Activity Profile Differences Between Sub-Elite Futsal Teams

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(2) : 112-123, 2015. Whilst there are a range of studies examining the differences in match demands between levels of competition, there is an absence of the analysis these differences between teams within the same level of competition. The study used notational analysis to identify performance indicators that differentiated between sub-elite futsal teams from Brazil, Spain and Australia during regular season matches. Based on world rankings, Spanish and Brazilian futsal was deemed to be superior to Australian futsal. The Australian players spent a significantly greater time engaged in high intensity activity than the Spanish players (sprinting: 0.36% v. 0.06%, p\u3c0.05); running: 5.89% v. 3.33%). The Brazilian team displayed the greatest possession of the ball (40.0 ± 10.4%) when compared to the Spanish (23.5 ± 2.73%) and Australian teams (30.9 ± 2.54%) (p\u3c0.01). Additionally, the Brazilian and Spanish teams made a greater number of successful passes per minute of match-play than the Australian team (10.7 ± 1.06 v. 8.68 ± 0.81 v. 5.31 ± 0.60, respectively, p\u3c0.01). These results generally suggest that lower high intensity activity output and superior ball possession and passing accuracy appear to be critical determinants in discriminating between successful and unsuccessful match performance. Accordingly, training to improve technical and decision making skills, specifically related to maintaining ball possession and improving passing accuracy, will likely assist lower performing teams

Does Teammate Recognition Accuracy Influence Movement Time in Ice Hockey?

Background: Biological motion affords the observer a significant amount of relative information that allows the recognition of various features specific to an individual. These include; movement signatures based on locomotion, and gender, in addition to deception and intention. Recent research has also demonstrated it is possible to discriminate teammates from non-teammates when viewing brief (500msec) video footage of locomotion specific movement signatures. Further, correlations between recognition, familiarity, liking, reaction time, and movement time were present when observing familiar gait types (swimming and running). However it is not known whether these trends are also present for less common forms of gait such as ice-skating. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate if; 1) ice hockey players could recognize teammates vs non-teammates from brief visual displays within sport relevant time and, 2) ice hockey players were influenced by factors such as familiarity and liking when making decisions associated with accuracy and latencies (RT, MT). Methodology: Participants (N=13) were required to determine the affiliation of skaters in a randomised video sequence of 23 skaters by indicating teammate or not using a latency device. The device captured choice accuracy, reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT). They were then asked to complete two ranking tasks based on level of liking for each skater (social liking and pass choice liking). Results: Data analysis demonstrated that MT was significantly (p0.05) longer when players perceived the skater as a non-teammate, regardless of decision accuracy, however no other analyses were significant. Conclusion: The results suggest that the perception of a less familiar (non-teammate) individual presents a level of hesitation that affects MT. While this is less problematic within existing teams, newly formed representative teams may be more vulnerable to factors of familiarity or liking thus exaggerated MTs and consequently lost scoring affordances.Keywords: affordances, biomotion, ice hockey, perception, teammates, visual cue

Changes in futsal activity profiles in a multiday tournament

Aim. This study aimed to quantify the activity profiles of futsal players during a tournament, and detect changes in performance towards the final matches, focusing on changes in high-intensity activity. Methods. One team competing in the Australian National Futsal Championships was assessed over six matches across three days. Ball possession, activity profiles and match activities were monitored by means of video recording, enabling a comparison of notational analysis results between individual matches, as well as grouping matches to compare the first half of the tournament to the last. Results. There was a 26.8% decrease in the total raw sprinting distance (

Does teammate recognition accuracy influence movement time in ice hockey?

Background: Biological motion affords the observer a significant amount of relative information that allows the recognition of various features specific to an individual. These include; movement signatures based on locomotion, and gender, in addition to deception and intention. Recent research has also demonstrated it is possible to discriminate teammates from non-teammates when viewing brief (<500msec) video footage of locomotion specific movement signatures. Further, correlations between recognition, familiarity, liking, reaction time, and movement time were present when observing familiar gait types (swimming and running). However it is not known whether these trends are also present for less common forms of gait such as ice-skating. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate if; 1) ice hockey players could recognize teammates vs non-teammates from brief visual displays within sport relevant time and, 2) ice hockey players were influenced by factors such as familiarity and liking when making decisions associated with accuracy and latencies (RT, MT). Methodology: Participants (N=13) were required to determine the affiliation of skaters in a randomised video sequence of 23 skaters by indicating teammate or not using a latency device. The device captured choice accuracy, reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT). They were then asked to complete two ranking tasks based on level of liking for each skater (social liking and pass choice liking). Results: Data analysis demonstrated that MT was significantly (p<0.05) longer when players perceived the skater as a non-teammate, regardless of decision accuracy, however no other analyses were significant. Conclusion: The results suggest that the perception of a less familiar (non-teammate) individual presents a level of hesitation that affects MT. While this is less problematic within existing teams, newly formed representative teams may be more vulnerable to factors of familiarity or liking thus exaggerated MTs and consequently lost scoring affordances

Time-Motion Analysis of International and National Level Futsal

Futsal is the Federation de Internationale Football Association's officially recognized five-a-side indoor soccer, which although increasing in popularity worldwide, lacks the Australian or other English language research necessary to enable the growth of the sport. The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive overview of the demands of futsal by a time-motion analysis on 8 Australian National Team players and 10 State League Team players over 4 futsal matches. The study analyzed 6 locomotor activity categories, focusing on total distance covered, total duration of activities, total frequency of activities, effort distance, and effort duration. The national team covered a 42% greater overall distance than the state league team. In terms of relative data normalized for match duration, only the standing duration value was significantly different between the teams. Furthermore, futsal players of elite and subelite level in Australia perform a change in activity every 8-9 seconds on the court, and the national team athletes attained a higher, yet non-significant, average match-play velocity. This may be because of the national futsal athletes participating in an extended game duration, potentially suggesting that higher levels of competition facilitate a higher intensity of match play and greater physiological demands on individual players. Apart from the differences in timing structure and overall metabolic work, there was no real difference between the levels of competition within the Australian futsal analysis, although at higher levels of competition, there may be a need for more recovery because of the elevated intensity of the match. When comparing the data with other countries, however, Australian futsal players produce less distance and duration than Spanish futsal players

The Reliability and Validity of Subjective Notational Analysis in Comparison to Global Positioning System Tracking to Assess Athlete Movement Patterns

Subjective notational analysis can be used to track players and analyse movement patterns during match-play of team sports such as futsal. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of the Event Recorder for subjective notational analysis. A course was designed, replicating ten minutes of futsal match-play movement patterns, where ten participants undertook the course. The course allowed a comparison of data derived from subjective notational analysis, to the known distances of the course, and to GPS data. The study analysed six locomotor activity categories, focusing on total distance covered, total duration of activities and total frequency of activities. The values between the known measurements and the Event Recorder were similar, whereas the majority of significant differences were found between the Event Recorder and GPS values. The reliability of subjective notational analysis was established with all ten participants being analysed on two occasions, as well as analysing five random futsal players twice during match-play. Subjective notational analysis is a valid and reliable method of tracking player movements, and may be a preferred and more effective method than GPS, particularly for indoor sports such as futsal, and field sports where short distances and changes in direction are observed

The Use of Simulation Training to Accelerate the Rate of Forward Ice Skating Skill Acquisition

Background: Australia’s interest and participation in ice hockey is increasing, however a lack of access to facilities means familiarity with this sport is limited, and so too is the facilitation of skill development within an ecologically valid context. Objective: While numerous methods may be employed to address this, one resource which remains relatively unexplored is the StrideDeck Treadmill, therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of this equipment with specific reference to the biomechanical changes for skating ability. Methods: N = 16 male athletes (Mage = 15.0 ± 0.76 yrs) from a junior league competition participated in this intervention based study. n = 9 were assigned to the training intervention (StrideDeck) once a week, while the control group (n = 7) continued their normal training routines. Further, monthly sprint tests both on the StrideDeck and an on-ice protocol were conducted to track progress via kinematic analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed no significant overall effects for on-ice sprint skating performance after StrideDeck training; however there were significant kinematic differences between StrideDeck and ice conditions. Conclusions: Therefore while the StrideDeck may have merit in regard to physiological paramters, the results of this study do not support its use as a skill acquisition tool in regard to increasing skating ability. Keywords: Simulation training, skill acquisition, treadmill, ice skating, ice hockey skating, ice skating strid

Transient relative age effects across annual age groups in national level Australian swimming

Objective: To determine the prevalence, magnitude and transient patterning of RAEs according to sex, stroke type and distance across all age-groups at the Australian National age swimming Championships. Design: Multiple years of repeated cross-sectional participation data were examined. Method: Participants were 9595 male and female swimmers (aged 12-18 years) who’d participated in a 50 or 400m Freestyle and/or 100 or 200m Breaststroke at the National age swimming Championships between 2000-2014 (inclusive). RAE prevalence, magnitude and transience were determined using Chi-square tests and Cramer’s V estimates for effect size. Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) examined relative age quartile discrepancies (e.g., Q1 v Q4). These steps were repeated across age-groups and according to sex, swimming stroke and distance. Results and discussion: Consistent RAEs with large-medium effect sizes were evident for males at 12-15 years of age and with large-medium effects for females at 12-14 across swimming strokes. RAE magnitude then consistently reduced with age-groups across strokes (Q1 v Q4 OR range - 14 year old male = 1.77-2.29; female = 1.10-1.39). While noting a few exceptions, at 15-16 years, RAEs had typically dissipated; and by 17-18 years, descriptive and significant inverse RAEs emerged, reflecting overrepresentation of relatively younger swimmers. Conclusion: Performance advantages associated with relative age (and therefore growth and maturation) are transient. Greater consideration of transient performance and participation in athlete development systems is necessary. This may include revising the emphasis of sport programmes according to developmental stages and delaying forms of athlete selection to improve validity

Reducing friendly fire using biological motion specific training : a case of misrecognition

Cases of friendly fire during combat have been present throughout the course of any conflict during human evolution. These cases are caused by two main factors, 1) incorrectly identifying a target, or 2) correctly identifying a target, however, another target moves into the line of fire. Factor one is the focus of this paper as a significant body of research has shown that humans can recognise many characteristics from human motion such as gender, actions, intention, emotion and identity. Even more importantly the perceptual ability to detect this information may be trainable using simple video based methods