Developing and testing an instrument to assess aquaticity in humans

Abstract

We developed and validated an aquaticity assessment test (AAT) for the evaluation of human physical adequacy in the water. Forty-six volunteers (25M/21F; 20±8 years,) participated and performed 10 easy-to-administer and practical aquatic tasks. Group A was formed by 36 elite athletes (M/F 20/16, 24.7±10yrs) from two sports categories depending on their affinity to the water environment: terrestrial (wrestling, cycling, dancing) and aquatic (swimming, synchronized swimming, free diving) sports. Group B was formed by 10 non-athlete participants (5M/5F, 14.4±1.4yrs) and was assessed by two independent evaluators. Participants in Group A performed the aquatic tasks once to develop the final AAT items and cutoffs. Participants in Group B performed the aquatic tasks twice on different days to assess repeatability. Factor analysis recommended all 10 aquatic tasks to be included in the final AAT, resulting in scores ranging from 9.5-49.5. The AAT scores were statistically different between the terrestrial and the aquatic sports' participants (p<0.001). The duration of the test was 25 minutes from the time of water entry. Receiver operating characteristics curve analyses demonstrated that the cutoffs for low and high aquaticity levels in this sample were ≤23.7 and ≥43.3, respectively. Reliability analyses demonstrated that the aquaticity scores obtained on different days and by different examiners highly correlated (p<0.001) and were not significantly different (p>0.05). The AAT appears to be a valid and reliable tool for the evaluation of human physical adequacy in the water. It is an easy and user-friendly test which can be performed in any swimming pool without a need for highly trained staff and specialized equipment, however more research needs to be done in order to be applied in other population group.4

An enjoyable school‐based swimming training programme improves students’ aquaticity

“…Furthermore, our results showed that the total score of the aquaticity testing protocol is reliable for the evaluation of students’ aquaticity (ICC = 0.98; SEM = 0.54 AU; SEM% = 2.46; 95% LOA = from −1.06 to + 1.72 AU). The only study that examined the test‐retest reliability of aquaticity testing protocol has also reported high reliability in the total score of aquaticity test ( r = .993; CV%: 2.04; 95% LOA = 1.06 ± 1.44 AU) in 10 untrained adolescents. In the present study, we also examined the test‐retest reliability of each swimming task of the protocol separately.…”

“…Prior to testing, the participants performed a standardised 10 minutes warm‐up that included 5 minutes of swimming with plank at low intensity and 5 minutes of dynamic stretching exercises in the water. Thereafter, aquaticity was examined using the testing protocol consisting of 10 swimming tasks, as previously described by Varveri et al (Table ). Before the initiation of the testing, the participants underwent 1‐2 familiarisation trials to ensure the proper execution technique for the swimming tasks.…”

“…One week prior to the start of the study, the participants were familiarised with the testing and training procedures. Then, the students’ aquaticity was evaluated using a testing protocol consisting of 10 tasks as previously described by Varveri et al . Following the baseline measurements, the students performed 9 swimming training sessions (1 day/week) during the physical education course of the school.…”

“…One week prior to the start of the study, the participants were familiarised with the testing and training procedures. Then, the students' aquaticity was evaluated using a testing protocol consisting of 10 tasks as previously described by Varveri et al 14…”

“…Thereafter, aquaticity was examined using the testing protocol consisting of 10 swimming tasks, as previously described by Varveri et al 14 (Table 1). Before the initiation of the testing, the participants underwent 1-2 familiarisation trials to ensure the proper execution technique for the swimming tasks.…”