ABSTRACT
Originally a mathematical term, parameter is now commonly used to denote the limits of an activity within which that activity can be performed satisfactorily. It derives from the Latin para, for ‘‘beside,’’ and metron, for ‘‘measure,’’ and, strictly speaking, a parameter should have a numerical value. But ‘‘parameters’’ is popularly used synonymously with scope or boundaries (perhaps because it sounds so much like perimeters); as Zella Moore writes in her discussion of sport psychologists’ ethical dilemmas, ‘‘practice parameters aid practitioners in finding ‘the ethical path that will assist them’.’’ In sport and exercise, performance parameters are often cited as the
limits within which a satisfactory competitive performance is conducted. They might be measured in terms of times, number of assists, rounds won; or, in an exercise CONTEXT, number of minutes on the treadmill, weights lifted and so on. The accent is on output. Training parameters are typically different and refer to input, such as numbers of repetitions, hours trained, that is, what someone has put into an activity, rather than how they have performed.
