A GNSS-based method to define athlete manoeuvrability in field-based team sports

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Biomechanics
• Performance Analysis

Background:

• Assessing athlete agility during competition is crucial for performance optimization in field sports.
• Existing methods for quantifying on-field manoeuvrability are limited.
• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology offers potential for objective movement analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a method for quantifying athlete manoeuvrability during team sports matches.
• To investigate the relationship between athlete manoeuvrability and running velocity.
• To compare manoeuvrability between Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) athletes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 10 Hz GNSS devices to collect positional data from 62 athletes across AFL and NRL matches.
• Calculated tortuosity from GNSS X and Y coordinates as a measure of manoeuvrability.
• Quantified maximal tortuosity at different speed increments and fitted quadratic models to analyze the speed-manoeuvrability relationship.

Main Results:

• A curvilinear relationship was observed between maximal tortuosity and running speed, indicating reduced manoeuvrability at higher velocities.
• National Rugby League (NRL) athletes exhibited a significantly greater reduction in manoeuvrability with increasing speed compared to Australian Football League (AFL) athletes.
• No significant positional differences in manoeuvrability were found within either sport.

Conclusions:

• GNSS-derived tortuosity provides a valid measure of athlete manoeuvrability in AFL and NRL.
• Increased running speed inherently compromises an athlete's ability to change direction.
• NRL athletes demonstrate a more pronounced decrease in agility as they accelerate compared to AFL athletes.