Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 388-393). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This investigation examined the heart rate responses and movement characteristics of experienced footbag net players during singles play. Footbag net is a net/court sport similar to volleyball, but it is played with a footbag (e.g., Hacky-SackTM) using only the feet. In singles footbag net, players are allowed either one or two kicks to propel the footbag over the net. Subjects were 15 males and 1 female, ranging in age from 18- 60 years, with a mean age of 33.6 years. Subjects played two games of singles footbag net using two different scoring systems: "sideout" scoring and "rally" scoring. Mean heart rates were 149.4 bpm for games played under the sideout scoring system and 148.7 bpm for games played under the rally scoring system. Sideout games were 1.2 minutes (~11%) longer than rally games. The mean heart rate responses to competitive play using sideout scoring and rally scoring were not significantly different (p>0.05). For play under both scoring systems, the average exercise intensity--expressed as a percentage of age-predicted maximum heart rate (MHRest)--was 80-81% MHRest. Accelerometer counts accumulated during play were similar for both scoring systems. It is recommended that additional research be conducted to evaluate the extent to which accelerometry may contribute to physiological and metabolic measurements of footbag net competition.