Facilities for Sport-related Teaching and Research

At Moray House, we have a wide range of sports facilities on offer to enhance research and studies of our staff and students.

Biomechanics Lab and associated equipment

Image of Sports data analysis at Edinburgh University

Our biomechanics laboratory is equipped with world-leading hardware and software. A motion capture system, a computerized robotic dynamometer, electromyography sensors and a range of force platforms are some of the instruments our students use to analyse human motion and gain better understanding of potential to performance.

Dance Studio

The bespoke dance studio-lab has beautiful views of Arthur’s Seat and is one of the largest in the city, with a working capacity for 40 dancers. The studio is supported by up-to-date audio/visual technology and there is a viewing gallery that provides opportunities to observe teaching and performances.

Environmental Human Performance Lab

Our Environmental Human Performance Lab is a state-of-the-art, fully climate controlled space capable of simulating environments ranging from -20 to +50^oC, 20-90% relative humidity, and up to 8,750 metres altitude, making it the highest capacity environmental chamber in Scotland.

The lab allows us to deliver high-quality, practically driven teaching on the influence of environmental stressors on the physiology and psychology of athletes, recreationally active exercisers, and in occupational and health settings. It will also allow students to carry out their own research projects in these areas.

Games Halls

Games Hall Moray House School of Education and Sport

The games halls within St Leonard’s Land are predominantly used as teaching spaces for our Physical Education programmes. Within these spaces a range of activities can be accommodated, such as volleyball, badminton and basketball.

Physiology Lab

Our large physiology teaching lab enables individual and group work, exploring exercise and sports physiology in action across cycling, rowing and running modes of exercise, progressing from first principles through to state-of-the-art technology and now an integrated online learning platform.

Project Lab

An additional research and teaching project lab in the basement level provides further flexible space for data collection, ranging from consultancy work with athletes to group practical work and dissertation data collection.

Psychology Lab

The psychology lab is set to the side of the main practical teaching space. It is a self-contained, flexible unit that can be configured in multiple ways to enable students and researchers to collect a wide range of data – enabling experiments, interviews and observational studies to be conducted.

Strength and Conditioning Performance Gym

Image of Strength and Performance Gym at Edinburgh University

The performance gym is a bespoke training facility catering for a range of performance needs. It offers a variety of equipment: including free weights (bars, dumb bells and medicine balls), pulleys, exercise bikes, dome balance balls and benches.

Swimming Pool

Our swimming pool is used as a laboratory for aquatics research. It has a movable floor that allows us to set it at different depths. The equipment we use include a number of above- and under-water cameras for video analysis, waterproof sensors to measure muscle activity, poolside monitors, and specialised analysis software. Our work includes helping swimmers improve performance and improving rehabilitation programmes undertaken in the water for people with musculoskeletal disorders and other conditions or injuries.

The swimming pool is also used for training, teaching and commercial activities.

This article was published on 3 Sep, 2024