Breaking up the play: The relationship between legal stops and winning in team handball

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between legal stops and winning in team handball. Real-time analysis was performed on all games played in the Icelandic elite division for both males and females (regular season and playoffs) between 2017–2021 (854 games [570 male games, 284 female games], 32,392 legal stops in total). Legal stops were assessed as any physical action by a defensive player that resulted in the stop of play, without the defensive player being penalized or the offensive player receiving a 7-meter throw. The results from a multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that legal stops were significantly associated with winning games in the male league. No statistically significant relationship was found between illegal stops and game outcome for either sex. However, 2-minute suspensions were found to be positively associated with winning in the male league.

Comparative Analysis of the Indirect Calorimetry and the Metabolic Power Method to Calculate Energy Expenditure in Team Handball

Monitoring physical activity, e.g., training load and energy expenditure (EE), is important to optimize the training process in various sports. Especially in team handball, where there is little information about EE in training and competition. The objective of the study was to compare EE in team handball derived from a respiratory gas exchange analysis (spiroergometry) and a local position measurement (LPM) system. Eleven participants completed a validated, team handball game-based performance test and wore a portable spiroergometry system (K5 Cosmed) and an LPM transponder (Catapult ClearSky T6). EE was determined via indirect calorimetry for spiroergometry data and via the metabolic power model for EE for LPM data. EE estimated via the metabolic power model was −66 to −63 ± 12% lower than via indirect calorimetry (p < 0.001, pη2 = 0.97). No correlation was found for the overall test (r = 0.32, p = 0.34), nor for every single heat (r ≤ 0.44, 0.18 ≤ p ≤ 0.99). Therefore, regression analyses predicting spiroergometry data based on LPM data were not feasible. In line with previous studies, the metabolic power model for EE in team handball (including short-distance movements, great accelerations, and non-locomotive actions) is not suitable.

The Integration of Wheelchair Users in Team Handball

Thus far, there are only a few sports activities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities can participate together and on an equal footing. The situation is even more complicated when people who are dependent on a wheelchair want to take part. The sports project Freiwurf Hamburg aims to make team handball playable for everyone. This case study documents how this can be achieved with a modified version of the handball game for runners and wheelchair users. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected and evaluated. The results show that players tend to distinguish between the roles of runner and wheelchair user rather than between disabled and non-disabled.

Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis of Young Elite Team Handball Players

Team handball is a highly dynamic sport where physical demands differ between categories and roles. Thus, physical characteristics are fundamental for the final performance. This study aims to (a) characterize a sample of young male and female elite team handball players with a non-athletic reference population; (b) to generate their 50%, 75%, and 95% percentiles of the bioelectrical variables. The study included 55 young elite team handball players (Males, n = 37, age = 17.0 ± 1.2 yrs, height = 185.8 ± 7.3 cm, weight = 82.0 ± 11.0 kg, body mass index (BMI) = 23.7 ± 2.5; Females, n = 18, age = 17.8 ± 0.9 yrs, height = 171.2 ± 6.4 cm, weight = 67.4 ± 7.2 kg, BMI = 23.0 ± 2.0). Height and bioelectrical variables were assessed in a state of euhydration and standard conditions. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) was used to characterize the bioelectrical vector (BIA vector) distribution pattern for each group. Compared to the reference values, BIA vector showed statistically significant differences in males U17 (n = 19, T2 = 51.0, p < 0.0001), males U19 (n = 18, T2 = 82.0, p < 0.0001) and females U19 (n = 18, T2 = 85.8, p < 0.0001). Male groups were also bioelectrically different (T2 = 13.7, p = 0.0036). BIVA showed specific bioelectrical characteristics in young male and female elite handball players. This study provides an original data set of bioelectrical impedance reference values of young male and female elite team handball players. Our result might help to interpret individual bioimpedance vectors and define target regions for young handball players.

