The Reliability of a Functional Agility Test for Water Polo

• Authors: Guilherme Tucher , Flávio Antonio de Souza Castro , Nuno Domingos Garrido , Antonio José Rocha Martins da Silva
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Few functional agility tests for water polo take into consideration its specific characteristics. The preliminary objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of an agility test for water polo players. Fifteen players (16.3 ± 1.8 years old) with a minimum of two years of competitive experience were evaluated. A Functional Test for Agility Performance (FTAP) was designed to represent the context of this sport. Several trials were performed to familiarize the athlete with the movement. Two experienced coaches measured three repetitions of the FTAP. Descriptive statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), 95% limit of agreement (LOA), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurements (SEM) were used for data analysis. It was considered that certain criteria of reliability measures were met. There was no significant difference between the repetitions, which may be explained by an effect of the evaluator, the ability of the players or fatigue (p > 0.05). The ICC average from evaluators was high (0.88). The SEM varied between 0.13 s and 0.49 s. The CV average considering each individual was near 6-7%. These values depended on the condition of measurement. As the FTAP contains some characteristics that create a degree of unpredictability, the same athlete may reach different performance results, increasing variability. An adjustment in the sample, familiarization and careful selection of subjects help to improve this situation and enhance the reliability of the indicators.

Keywords

EN

Water polo; agility assessment; reproducibility; testing

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Journal of Human Kinetics
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 181-190

Dates

accepted

1 - 6 - 2014

online

8 - 7 - 2014

Contributors

author

Guilherme Tucher

• University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.

author

Flávio Antonio de Souza Castro

• Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

author

Nuno Domingos Garrido

• University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.

author

Antonio José Rocha Martins da Silva

• University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/hukin-2014-0046