Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Athletes Participating in the 2022 Masters Field Hockey World Cup

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted lifestyle behaviors and health of masters athletes throughout the world. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet, physical activity, and health (physical, mental, social) of athletes participating in the 2022 Masters Field Hockey World Cup. Materials and Methods: A total of 391 participants (mean age = 56.83+9.83 years) completed the 35-item Health and Well-being of Masters Hockey Athletes Survey. Results: Respondents felt that the COVID-19 pandemic had either no impact/improvement respectively, on their diet (72%/18%), physical activity (55%/30%), and physical health (63%/21%), while reporting either no impact or declines in mental health (67%/24%) and social health (62%/31%). A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicate greater negative impacts in mental health among some younger age groups versus older age groups. Open-ended responses to other impacts of COVID-19 support the finding that participants experienced negative impacts of COVID-19 on their mental and social health. Alternatively, participants reported their overall health to be very good to excellent (80%) and stress to occur rarely or sometimes (79%) by the time of the World Cup events. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the diet, physical activity and physical health of 2022 World Cup Field Hockey athletes whilst having a negative impact on their mental and social health. As such, future support for the mental and social health of masters field hockey athletes is warranted.