Wachholz Felix
Name: Wachholz Felix, PhD
Email: Felix.Wachholz[at]uibk.ac.at
Phone number: +43 512 507 45857
Office location: FH-124
Tutorial hours: Appointments available during office hours, arranged by email
Address: Fürstenweg 176, 6020, Innsbruck
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7421-9852
Research area: Sports economics, Neurophysiology of exercise
Felix Wachholz was born 1991 in Bad Aibling near by Rosenheim in Germany. He started studying “Sportmanagement” 2011 in Innsbruck and made his bachelor’s degree in 2014. Afterwards he started a 6-month internship at adidas AG in Herzogenaurach, Germany and started studying “Sport Science” 2015 after returning to Innsbruck. He received a “Leistungsstipendium” in 2016 and graduated 2017 and began his doctoral studies in the Neurophysiology-Group of Prof. Dr. Peter Federolf in the same year. During this time, he was granted by the University of Innsbruck and received a “Doktoratsstipendium aus der Nachwuchsförderung” from 2017 to 2019. In 2020 he finished his PhD. and started working in the "Researchcenter Snow Ski Alpine Sport". Since February 2022 he is an University Assistant and works in the Sportmanagement-Group of Prof. Dr. Martin Schnitzer, with focus on Digitalization in Sport.
Besides working in the scientifically field, he is a certified climbing-, track & field- and ski-instructor. Moreover, he works as lecturer for different sports organisations like the “Bundessportakademien” or the “Sportunion Tirol” teaching theoretical and practical training science. He is co-author of the book "E-Sport Fitness", giving advice to E-Athletes how to use physical exercise to improve performance.
Digitalization in Sport
The ongoing development of innovative digital technologies, including game-based systems, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality is opening up new ways of performing, evaluating, and experiencing sport. My research focuses on digital phenomena such as esports and on the question of whether, and how, physical activity can be meaningfully integrated into digital environments. In addition, technological innovations in sport increasingly offer opportunities to apply gamification principles in both recreational and elite-performance contexts. A central part of my research is therefore concerned with evaluating these innovations and examining their effects on movement, performance, and sport-related behavior. More broadly, I am interested in how digital technologies and AI-driven systems shape movement behavior, physical activity, and the future development of sport.
Motor Control & Human Movement Science
How the human body adapts motor control in different situations is another research field I'm interested in. Underlying mechanisms are still topic to debate and new methodological approaches offer new insights in how we as human beings alter consciously or unconsciously our behavior during different situations, e.g. while performing dual-task or after disturbance of the postural control system. Variability and human movement are connected due to the vast amount of possible degrees of freedom in our movements. Although this is no new finding, research keeps exploring this field of research and still reveals new insights and mechanisms. I’m interested in applying new methods to these known questions and try to help deepen the understanding of ongoing mechanisms.
Teaching (ongoing):
SE Seminar mit Bachelorarbeit – Sportmanagement
PS Einführung in das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten
PS Freizeit- und Sportökonomik
PR Angewandtes Sportmanagement
UE Leichtathletik
UE Vertiefung der Grundsportarten: Leichtathletik
Highlighted publications:
Wachholz, F., Coenen, F., Zhang, M., & Heidenreich, H. (2026). Effects of Acute and Chronic Physical Exercise on Esports Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine-Open, 12(1), 56.
Wachholz, F., Schnitzer, M., Roth, J., & Winner, H. (2026). From snow to screens: resident support for Olympic esports games in a former winter Olympic games host city. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-10-2025-0518
Wachholz F., Gamper N., Kruse S., Anderlan R.-M., & Schnitzer M. (2026). Motives of Children for Digital Gaming and Physical Activity and Their Parents’ Perceptions: Cross-Sectional Matched-Pair Study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 9, e80129. https://doi.org/10.2196/80129
Wachholz, F., Janßen, L., & Heidenreich, H. (2025). Esports associations in Germany and Austria: A comparative study of community satisfaction. Performance Enhancement & Health, 13(4), 100361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peh.2025.100361
Wachholz, F., Wilhelm, M., Frühauf, A., Niedermeier, M., & Kopp, M. (2025). Decision-making, affective states, and self–efficacy of students in the high–stress situation of a 192 m bungee jump–a randomised crossover trial. Cognition and Emotion, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2025.2496822
Wachholz, F., Manno, S., Schlachter, D., Gamper, N., & Schnitzer, M. (2025). Acceptance and trust in AI-generated exercise plans among recreational athletes and quality evaluation by experienced coaches: a pilot study. BMC Research Notes, 18(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07172-9
Wachholz, F., Gamper, N., & Schnitzer, M. (2025). An 8-week physical exercise intervention for e'athletes improves physical performance rather than short-term esports performance parameters-a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, 1504205. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1504205