Performance Diagnostic Examination of Women's Handball Players

OBJECTIVES: The objective of our investigation is to scrutinize potential disparities in cardiorespiratory performance indicators between the athletes of the Women's Champions League-winning Hungarian handball team and those belonging to the Hungarian second division female counterparts.

METHODS: In the course of our investigation, we quantified the cardiorespiratory attributes of women's handball players, including respiratory exchange ratio, maximum oxygen uptake, and load duration, within the confines of a performance diagnostic laboratory. The study encompassed a total of 25 handball players (n=25), with the premier division represented by Győri Audi ETO and the second division by Kozármisleny SE. For the statistical analysis of the acquired data, a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical methods was employed, incorporating correlation analysis and the two-sample T-test.

RESULTS: The mean height and age of the team Kozármisleny SE’s (second division) women handball players were lower (173.00±5.37 cm; 24.00±3.65 years) than the Champions League winner team Győri Audi ETO’s players mean height and age (175.50±5.32 cm; 24.00±3.65 years). The results of the two-sample T-test show that the younger team has significantly higher value for respiratory exchange ratio (RER=1.15±0.08) than the older team’s players from Győr (RER=1.05±0.03). Significant difference between maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂max) data could not be detected (p=0.407) however, the duration of the load for the Győri Audi ETO’s (T=662.50±119.73) was significantly higher (p=0.003) than the team Kozármisleny SE’s results (T=476.35±54.44 sec).

CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in aerobic capacity between the players of the two teams, but the higher-class women players were able to be charged for a longer period of time. This result shows that higher class players can maintain their performance under lab conditions for longer than players in the first division.