The metabolic power and energetic demands of elite Gaelic football match play

Abstract

Aims: To compare the metabolic power demands between positional groups and examine the temporal profile of elite Gaelic football match play.Design: Longitudinal observational study.Methods: Global positional satellite system (GPS) data were collected from 50 elite Gaelic football players from 4 inter-county teams during 35 elite competitive matches over a three season period. A total of 351 complete match samples were obtained for final analysis.Players were categorised based on positional groups; full-back, half-back, midfield, halfforward and full-forward. Instantaneous raw velocity data was obtained from the GPS and exported to a customised spreadsheet which provided estimations of both speed based, derived metabolic power and energy expenditure variables (total distance, high speed distance, average metabolic power, high power distance and total energy expenditure).Results: Match mean distance was 9222 ± 1588 m, reflective of an average metabolic power of 9.5-12.5 W•kg -1 , with an average energy expenditure of 58-70 Kj•kg -1 depending on position. There were significant differences between positional groups for both speed-based and metabolic power indices. Midfielders covered more total and high-speed distance, as well as greater average and overall energy expenditure compared to other positions (p < 0.001). A reduction in total, high-speed, and high-power distance, as well as average metabolic power throughout the match (p < 0.001) was observed.Conclusions: Positional differences exist for both metabolic power and traditional running based variables. The middle three positions (midfield, half-back and half-forward) possess greater activity profiles when compared to other positional groups. The reduction in metabolic power and traditional running based variables are comparable across match play.The current study demonstrates that metabolic power may contribute to our understanding of Gaelic football match-play.

Exploring Sports Nutrition Knowledge in Elite Gaelic Footballers

“…Gaelic football is one of the national sports of Ireland, and it is a physically demanding intermittent high-intensity invasion team sport [1]. Elite players cover a total distance of between 8160 and 9222 m during competitive match play with up to 1731 ± 659 m of this completed at high speed (≥17 km•h −1 ) [2][3][4][5]. The physical nature of the game, large distances covered, and high sprint speeds displayed during elite match-play requires players to be competent in many aspects of fitness such as aerobic and anaerobic fitness, muscle strength, strength endurance, speed, and agility [6,7].…”

The running performance of elite ladies Gaelic football with respect to position and halves of play

“…While the game is similar in structure to the male version of the game [6] some notable differences are seen between both variants of competition. LGF games are shorter in duration with match-play time controlled by a specific countdown timer.…”

“…Ladies Gaelic football (LGF) match-play consists of two halves of 30 min in duration. The game is played on a pitch measuring ~ 90-m wide and ~ 130-165 m long [5,6] with H shaped goal posts at either end of the field [3]. If the ball is kicked over the bar one point is awarded, if the ball is kicked under the bar and into the back of the net, three points are awarded, and a goal is scored.…”

“…LGF is played with both hand and foot with the ball transferred between players through kicking long or short or handpassing to a teammate. The sport can be seen as an invasion team sport with the aim of outscoring the opposition through gaining and maintaining possession to create scoring opportunities [5,6]. Typical movements executed during a game play include kick passing, handpassing, jumping, catching, bouncing, blocking, tackling, solo running, sprinting, and changing direction [3,6].…”

“…Currently there is a notable dearth of literature related to the match-play running performance during competition across LGF. This has resulted in coaches comparing the running performance of LGF to the male version of the game given the increased level of literature on the male game [6,5,8]. However, it is difficult to elucidate the demands of females to males due to factors such as gender, physiological profile, and rule variations [7,9].…”