title: Exposure to hot and cold environmental conditions does not affect the decision making ability of soccer referees following an intermittent sprint protocol.
abstract: Soccer referees enforce the laws of the game and the decisions they make can directly affect match results. Fixtures within European competitions take place in climatic conditions that are often challenging (e.g., Moscow ~ -5°C, Madrid ~30°C). Effects of these temperatures on player performance are well-documented; however, little is known how this environmental stress may impair cognitive performance of soccer referees and if so, whether exercise exasperates this. The present study aims to investigate the effect of cold [COLD; -5°C, 40% relative humidity (RH)], hot (HOT; 30°C, 40% RH) and temperate (CONT; 18°C, 40% RH) conditions on decision making during soccer specific exercise. On separate occasions within each condition, 13 physically active males; either semi-professional referees or semi-professional soccer players completed three 90 min intermittent treadmill protocols that simulated match play, interspersed with 4 computer delivered cognitive tests to measure vigilance and dual task capacity. Core and skin temperature, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and thermal sensation (TS) were recorded throughout the protocol. There was no significant difference between conditions for decision making in either the dual task (interaction effects: FALSE p = 0.46; MISSED p = 0.72; TRACKING p = 0.22) or vigilance assessments (interaction effects: FALSE p = 0.31; HIT p = 0.15; MISSED p = 0.17) despite significant differences in measured physiological variables (skin temperature: HOT vs. CONT 95% CI = 2.6 to 3.9, p < 0.001; HOT vs. COLD 95% CI = 6.6 to 9.0, p < 0.001; CONT vs. COLD 95% CI = 3.4 to 5.7, p < 0.01). It is hypothesized that the lack of difference observed in decision making ability between conditions was due to the exercise protocol used, as it may not have elicited an appropriate and valid soccer specific internal load to alter cognitive functioning.
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fitch
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castle
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aldous
authors.affiliation: School of Science, University of West Scotland Hamilton, Scotland.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sculthorpe
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University Ormskirk, UK.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Midgely
authors.affiliation: Sport Science and Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Science Laboratory, University of Bedfordshire Bedford, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent Chatham Maritime, UK.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauger
keywords: cognition; cold; hot; soccer referee; thermoregulation