Challenges and considerations in determining the quality of electronic performance & tracking systems for team sports.

Electronic performance & tracking systems (EPTS) are commonly used to track the location and velocity of athletes in many team sports. A range of associated applications using the derived data exist, such as assessment of athlete characteristics, informing training design, assisting match adjudication and providing fan insights for broadcast. Consequently the quality of such systems is of importance to a range of stakeholders.

Profiling Professional Rugby Union Activity After Peak Match Periods.

The aim of this investigation was to quantify professional rugby union player activity profiles after the most intense (peak) passages of matches. Movement data were collected from 30 elite and 30 subelite professional rugby union athletes across respective competitive seasons. Accelerometer-derived PlayerLoad and global navigation satellite system-derived measures of mean speed and metabolic power were analyzed using a rolling-average method to identify the most intense 5- to 600-second passages (ie, worst-case scenarios) within matches.

Applying common filtering processes to Global Navigation Satellite System-derived acceleration during team sport locomotion.

This study aimed to observe whether there were substantial differences in acceleration during team-sport locomotion between GNSS manufacturers. Speed and acceleration were obtained from 7 professional rugby league athletes via 2 GNSS manufacturers (GPSports EVO, 10 Hz and STATSports Apex, 10 Hz) worn together during the same training sessions (n = 13). Raw GNSS data were exported from respective proprietary software and a 1 Hz, 4th-order Butterworth filter applied, with differences in speed and acceleration calculated between manufacturers.

Modeling Professional Rugby Union Peak Intensity-Duration Relationships Using a Power Law.

Purpose: Can power law models accurately predict the peak intensities of rugby competition as a function of time?

Methods: Match movement data were collected from 30 elite and 30 subelite rugby union athletes across competitive seasons, using wearable Global Navigation Satellite Systems and accelerometers. Each athlete's peak rolling mean value of each measure (mean speed, metabolic power, and PlayerLoad™) for 8 durations between 5 seconds and 10 minutes was predicted by the duration with 4 power law (log-log) models, one for forwards and backs in each half of a typical match.

Results: The log of peak exercise intensity and exercise duration (5-600 s) displayed strong linear relationships (R2 = .

The impact of matches and travel on rugby players' sleep, wellness and training.

Matches and travel, which are common in professional team sports, may have a negative impact on players. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact on sleep, wellness and training of Super Rugby players. Sleep of 122 players from four teams was monitored using activity monitors for up to three nights before and after matches played at home and overseas.

Prediction of 2000-m on-water rowing performance with measures derived from instrumented boats.

Purpose: Rowing instrumentation systems provide measures of stroke power, stroke rate, and boat velocity during rowing races, but how well these measures predict race performance has not been reported previously.

Methods: Data were collected per stroke from 45 2000-m races using Peach PowerLine and OptimEye S5 GPS units. The boat classes assessed were nine male singles, eight female singles, three male pairs, and six female pairs.

Concurrent Validity of Power From Three On-Water Rowing Instrumentation Systems and a Concept2 Ergometer.

Instrumentation systems are increasingly used in rowing to measure training intensity and performance but have not been validated for measures of power. In this study, the concurrent validity of Peach PowerLine (six units), Nielsen-Kellerman EmPower (five units), Weba OarPowerMeter (three units), Concept2 model D ergometer (one unit), and a custom-built reference instrumentation system (Reference System; one unit) were investigated. Eight female and seven male rowers [age, 21 ± 2.

Relationships between measures of boat acceleration and performance in rowing, with and without controlling for stroke rate and power output.

Purpose: Boat acceleration profiles provide a valuable feedback tool by reflecting both rower technique and force application. Relationships between measures of boat acceleration and velocity to inform interpretation of boat acceleration profiles in rowing were investigated here.

Methods: Thirteen male singles, nine female singles, eight male pairs, and seven female pairs participated (national and international level, age 18-27 y).

The Quantification of Acceleration Events in Elite Team Sport: a Systematic Review.

Background: Wearable tracking devices are commonly utilised to quantify the external acceleration load of team sport athletes during training and competition. The ability to accelerate is an important attribute for athletes in many team sports. However, there are many different acceleration metrics that exist in team sport research.

Corrigendum: Technical Determinants of On-Water Rowing Performance.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2020.

The road goes ever on and on-a socio-physiological analysis of travel-related issues in Super Rugby.

Air travel is a key factor in Super Rugby and can have a negative influence on players' performance and well-being. The aim of this study was to identify the current practice to reduce the effects of air travel and to understand the rationale behind these interventions. "Travel managers" from eight Super Rugby teams were interviewed and answered a questionnaire.

Technical Determinants of On-Water Rowing Performance.

Research establishing relationships between measures of rowing technique and velocity is limited. In this study, measures of technique and their effect on rowing velocity were investigated. Ten male singles, eight female singles, three male pairs, and six female pairs participated.

A League-Wide Evaluation of Factors Influencing Match Activity Profile in Elite Australian Football.

