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Sport-specific power assessment for rock climbing
N Draper1, T Dickson, G Blackwell
1School of Sciences and Physical Education, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. nick.draper@canterbury.ac.nz
The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
|September 10, 2011
Summary
The narrow grip powerslap test effectively measures rock climbing power, showing a strong correlation with climber ability and proving to be a reliable performance indicator for the sport.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Climbing Biomechanics
Background:
- Rock climbing's increasing popularity necessitates sport-specific performance metrics.
- Current performance measures in rock climbing lack specificity.
- The need for a validated, sport-specific power assessment tool is evident.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the powerslap test as a sport-specific measure of power in rock climbing.
- To determine the validity and reliability of the powerslap test across different climbing abilities.
Main Methods:
- Participants were grouped into novice, intermediate, advanced, and elite climbers based on self-reported lead grades.
- The powerslap test was administered using wide and narrow grip variations on both sides of the body.
- Climbers performed a pull-up movement from full extension, releasing one hand to slap a scaled scoreboard.
Main Results:
- Powerslap scores demonstrated significant correlations with climbing ability across all grip variations (r values ranging from 0.69 to 0.73, P<0.0005).
- The narrow grip powerslap test scores significantly differentiated between climbing ability groups (P<0.0005).
- Intra-class correlation and limits of agreement confirmed the powerslap test's reliability as a performance measure.
Conclusions:
- The narrow grip variation of the powerslap test is a valuable and sport-specific tool for assessing climbing power.
- The test is directly related to climbing performance and can reliably differentiate between skill levels.
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