title: Physical and decision-making demands of Australian football umpires during competitive matches.
abstract: This study examined the physical and decision-making requirements of elite Australian football (AF) umpires during match play. Twenty-nine field umpires were assessed across 20 AF League matches. Physical demands were monitored using global positioning system devices to record the total distance covered and high-speed running (HSR; >14.4 km·h) demands across each quarter. Decision-making performance was assessed through video by 3 elite umpire coaches who reviewed free-kick accuracy during each match. These data were further analyzed according to the position (mid-zone or end-zone) of the umpire when each decision was made. The average distance covered was 10,563 ± 608 m, of which 1,952 ± 494 m was HSR. Significant reductions in distance covered were observed during the third (p = 0.006) and fourth (p = 0.001) quarters, compared with the first. An average of 44 ± 8 free kicks awarded per match with a decision accuracy of 84 ± 6%; however, there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in these measures across a match. Significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher physical (HSR; relative distance) and decision-making requirements were observed within the mid-zone. The current data quantify the physical and decision-making demands of AF umpiring and demonstrated that despite a high physical workload, free-kick accuracy is maintained across a match. This suggests that decision making may not be directly compromised by the intermittent running demands of AF umpires. Positional rotations between the mid-zone and end-zone position allow for the demands to be shared among all field umpires during a match.
authors.affiliation: 1Applied Sports Science and Exercise Testing Laboratory, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia; 2School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia; and 3Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elsworthy
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Brendan R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Ben J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Dascombe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003657:Decision Making; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012916:Soccer; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D016526:Workload; D055815:Young Adult