Activity Profile, Heart Rate, Technical Involvement, and Perceived Intensity and Fun in U13 Male and Female Team Handball Players: Effect of Game Format
Mads Madsen,
Georgios Ermidis,
Vincenzo Rago,
Kristoffer Surrow,
Jeppe F. Vigh-Larsen,
Morten B. Randers,
Peter Krustrup,
Malte N. Larsen
Affiliations
Mads Madsen
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Georgios Ermidis
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Vincenzo Rago
Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Kristoffer Surrow
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Jeppe F. Vigh-Larsen
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Morten B. Randers
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Peter Krustrup
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Malte N. Larsen
Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences (SHS), University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
The aim of the study was to compare the activity pattern, heart rate (HR), technical involvement, and subjective perceptions in U13 boys and girls playing team handball in five game formats. Activity pattern, heart rate (HR), technical involvement, perceived fun, and exertion were recorded from four girls teams (n = 24) and four boys teams (n = 24) played during a 1-day tournament consisting of five different game formats of 15-min duration: Medium court size, 4v4 (M4v4), 5v5 (M5v5), and 6v6 (M6v6), and large court size, 5v5 (L5v5) and 6v6 (L6v6). Girls covered more total distance (TD) and high-speed running (HSR, 13–17.9 km·h−1) on the large court compared to the medium court (p < 0.05; ES = 2.1–3.1 and 1.2–2.5, respectively). Boys covered more distance as HSR and sprinting on the large court compared to the medium court, but only more TD on the large court compared to the medium court with the same number of players, (p < 0.05; ES = 1.0–1.8, 1.0–1.8, and 1.1–1.8, respectively). Team handball for U13 boys and girls is a high-intensity activity irrespective of court size. Increasing the court size with a fixed number of players increased the total distance and HSR, whereas manipulating the number of players on a fixed court size appears to influence technical involvement.
