why a rapid pathway is useful. Naming a system alone does not explain performance. Put numbers on that store. Resting muscl
Original practice question: During a 7-second maximal acceleration followed by 90 seconds of demanding running, a player claims that energy systems take turns and that the aerobic system starts only when the others stop. Explain ATP resynthesis in the acceleration (2 marks), correct the switching claim (2 marks), and explain one implication for repeated accelerations with short recoveries (2 marks).
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Worked solution
This is ATARMAxxing’s original sample learning material. It is not an official assessment task or a prediction of your school’s workload.
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Sources, versions and verification dates
Profile source metadata last checked: 2026-11-14. A source check is not an endorsement by the authority or confirmation that a future course version is unchanged.
- ATARMAxxing Sport Science Level 3 (SPT315127), accredited from 1 January 2027. Examination structure carried over from the 2026 SPT315126 External Assessment Specifications Version 2 (February 2026) until TASC publishes an SPT315127 specification. guide — ATARMAxxing; 2026-11-14. Original existing study guide, not an independent official verification or a forecast of a future syllabus.