Sport Specific Skills Differentiates Performance Levels Better Than Anthropometric or Physiological Factors in Beach Handball

Luis Lemos, Alan M. Nevill, Michael Duncan, Vincius De Oliveira, Jose Pino- Ortega, Amilton Santos, Clarice Martins, Fabio Nakamura

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)
    188 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Beach handball is characterized by high and low-intensity efforts on an unstable surface. Players are expected to display high levels of physical performance on sand, though there is no data concerning success in elite players. Purpose: This study aimed to address anthropometric, fitness, and sport specific skills components in beach handball, by comparing elite national team beach handball players (world champions) to sub-elite players (playing at a regular club).Method: A total of 91 senior players (more than 21 years-old) of both genders (19 world champions) were assessed for: anthropometry, 5 meters acceleration, 15 meters sprint, handgrip strength, horizontal jump and 3 specific sport-specific skills (ball velocities in standing, inflight and spin throwing) at a beach court. Anthropometric, physiological and sport specific skill tests variables were analyzed as a multiple dependent variable using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with sex and level (elite vs sub-elite) as the fixed factors. SPSS (25.0) was used, significance was assumed at p<0.05. Results: The results highlighted that for male and female athletes, horizontal jump, 6-m standing, spin and inflight throwing discriminated between elite and sub-elite groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: The study suggests that the factors which differentiate between elite and sub-elite performers in beach handball are horizontal jump and technical ability via the performance of specific throwing skills, rather than anthropometric or any other physical variables, irrespective of sex. These findings highlight some of the relevant physical capacities and skills that need to be developed over the years of preparation of top-level beach handball players.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)682-687
    Number of pages6
    JournalResearch Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
    Volume93
    Issue number4
    Early online date27 Oct 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 27 Oct 2021

    Bibliographical note

    This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. Lemos, L, Nevill, AM, Duncan, M, De Oliveira, V,
    Pino- Ortega, J, Santos, A, Martins, C & Nakamura, F 2021, 'Sport Specific Skills Differentiates Performance Levels Better Than Anthropometric or Physiological Factors in Beach Handball', Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, vol. (In-Press), pp. (In-Press).

    It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits
    non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

    Keywords

    • Sand sports
    • elite athlete
    • sport skills

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
    • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
    • Nephrology

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