Author(s): CASTIÑEIRA LAMPÓN, S., LÓPEZ-ALONSO, V., IGLESIAS, X., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF A CORUÑA, Country: SPAIN, Abstract-ID: 2736

INTRODUCTION:
Artistic swimming is a highly demanding aquatic discipline requiring refined technical and athletic skills, in which routines represent the artistic expression of performance¹. Observation plays a central role and, through observational methodology, helps identify the technical and choreographic elements that determine routine quality². Despite the usefulness of time–motion analysis for routine evaluation and safety monitoring³, the complexity of judging has contributed to the scarcity of studies examining movements in competition². The introduction of a new scoring system in 2022, aimed at increasing objectivity, highlighted the need for advanced monitoring and analytical tools⁴. Therefore, this study aimed to develop, validate, and examine the intra-observer reliability of an observational instrument for artistic swimming routines.
METHODS:
An ad hoc observational instrument (40 criteria across six dimensions) was developed with artistic swimming and observational methodology specialists and reviewed by five elite coaches. Content validity was assessed by 17 experts using dichotomous agreement (YES/NO). For reliability analysis, 33 routines from the 2023 World Cup were randomly selected (three per event: women’s solo technical—WST; women’s solo free—WSF; men’s solo technical—MST; men’s solo free—MSF; mixed duet technical—MDT; mixed duet free—MDF; women’s duet technical—WDT; women’s duet free—WDF; team technical—MTT; team free—MTF; and acrobatic routine—ACRO). Two observations (O1–O2), separated by two weeks, were coded using LINCE PLUS (v.3.2.5). Statistical analyses were conducted in PyCharm (v.2025.3.2.1). Temporal reliability was assessed using time-window agreement (±1s)⁵. Number of Movements was analysed using tolerance-based agreement (δ=±1), MAE, and bias (O2−O1), whereas Number of Pattern Changes was evaluated using ICC⁷. Apnea time was analysed descriptively.
RESULTS:
Positive agreement among experts reached 78.1% (95%CI:77.0–79.2), indicating acceptable content validity⁶. Temporal agreement was 100% in solo events and 89.89–98.98% in duet and team routines. Agreement for Number of Movements ranged from 84.8% to 100%, with MAE below one movement unit. Number of Pattern Changes showed good to excellent intra-observer reliability (ICC=0.84–0.97)⁷. Apnea represented a substantial proportion of routine duration: WST 93.4s (75.27%), WSF 97.27s (71.49%), MST 86.08s (70.43%), MSF 89.04s (65.14%), MDT 91.07s (64.21%), MDF 90.34s (53.71%), WDT 91.43s (64.15%), WDF 111.63s (66.75%), MTT 102.3s (59%), MTF 116.29s (56.15%), and ACRO 61.56s (34.28%).
CONCLUSION:
The observational instrument met data quality standards and showed adequate validity and intra-observer reliability for analysing artistic swimming routines, enabling detailed examination of apnea and non-immersion times.
REFERENCES:
[1]World Aquatics, 2023a; [2]Iglesias et al., 2015; [3]Alentejano et al., 2008; [4]World Aquatics, 2023b; [5]Yoder & Tapp, 2004; [6]Davis, 1992; [7]Koo & Li, 2016.