ECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP02
INTRODUCTION: Fast response times are an essential skill required across various actions and sports. Sports are categorized based on the degree of interaction with the environment and the demand for quick responses. Open-skill (OS) sports such as volleyball and tennis are highly reactive, while closed-skill (CS) sports like swimming or running are characterized by a predictable and repetitive environment. For instance, a goalkeepers ability to save a penalty heavily relies on rapid movement once the direction of the shot is recognized and processed. However, there is no consensus on the extent to which response times differ between these groups. Therefore, this study aims to investigate differences in visual motor response times among high-level and professional athletes in OS and CS sports using the BATAK Pro™. The BATAK Pro™ is a reaction time apparatus designed for standardized reaction time assessments in a controlled environment. It consists of a board with a series of illuminated targets arranged in a grid pattern. These targets light up randomly, and the participants task is to quickly and accurately touch or hit each target as it lights up. METHODS: Sixty-three professional/high-level athletes (26 female; 37 male) competing in the highest tier/level of their respective OS or CS sport were recruited for the study (age = 21.35 ± 3.49 years). OS sports included martial arts, tennis, table tennis, badminton, basketball, volleyball, rugby, and soccer. CS sports included athletics, swimming, cycling, triathlon, rowing, and gymnastics. Height, wingspan, and weight were also recorded to account for limb length and reach. All athletes performed two pre-set protocols on the BATAK Pro™, including two practice and eight test trials for each protocol. The average scores, calculated from the number of targets struck (Accumulator) and the rate of completing 50 targets (Mirror Race), were used for analysis. The variables wingspan, height, years of sport experience, and training volume were tested for moderating effects. RESULTS: A two-way independent ANOVA (2 x 2) was performed to analyze the effect of sports categories (OS vs. CS) and participants (male vs. female) on each of the demographic variables: age, weight, height, wingspan, experience, and training volume. Two additional ANOVAs were subsequently performed for the two Batak Pro protocols employed. There was no significant difference (p > .05) in response times (mean OS 49.9s vs. CS 49.9s) and number of targets struck between OS (mean: 74.7 targets) and CS (mean: 75.5 targets) athletes. Males performed superiorly in both protocols, partially explained by greater height and wingspan (p < .001). CONCLUSION: The findings provide further evidence that differences in response time of OS and CS athletes do not transfer to a general reactive context using a movement-oriented response apparatus. The remaining variance and the source of response differences in males and females require further investigation.
Read CV Domenico CrognaleECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP02
INTRODUCTION: Table tennis (TT) is characterized by its rapid and dynamic nature, highlighting the critical importance of agility for players in its sporting discipline [1]. Consequently, the main purpose of this study is to employ the TT-specific agility test to assess the lower limb agility capabilities of elite male TT players within distinct age groups (i.e., college and U16). Moreover, agility encompasses both motor and cognitive abilities, including inhibitory control [2], which aids in maintaining focus on the assigned task and preventing impulsive actions that may potentially lead to errors. This attribute is considered indispensable in executing nimble movements [3]. Thus, the secondary objective of this study is to quantify the correlation between these two variables. We hypothesize that the college group will demonstrate superior performance in both assessments, as well as stronger inhibitory control, thus corresponding to a greater agility capacity. METHODS: Twenty-nine Taiwanese TT players were recruited as participants and divided into two groups: college (n=14, average age 20.07±1.89; height 172.57 ± 5.60; weight 67.07 ± 8.63; BMI 22.45 ± 2.18) and U16 (n=15, average age 14.27±0.96; height 172.02 ± 6.88; weight 58.56 ± 8.52; BMI 19.75 ± 2.42). The TT-Agility Test (TTAT) was used to assess agility, and the Covert Orienting of Visuo-spatial Attention Tasks (COVAT) was used to assess inhibitory control ability of the lower limb. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the difference between groups, and Pearson correlation was used to measure the linear relationship between TTAT and COVAT. RESULTS: We found that the college group performed better than the U16 group in TTAT (p < .001) but not in COVAT. Correlation analysis between TTAT and COVAT did not show significant differences. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that collegiate TT players possess notably superior agility capabilities specific to the sport when compared to U16 players. Conversely, traditional inhibitory control tests, such as COVAT, prove to be insufficient in discerning discrepancies among TT players across different age groups. Therefore, there is a need for the development of more tailored assessment tools for sport-specific inhibitory control. Although no significant differences were observed in the correlation analysis between TTAT and COVAT, it can be inferred that enhanced agility is likely accompanied by improved inhibitory control abilities.
Read CV EeWon LiewECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP02
INTRODUCTION: Aerobic endurance is important for table tennis (TT) players. At an elite level, it is also paramount to facilitate recovery between matches. While the majority of prior research has already developed a sport-specific aerobic capacity test for TT, it did not cover enough intensity variation for reliable testing. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the differences in aerobic performance between the two groups of TT players in two kinds of TT-specific aerobic test. METHODS: Twenty-two male elite TT players were recruited, eleven of whom were adult athletes aged between U18 and U22, and the other eleven were youth athletes (U14-17). Two TT-Specific Aerobic Tests were used to assess players’ aerobic capacity, which comprised the Incremental TT-Specific Aerobic Test (ITTSAT) and the Multistage TT-Specific Aerobic Test (MTTSAT). In the ITTSAT, TT players performed from session 1 to session 2 (with frequencies of approximately 48 and 57 balls/min, respectively, with 6 minutes per stage) until voluntary exhaustion, with a mechanical ball thrower simulating forehand two-point mobile attacks. Regarding the MTTSAT, it consisted of an initial frequency of 44 balls/min and increments of 4 balls/min every 3 minutes (e.g., 48, 52, 56, 60, and 64 balls/min). Changes in heart rate and total sporting times were measured to determine the TT players’ physiological responses and sport performance. RESULTS: The results revealed that the time spent in individual practice showed significant differences among two groups. U14-17 TT players were more time than the U18-22 TT players. There were no significant differences in ITTSAT total sporting times (668.73s vs. 548.45s, p =.05) and heart rate among groups. In contrast, the U14-17 group demonstrated higher total sporting times than the U18-22 group (932.18s vs. 736.10s, p <.05), especially in aerobic endurance duration, which was significantly more strongly related to sport performance in the MTTSAT. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that weekly training hours are associated with body composition and aerobic capacity levels in competitive TT players and it is necessary to maintain an adequate aerobic endurance base. The beneficial effects of having a TT-specific high aerobic status could therefore be extended to assessing the improvement of superior athletic performance. Secondly, our results appear to support evidence that MTTSAT may be more useful method within evaluating sport-specific test of aerobic endurance performance in TT.
Read CV Tai-Fen SongECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP02