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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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FAMILIARISATION AND RELIABILITY OF SPRINT TEST INDICES DURING LABORATORY AND FIELD ASSESSMENT |
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James G. Hopker1  ,
Damian A. Coleman2, Jonathan D. Wiles2 Andrew Galbraith1 |
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1Centre for Sports Studies, University of Kent, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent, UK, 2Department of Sport Science, Tourism and Leisure, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, Kent, UK . |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 528 - 532 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of sprint performance
in both field and laboratory conditions. Twenty-one male (mean ± s: 19 ±
1 years, 1.79 ± 0.07 m, 77.6 ± 7.1 kg) and seventeen female team sport players
(mean ± s: 21 ± 4 years, 1.68 ± 0. 07 m, 62.7 ± 4.7 kg) performed a maximal
20-metre sprint running test on eight separate occasions. Four trials were
conducted on a non-motorised treadmill in the laboratory; the other four
were conducted outdoors on a hard-court training surface with time recorded
by single-beam photocells. Trials were conducted in random order with no
familiarisation prior to testing. There was a significant difference between
times recorded during outdoor field trials (OFT) and indoor laboratory trials
(ILT) using a non-motorised treadmill (3.47 ± 0.53 vs. 6.06 ±1.17s; p <
0.001). The coefficient of variation (CV) for time was 2.55-4.22% for OFT
and 5.1-7.2% for ILT. During ILT peak force (420.9 ± 87.7N), mean force
(147.2 ± 24.7N), peak power (1376.8 ± 451.9W) and mean power (514.8 ± 164.4W),
and were measured. The CV for all ILT variables was highest during trial
1-2 comparison. The CV (95% confidence interval) for the trial 3-4 comparison
yielded: 9.4% (7.7-12. 1%), 7.9% (6.4-10.2%), 10.1% (8.2-13.1%) and 6.2%
(5.1-8.0%) for PF, MF, PP and MP and respectively. The results indicate
that reliable data can be derived for single maximal sprint measures, using
fixed distance protocols. However, significant differences in time/speed
over 20-m exist between field and laboratory conditions. This is primarily
due to the frictional resistance in the non- motorised treadmill. Measures
of force and power during ILT require at least 3 familiarisations to reduce
variability in test scores.
Key words: Non-motorised treadmill, force, power, familiarisation, sprint running. |
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