Accurate interpretation of activity profile data requires an understanding of the variables influencing player movement during matches. Over 65,000 stints (player rotations) from all 207 matches of the 2018 Australian Football League (AFL) season were evaluated. The relative activity profile including total distance per minute (TD), high-speed running distance per minute (HSR) and Player Load per minute (PL) was determined for each stint and analysed against a range of match-related, player-related and environment-related predictor variables using multivariate linear mixed modelling.

Sensitivity, reliability and construct validity of GPS and accelerometers for quantifying peak periods of rugby competition.

Training prescription and monitoring of team-sport athletes rely on accurate quantification of player movement. Our aim was to determine the sensitivity, reliability and construct validity of measures derived from a wearable device incorporating Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometer technology to quantify the peak periods of rugby competition. Match movement data were collected from 30 elite and 30 sub-elite rugby union players across respective competitive seasons.

Seasonal Change in Body Composition and Physique of Team Sport Athletes.

Walker, EJ, Aughey, RJ, McLaughlin, P, and McAinch, AJ. Seasonal change in body composition and physique of team sport athletes. J Strength Cond Res 36(2): 565-572, 2022-Body composition of team sport athletes was measured at 3 points across the preseason and competitive season.

Muscle oxygenation maintained during repeated-sprints despite inspiratory muscle loading.

A high work of breathing can compromise limb oxygen delivery during sustained high-intensity exercise. However, it is unclear if the same is true for intermittent sprint exercise. This project examined the effect of adding an inspiratory load on locomotor muscle tissue reoxygenation during repeated-sprint exercise.

The longest journeys in Super Rugby: 11 years of travel and performance indicators.

Regular air travel is common in sport. The aim of this study was to understand the extent to which travel has affected Super Rugby teams' performance from 2006, the first season with available Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), to 2016. Data were analysed with mixed linear models for the effects of number of time-zones crossed (east or west), travel duration, the away-match disadvantage, difference in ranking, a set of amendments to the laws of Rugby Union in 2008, a change in competition format (introduction of a conference system) in 2011, and a secular trend.

Out of your zone? 21 years of travel and performance in Super Rugby.

The extent to which travel has affected Super Rugby teams' performances was analysed using outcomes of all matches played from the beginning of the competition in 1996 to the end of the 2016 season. Points difference and matches won or lost were predicted with general and generalized mixed linear models. The predictors were the linear effects of number of time zones crossed and travel duration based on the teams' locations for each match and their locations in the previous week.

Respiratory muscle oxygenation is not impacted by hypoxia during repeated-sprint exercise.

This study aimed to investigate whether exercise hyperpnoea contributes to an impairment of locomotor muscle oxygenation and performance during repeated-sprint exercise in normoxia and hypoxia. Subjects performed ten 10-s sprints, separated by 30 s of passive rest while breathing either a normoxic (21% O) or hypoxic (15% O) gas mixture. Muscle oxygenation of the vastus lateralis and intercostal muscles was examined with near-infrared spectroscopy.

The Individual and Combined Effects of Multiple Factors on the Risk of Soft Tissue Non-contact Injuries in Elite Team Sport Athletes.

Relationships between athlete monitoring-derived variables and injury risk have been investigated predominantly in isolation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined effects of multiple factors on the risk of soft-tissue non-contact injuries in elite team sport athletes. Fifty-five elite Australian footballers were prospectively monitored over two consecutive seasons.

A Standardized Small Sided Game Can Be Used to Monitor Neuromuscular Fatigue in Professional A-League Football Players.

Training and competition load can cause neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) and modified movement strategy such as an increase in the contribution of the medio-lateral [PlayerLoad(%)] and decrease in the % vertical [PlayerLoad(%)] vectors, to total PlayerLoad (accelerometer derived measurement in vertical, medio-lateral, and anterior-posterior planes) in matches. NMF assessment involves expensive equipment, however, given the modification of match movement strategy with NMF, this may be present in a standardized drill. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of a small sided game (SSG) for the measurement of NMF.

Effects of Training and Competition Load on Neuromuscular Recovery, Testosterone, Cortisol, and Match Performance During a Season of Professional Football.

Training load and other measures potentially related to match performance are routinely monitored in team-sport athletes. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of training load on such measures and on match performance during a season of professional football. Training load was measured daily as session duration times perceived exertion in 23 A-League football players.

Normal Variability of Weekly Musculoskeletal Screening Scores and the Influence of Training Load across an Australian Football League Season.

The sit and reach test (S&R), dorsiflexion lunge test (DLT), and adductor squeeze test (AST) are commonly used in weekly musculoskeletal screening for athlete monitoring and injury prevention purposes. The aim of this study was to determine the normal week to week variability of the test scores, individual differences in variability, and the effects of training load on the scores. Forty-four elite Australian rules footballers from one club completed the weekly screening tests on day 2 or 3 post-main training (pre-season) or post-match (in-season) over a 10 month season.

Proposal of a Global Training Load Measure Predicting Match Performance in an Elite Team Sport.

The use of external and internal load is an important aspect of monitoring systems in team sport. The aim of this study was to validate a novel measure of training load by quantifying the training-performance relationship of elite Australian footballers. The primary training measure of each of 36 players was weekly load derived from a weighted combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) data and perceived wellness over a 24-week season.