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Friday 2 November Papers / Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 15 (2012) S188S264

Discussion: The algorithm developed, identied the start and

end points of a stride with >99% accuracy, and was as accurate as
proprietary algorithms in correctly identifying number of steps. The
algorithm could be used to identify the start and end of a stride
in a consistent manner allowing a precise measure of cadence or
additional assessment of stride characteristics. In addition, accurate determination of strides would be useful for determining step
characteristics to separate types of walking (e.g. stair climbing).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.11.542
540
Body loads and physical impacts in National Rugby League players
C. Cummins , R. Orr, H. OConnor
University of Sydney
Background: Rugby league is a collision sport, often described
as the most physically demanding of team sports. A number of
studies have identied the physiological and anthropometric characteristics of sub-elite and elite rugby league players and examined
the physiological responses during a professional rugby league
match. Advances in match analysis technologies such as Global
positioning systems (GPS) have permitted comprehensive analysis
of on-eld performance in terms of movement patterns, distances covered, physiologic demands and body loads. GPS enables
quantication of collisions and the repeated high intensity effort
demands of training and competition in rugby league. This study
investigated player movement demands and collision impacts during match play.
Methods: Elite rugby league players from the 2012 National
Rugby League (NRL) competition were recruited. The players wore
GPS units during each competition match. Match play video footage
was linked to GPS data for movement pattern analysis. Outcome
measures of movement demands (distance, distance per minute
and maximum speed) were analysed. In addition, impacts sustained during tackles and physical contact were assessed via
accelerometer data were categorized into one of six zones. The
highest impact forces were in Zone 5 (810G) and Zone 6 (>10G).
Results: A total of 42 NRL players were recruited (age 21 2.8 yr,
body mass 102.7 19.2 kg and height 184.5 6.2 cm). To date, players averaged 33.3 14.5 minutes of play per half, 2971.3 1288.0 m
distance covered per match, 90.9 25.0 m/min workload (distance
covered each minute) and an average maximum running speed of
7.7 2.1 m/s. A total of 824 tackles were recorded with 523 tackles
(63.47%) recording impacts in zone 5 and 301 tackles (30.95%) in
zone 6. These high impact tackles were majorly comprised of ve
key playing positions 7 (half back), 8 (prop forward), 9 (hooker), 11
and 12 (second row forwards).
Conclusion: These preliminary ndings show that more than
half of tackles completed in a match are at high collision forces. The
key defensive positions of half back and forwards contribute to the
majority of high impact tackles throughout a game. Although these
results may be unique to individual teams defensive play strategies, they are indicative of the signicant physiological demands of
collisions in rugby league. GPS analysis can provide further insight
into the physical demands of competition.

541
Reliability and validity of a talent identication test battery for
seated and standing Paralympic throwing
J. Spathis
University of Queensland
Introduction: Paralympic throwing events are contested by
athletes with impairments of strength, range of movement and
coordination of varying severity. The events contested comprise
javelin, discus and shot put thrown from a seated or standing
position, as well as the club throw. The club is unique to Paralympic sport, and is thrown from a seated position using one of
three techniques: over-arm (similar to javelin); round-arm with
a straight elbow (similar to the discus action); and a backwards
overhead technique. The ability to identify talented individuals in
Paralympic throwing events would be advantageous for sporting
institutes, coaches and athletes to predict future success in international competition and promote participation. Unfortunately the
complex nature of the impairments and the unique biomechanics
of Paralympic throws means that tests used to identify talented
non-disabled throwers may not be valid for Paralympic throwers.
To date valid and reliable talent identication (TID) tests for Paralympic throwing events has not been reported in the literature.
This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and predictive validity
of a novel TID battery for seated and standing throwing.
Methods: Participants were 28 non-disabled physically active
people (13 male, 15 female) aged 23.6 years (5.4). Participants
performed ve criterion throws using a clubtwo over-arm (one
seated, one standing), two rotational (seated and standing) and
a seated backwards overhead throw (seated)as well as eleven
TID tests (three anthropometric and eight physical). Participants
completed a second testing session within seven days of the
rst. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using independent t-test,
Intra-class correlation (ICC; 3,1) and Standard Error Measurement
(SEM); strength of association between individual tests and ve
criterion throws was assessed using Spearmans correlations; and
a preliminary indication of the combination of tests with the greatest predictive validity was obtained using forward selection linear
regressions.
Results: The mean Intra-class correlations for the physical TID
tests were 0.86. Spearman correlations were all signicant and
ranged from 0.5 to 0.9. Indicative predictive validity for test combinations ranged 56% (seated throws) and 84% (standing throws).
Discussion: In athletes without disabilities, the tests developed
were reliable and, in combination, provided a valid indication of
characteristics of throwing performance in all ve criterion throws.
Evaluation of the TID battery in athletes with disabilities is now
warranted.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.11.544
542
Actiheart based estimates of body expenditure are accurate during treadmill walking, arm ergometry and bicycle ergometry
A. Mehdi , T. Van der Touw
University of New England

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.11.543

Introduction: The Actiheart system (CamNtech Neurotechnology Ltd, Cambridge UK) is a small portable device that collects
ECG derived heart rate and 3-dimensional accelerometer data, and
uses these data to estimate body energy expenditure (BEE). High
levels of accuracy for Actiheart based estimates of BEE have been