Physical tasks such as scrummaging, rucking and mauling are highly specific to rugby and also place unique physiological demands on the different playing positions within the forwards. Traditionally, the recruitment and development of talented rugby union players has focused on the assessment of motor skills and game intelligence aspects of performance, with less emphasis placed on the specific physiological requirements of playing positions in rugby. The purpose of this investigation was to measure the position-specific strength, speed and power characteristics of Premier rugby forwards in order (1) to determine whether any differences existed in the physiological characteristics of the different forward playing positions (prop, lock and loose forwards) and (2) to investigate the relationship between these physiological characteristics and coaches evaluations of football playing ability. Twenty-two male Premier level competition rugby forwards, consisting of eight prop forwards, five lock forwards and nine loose-forwards participated in the study. The Grunt 3000, a rugby specific force testing device was utilised to measure the static and dynamic horizontal strength during simulated scrummaging and rucking/mauling movements. Sprint times relating to acceleration ability (0 -10m, 0-20m) and maximum running speed (20 - 40m) were measured during a 40m sprint running test. In addition, force, power and displacement characteristics of a countermovement vertical jump were calculated from trials performed on a force plate. Also, player performance skill and physical capacity scores were determined independently by experienced coaches who assessed them based on their performances during the season. One-way analysis of variance and effect size statistics evaluated differences in the measured variables between forward playing positions and linear regression analysis evaluated the relationship between the coaches' scores of player performance skill and physical capacity and game specific measures of strength speed and power. Since there were no statistical significant differences between forward groups for horizontal force and countermovement jump variables and these analyses lacked statistical power, an effect size statistic was used to establish trends for differences in force and CMJ variables between the groups. There were moderate effect size differences between groups for horizontal impact force with prop and lock forwards producing 17.7% and 12.8% more force than the loose forwards respectively. No clear differences were apparent between forward positional groups for mean dynamic horizontal force and countermovement jump displacement of the centre of gravity. A significant difference (p =0.049) was shown between forward positional groups over the 0-40m sprint distance. Also, moderate effect size differences between pairs of groups were evident in 0-10m, 0-20m, 20-40m sprint times with both loose forwards and lock forwards on average, 6% faster than the prop forwards. A backward linear regression analysis revealed that the single best predictor of coaches' physical capacity and performance skill scores was the 20 - 40m sprint performance, accounting for 28% of the variance in player's physical capacity scores and 29% of the variance in player's performance skill scores. Whole-body horizontal static strength and impact strength in prop forwards and dynamic horizontal strength (relative to body mass) and sprint acceleration ability in loose forwards represent key factors for consideration when selecting forward players to these positions in the Premier rugby competition. The vertical jumping ability of all forward positional groups needs to be confirmed in a future study utilising a line-out specific countermovement jump test (free use of arm swing and line-out lifters in the jump) on a force plate. Monitoring of performance in rugby forwards should include an acceleration sprint test (0-10m) as this is specific to the sprinting patterns of forward players during a game, and maximum sprinting speed test (20-40m) as this test has the ability to discriminate between skilled and less-skilled rugby union forwards.

Introduction : Les joueurs de hockey sur glace effectuent des mouvements asymétriques en utilisant la rotation du torse et des hanches lors des passes et des tirs. Les asymétries entre les segments corporels peuvent avoir un impact sur la capacité de sprints répétés, la puissance verticale lors de sauts à contre-bas et les performances sportives générales. La force isométrique de la hanche et le saut à contre-bas sont couramment évalués chez les joueurs de hockey sur glace en raison de leurs relations avec les performances en patinage et l'incidence des blessures à l'aine, respectivement. Objectif : Cette étude vise explorer si les asymétries obtenues lors des évaluations des forces isométriques de la hanche et des sauts à contre-bas sont associées à celles observées lors du patinage. Méthodes : Trente-sept joueurs professionnels de l'hockey sur glace ont effectué des évaluations hebdomadaires de force et de saut de la hanche et ont porté des centrales inertielles pendant les séances sur glace tout au long des saisons pré et compétitives. Les accélérations sont mesurées pour les deux jambes et ont été utilisées pour calculer les asymétries inter-membres, en pourcentage. Résultats : Parmi tous les paramètres mesurés, seule l'asymétrie dans le pic de la force de l’attérissage du saut à contre-bas a dépassé 10% pour toutes les positions (22,1%) et par position (21,3% - 22,6%). Les joueurs de centre et à la défense ont mené à plusieurs relations modérées à grandes entre différentes asymétries lors des évaluations hors-glace (r: -0,67 - 0,38, p <0,01). Toutes les positions ont montré des relations modérées à grandes entre la résistance à la hanche et la charge de patinage sur la glace et la force moyenne par foulée (r: -0,32 - 0,56, p <0,05). Les joueurs de centre ont montré des relations modérées entre le saut à contre-bas et des asymétries sur la glace (r: -0,31 - 0,43, p <0,01). Conclusion Cette étude a révélé qu'il existe des relations significatives entre les asymétries sur- et hors glace dans le hockey professionnel masculin. Les résultats de cette étude fournissent également aux intervenants auprès de cette population des valeurs de référence pour les asymétries sur glace et hors glace. / Introduction Ice-hockey players develop asymmetrical movement patterns by favoring rotation through the torso and hips while passing and shooting. Interlimb asymmetries have been shown to affect repeated sprint ability, vertical and horizontal countermovement jump power, and general athletic performance. Isometric hip strength and the countermovement jump are commonly assessed in ice-hockey players because of their relationships with skating performance and incidence of groin injuries, respectively. Purpose: This study explored whether asymmetries returned during isometric hip strength and countermovement jump assessments relate to those from stride-by-stride analyses. Methods: Thirty-seven professional ice-hockey players performed weekly hip strength and jump assessments and wore inertial momentum units during on-ice sessions throughout the pre- and competitive seasons. Data were either available for both limbs and were utilized to calculate inter-limb asymmetries, or as an asymmetry percentage. Results: Among all parameters measured, only the CMJ peak landing force asymmetry exceeded 10% for all positions (22.1%) and by position (21.3% - 22.6%). Centers and Defense positions returned several moderate to large relationships between fitness assessment asymmetries (r: -0.67 – 0.38, p < 0.01). All positions returned moderate to large relationships between hip strength and on-ice skating load and average force per stride (r: -0.32 – 0.56, p < 0.05). Centers returned moderate countermovement jump and on-ice asymmetries (r: -0.31 – 0.43, p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study revealed that significant relationships exist between on- and off-ice asymmetries in men’s professional ice-hockey. The results from this study also provide practitioners with reference values for on- and off-ice asymmetries.

Title: A comparison of dynamic abilities in nordic ski disciplines Aim: This dissertation aims to compare the dynamic abilities of cross country skiers and ski jumper in age between 12 to 15. Clarification of whether or not a training process of those two athlete groups has a crucial impact on the development of mentioned abilities compared to the other hobby sports group (target group). Methodology: This dissertation is conceived as empiric-theoretical. It analyses the results of samples to verify the hypothesis. There were three groups consisting of 10 samples (athletes) in total. The samples were tested in horizontal jumps (long jump, triple jump, multiple jumps) and vertical jumps (squat jump, counter movement jump). In all tests, it was decided to use only the best of all three attempts for the results. Findings: Development of dynamic abilities during the training process has a positive impact on their development in general. Both cross country skiers and ski jumpers achieved better results than the target group. Furthermore, ski jumpers performed better than cross country skiers. Keywords: physical health, sport performance, cross country skiing, ski jumping, squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), long jump, triple jump, multiple jumps