Physical fitness and peak running periods during female Australian football match-play

Objective: To investigate the influence of physical fitness on peak periods of match-play. Methods: Forty-three female Australian footballers from three teams wore global positioning system units in matches during one competitive season. The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 1) was conducted as an estimate of physical fitness. One-, two-, three-, four- and five-minute rolling periods were analysed in order to determine the “peak” and “subsequent” periods during match-play. Results: Midfielders covered greater distances during peak periods than half-line players (Effect size, ES range = 0.33–0.86; likelihood ≥76%). Nomeaningful differences were reported between positional groups for high-speed distances during the peak periods, with the exception of half-liners covering greater distance during the 1-minute period (ES = 0.38; likelihood = 80%).Higher fitness players covered greater peak total and high-speed (ES range = 0.70–1.16; likelihood ≥94%) distances than lower fitness players, irrespective of position. Higher fitness midfielders covered greater high-speed distances during the 1 to 3-minute subsequent periods than lower fitness midfielders (ES range = 0.46–0.71; likelihood ≥81%). Half-liners with greater Yo-Yo performances covered greater relative total and low-speed (ES range = 0.47–0.70; likelihood ≥76%) distances during the subsequent periods than lower fitness players. Conclusion: Developing physical fitness may enable greater peak and subsequent period performances and improve players’ abilities to maintain higher average match intensities.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Science and Medicine in Football on 19 January 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/24733938.2018.1426103