Comparison of Two Anaerobic Water Polo-Specific Tests With the Wingate Test

Bampouras, TM and Marrin, K. Comparison of two anaerobic water polo-specific tests with the Wingate test. J Strength Cond Res 23(1): 336-340, 2009-The purpose of the current study was to compare 2 water polo-specific tests-the 14 × 25-m swims (SWIM) and the 30-second crossbar jumps (30CJ)-with a laboratory-based test of anaerobic power, the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT). Thirteen elite women's water polo players (mean ± SD: age 22.0 ± 4.4 years, height 168.7 ± 7.9 cm, body mass 65.9 ± 6.1 kg, body fat 23.6 ± 3.5 %, maximum oxygen uptake 51.4 ± 4.5 ml·kg-1·min-1) participated in the study. The SWIM involved 14 repeated “all-out” sprints every 30 seconds. Swimming time was recorded, and sprint velocity, mean velocity (Vmean), and the gradient of the linear regression equation (GRADIENT) were calculated. The 30CJ involved repeated in-water water polo jumps and touching the goal crossbar with both hands. The number of touches in 30 seconds was recorded. Additionally, the subjects completed a 30-second WAnT, and mean power (Mp) and fatigue index (FI) were calculated. Kendall tau ([tau]) rank correlation was used to examine for correlation between ranks. Significance level was set at p <= 0.05. No significant correlation was found between any of the measures of the WAnT and the 2 sport-specific tests. It was suggested that the WAnT may not be an appropriate evaluation tool for anaerobic power assessment of water polo players, stressing the importance of sport-specific tests.