Evidence for the Psychometric Properties of Component Test Items in the Eurofit Test Battery administered to Elite Schoolboy Rugby Union Players: A Test-retest Reliability Study

• Authors: Tafadzwa Mupondi , Tonderai Washington Shumba , Christiane von der Heiden , Farirai Kamba , Matthew Chiwaridzo

Abstracts

EN

Rugby is a popular sport and requires participants to have commensurate physical attributes for effective participation. One physical fitness test battery which enjoys extensive use contextually is the European Test of Physical Fitness (Eurofit). However, the psychometric properties of the test battery have not been explored and documented in the local context. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the test-retest reliability of the Eurofit test battery items among elite schoolboy rugby players in Harare, Zimbabwe. Thirty-two (32) players with the mean age of 17.2 (SD=1.03) years completed all the tests during the in- season period. Anthropometric and Eurofit test measurements were obtained twice with seven days separating the assessments. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) estimated the reliability test items. The global ICCs for the Eurofit test items ranged from 0.59 to 0.98. The Sit-and-Reach test yielded the highest temporal reliability (ICC=0.98). The Plate Tapping test, Flamingo Balance test and 10×5m Shuttle Run test showed ICCs < 0.7. Cognisant of the study limitations, some component test items of Eurofit test battery can be recommended for reliably evaluating aspects of physical fitness in junior rugby players in Zimbabwe whilst others still need consideration and test modification.

Keywords

EN

test-retest reliability; rugby; adolescents; junior; Eurofit test battery

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Szczeciński. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
• Journal: Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 46
• Pages: 117-130

Dates

published

2024

Contributors

author

Tafadzwa Mupondi

• Rehabilitation Unit, Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe

author

Tonderai Washington Shumba

• Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

• https://orcid.org/0000000334621043

author

Christiane von der Heiden

• Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

• https://orcid.org/0000000214012729

author

Farirai Kamba

• Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

• https://orcid.org/0000000211505376

author

Matthew Chiwaridzo

• Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

• https://orcid.org/0000000344709604

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18276/cej.2024.2-10

Biblioteka Nauki

48528835