title: Reliability, usefulness, and validity of the 30-15 Intermittent Ice Test in young elite ice hockey players.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, usefulness, and validity of the 30-15 Intermittent Ice Test (30-15(IIT)) in 17 young elite ice hockey players. For the reliability and usefulness study, players performed the 30-15(IIT) 7 days apart. For the validity study, data derived from the first 30-15(IIT) were compared with those obtained from the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30-15(IFT), the running version of this test used as a reference marker for its ability to assess cardiovascular fitness in the field, that is, VO₂peak). Maximal speed, heart rate at exhaustion (HR(peak)) and postexercise blood-lactate levels ([La](b)) were collected for all tests, whereas submaximal HR was taken at stages 4 and 8 (HR(stage4) and HR(stage8)) during the 30-15(IIT). All intra-class correlation coefficients were >0.94. Coefficients of variation were 1.6% (90% CI, 1.3-2.3), 1.7% (1.3-2.8), 1.4% (1.0-2.2), and 0.7% (0.5-1.1) for maximal skating speed, HR(stage4), HR(stage8), and HR(peak), respectively. Correlations between maximal velocities and HR(peak) obtained for the 30-15(IIT) vs. 30-15(IFT) were very large (r = 0.72) and large (r = 0.61), respectively. Maximal skating speed was also largely correlated to estimated VO₂peak (r = 0.71). There was however no correlation for [La](b) values between both tests (r = 0.42). These results highlight the specificity of the on-ice 30-15(IIT) and show it to be a reliable and valid test for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness in young elite players. Coaches could interpret a change in performance of at least 2 stages, or a change in submaximal HR of more than 8% (≈8 b·min⁻¹) during the eighth stage to be a meaningful change in skating fitness.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Picardie, Jules Verne, Amiens, France. martin.buchheit@u-picardie.fr
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buchheit
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Laursen
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmaidi
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000293:Adolescent; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006688:Hockey / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D007773:Lactates