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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sports Med Int Open 2021; 05(01): E28-E36
DOI: 10.1055/a-1078-1441
Training & Testing

Lack of Predictive Power in Commonly Used Tests for Performance in Alpine Skiing

Robert Nilsson
1   Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Section of Sports Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
,
Apostolos Theos
1   Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Section of Sports Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
,
Ann-Sofie Lindberg
1   Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Section of Sports Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
2   Winternet, Winternet, Boden, Sweden
,
Richard A. Ferguson
3   School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
,
Christer Malm
1   Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Section of Sports Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
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Abstract

Competitive alpine skiing is a complex sport that requires high physical and technical competence. Testing the physical status of athletes may be important to increase their ability to achieve elite sport-specific performance. This study aimed to investigate the predictive power of the national test battery of the Swedish Olympic Committee (Fysprofilen) and anthropometric variables in the prediction of competitive performance of elite alpine skiers, indicated by Fédération Internationale de Ski points. Data from fourteen Swedish elite female alpine skiers were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical methods. Physiological test results and anthropometric data could not generate significant bivariate or multivariate models for prediction of competitive performance. Multivariate regression (R2) and prediction (Q2) models for Fédération Internationale de Ski Slalom and Giant Slalom rank reached R2=0.27 to 0.43, Q2=+− 0.8 to−0.17, indicating no valid models. The overall interpretation of these and previous findings are that future test batteries must be validated before implemented, and that test results should be treated with caution when it comes to prediction of future competitive results. Applying tests that are not validated against competitive performance risk misleading coaches and training advisors who aim to increase the sports-specific performance of the individual athlete.

Key words

exercise testing - athletic performance - FIS points - multivariate statistics - VO2max


Publication History

Received: 02 March 2019
Received: 26 November 2019

Accepted: 27 November 2019

Article published online:
09 June 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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