Activity profile of training and matches activities of women’s beach volleyball players: A case study of a world top-level team

Abstract

Objective: To compare the physical demands among training and match activities in women beach volleyball players. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: World top-level beach volleyball team. Patients or Other Participants: One defender (24 years-old, and 8 years of professional experience) and one blocker (25 years-old, and, 9 years of professional experience) from the Brazilian National Women’s Beach Volleyball participated in this study. Main outcome measure(s): Both players were monitored throughout on-field training sessions (N= 57) and matches (N=33) during the five months prior to the 2022 World Championship. Activities were categorized into formal-match (FM), match warm-up (MWU), physical training (PT), and tactical-technical (TT) training. We assessed field time, Player LoadTM, total jumps, total distance covered, and number of changes of direction to the right and left. Results: The defender and blocker players, showed large significant differences between the formal match and training activities. Both positions showed higher values of activity during formal matches than match warm-up and physical training activities. Also, tactical-technical training activities showed significant differences when compared to formal matches in both positions. Conclusions: Physical activities during formal matches were more demanding than during match warm-up and physical training activities. However, tactical-technical training activities were more demanding than formal-match activities. Coaches could use similar values (adjusted to their teams and competitive level) to distribute external load during the competitive period and better adjust the activity profile during training sessions. Future research should explore the relationship between the players’ perceptions (i.e., qualitative approach) and these findings.