Identifying Differences in Swimming Speed Fluctuation in Age-Group Swimmers by Statistical Parametric Mapping: A Biomechanical Assessment for Performance Development
The aim of this study was to compare the assessment of swimming
speed processed as a discrete variable and as a continuous
variable in young swimmers. One-hundred and twenty young
swimmers (60 boys: age = 12.91 ± 0.86 years; 60 girls: age =
12.46 ± 0.94 years) were analysed. The dataset for each sex was
divided into three tiers: (i) tier #1 - best-performing swimmers;
(ii) tier #2: intermediate-performing swimmers, and; (iii) tier #3 -
poorest-performing swimmers. As a discrete variable, swimming
speed showed significant sex and tier effects, and a significant
sex*tier interaction (p < 0.001). Speed fluctuation showed a nonsignificant
sex effect (p > 0.05), a significant tier effect (p <
0.001), and a non-significant sex*tier interaction (p > 0.05). As a
continuous variable, the swimming speed time-curve presented
significant sex and tier effects (p < 0.001) throughout the stroke
cycle, and a significant sex*tier interaction (p < 0.05) in some
moments of the stroke cycle. Swimming speed fluctuation analysed
as a discrete variable and as a continuous variable can be
used in a complementary way. Nonetheless, SPM can provide
deeper insight into differences within the stroke cycle. Thus,
coaches and practitioners should be aware that different
knowledge about the swimmers’ stroke cycle can be learned by
assessing swimming speed using both methods.
This work is supported by national funds (FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) under the project UIDB/DTP/04045/2020. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, but are available from the corresponding author who was an organizer of the study.
