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Abstract

In the Republic of Benin, the sports results recorded by the clubs and the national handball teams are not satisfactory. So an inventory of fixtures is essential to identify the factors in cause. This cross-sectional study was carried out as survey and instrumented observation and aimed at: 1) appreciating the context of competition handball practice (CHP) in players from Southern Benin; 2) appreciating the level of integration of physical capacities (LIPC) to the training schedule of the players. On the whole, 162 players and 17 trainers filled in two distinct questionnaires; five training sessions of Division 1 teams were then filmed. The CHP was non favourable to the production of good performances in 150 players (46.3%). The LIPCP to training was low in 96 players (49.3%), and the juniors among whom it was high were significantly more numerous than the seniors (40 versus 26; p= 0.03). LIPCT was also high in 10 trainers out of the 17 surveyed (p = 0.64), but LIPCF was low for all the five training sessions filmed. Because the CHP was non-favourable to the performance and the LIPC to their training schedule was low, the fitness capacities and the physiological parameters in matches should be on average of low level in the surveyed players. The results suggest an evaluation of the level of physical capacities and physiological responsiveness in the players during matches.