Effect of Small Sided Game Duration with Floater Player on Internal and External Load of Female Handball Players

Introduction. The present study deals with the effect of the duration of small-sided games (SSGs) with a floater player on the external (covered distance) and internal (heart rate) load of the elite female players. Material and methods. The research group consisted of nine professional elite female team handball field players (age 22.8 ± 4.5 years) playing in the first international league for female players in the Czech Republic. Their height was 170.4 ± 6.4 cm, weight 67.7 ± 9.2 kg, and maximal heart rate 200.2 ± 3.3 beats∙min-1. The duration of the SSGs was 4 (SSG4) minutes, 5 (SSG5) minutes, and 6 (SSG6) minutes. Results. The highest heart rate value of 177.2 ± 9.9 beats / minute resp. 88.5 ± 4.4% HRmax was measured in SSG5. The lowest mean heart rate values were measured at SSG6 of 172.01 ± 15.7 beats / min resp. 85.9 ± 6.8% HRmax. Most time 38 resp. 34% of the drill time, players were in the 85-90% HRmax load intensity zone of SSG4 and SSG5. There was a statistically significant difference in load intensity zones of 80-85% HRmax and ≥ 95% HRmax between SSG5 and SSG6 and p = .008 (η2 p = 0.22) and .013 (η2 p = 0.26), respectively. In the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) evaluation, there was a statistically significant difference in SSG6 and SSG4 p = .003 (η2 p = 0.27) and between SSG6 and SSG5 p = .004 (η2 p = 0.25). The total longest distance in SSG6 was 786.8 ± 41.9 m, but in the one-minute drill the longest average distance in SSG4 was 136.2 ± 21.1 metres per minute. Conclusions . SSGs with a floater are a suitable means for training technical and tactical activities in handball with an overlap into fitness training in women’s handball. According to our results, the intensity of the load will not decrease if we increase the game time to six minutes and also the covered distance will not decrease during the game.

Personality profile of team handball referees at expert level

Referees play a central role in every sport. Particularly at national level, referees must meet ever higher demands due to increasing professionalisation. While cognitive and conditional aspects have already been investigated intensively, personality traits of handball referees have so far only received little attention. In addition to a profound understanding of the game and knowledge of the rules, however, it is precisely the demands on referees’ personalities that are becoming increasingly important. Individual differences in personality are related to job performance in sports, especially with regard to coping with pressure and stress. Thus, personality is considered an essential component of the performance profile of referees and is required in the context of efficient game management. In this study, the personality profiles of male handball referees at expert level (N = 163) were examined for the first time, using the German version of the Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2). Standard values of the German general population from a population survey were used for comparison. Referees scored higher values in extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and a lower value in negative emotionality. The results of this cross-sectional study provide initial insights into the personality of this group of referees and thus lay the foundation for further research. A study with referees from different performance levels or cultural backgrounds could provide information on whether the results of this study only apply to German handball referees at expert level or are valid for all handball referees.

The Team Handball Game-Based Performance Test Is Better than the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test to Measure Match-Related Activities in Female Adult Top-Elite Field Team Handball Players

In team handball, suitable tests determining the match-related physical performance are essential for the planning of optimal physical training regimens. Thus, the aims of the present study were (a) to determine the relationships between the physical and physiological test results from a team handball game-based performance test (GBPT), the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1 test) and a separate linear 30-m single sprint performance test (SSPT) in female adult top-elite field team handball players, in order to establish the significance (validity) of tests for measuring relevant elements for team handball match-play; and (b) to compare and evaluate the results from the aforementioned tests for the same players in relation to the different playing positions. Twenty-three female adult top-elite field team handball players from the Danish Premier Female Team Handball League performed the GBPT, the Yo-Yo IR1 test and the 30-m SSPT test on separate days. As main findings, significant correlations between the GBPT and the Yo-Yo IR1 test in about 1/3 of the variables were found, indicating that the Yo-Yo IR1 test is reflecting most of the locomotive match activities in female adult top-elite team handball. However, the Yo-Yo IR1 test results were not correlated to the GBPT in any of the match-related activities in the team handball GBPT that included technical playing actions such as tackles, passes, jumping and shooting during specialized movements in offence and defence. Overall, the results revealed that the GBPT is better than the Yo-Yo IR1 test to evaluate female adult top-elite field team handball players’ ability to perform physical match-related activities including both locomotive and technical playing actions executed as during competitive match-play. Similar to the Yo-Yo IR1 test, the 30-m SSPT was not correlated to any of the team handball GBPT activities, which included technical playing actions. These data suggest that the SSPT only to a certain extent can measure the individual sprint capacity of elite team handball players. In addition, unexpectedly no significant differences between the various playing positions were found neither for the GBPT, the SSPT nor the Yo-Yo IR1 test. However, several effects sizes indicated that the lack of positional differences primarily was due to the relatively small sample size in each playing position and the composition of the specific group of players. In conclusion, this study clearly indicated that team handball specific physical performance, as measured by the GBPT, and general physical performance, as measured by the Yo-Yo IR1 test and the 30-m SSPT, are different components. This must be taken in consideration when using physical test results for the planning of optimal physical training regimens in elite team handball.