title: The effects of physical exertion on decision-making performance of Australian football umpires.
abstract: Decision-making is a key component of an umpire's in-game performance, with each decision potentially having a direct impact on the result of the game. Additionally, umpires have to be physically fit to ensure they keep up with the gameplay. While research has identified the decision-making demands and running demands of umpires separately, few have explored the relationship between them. The aim of this investigation was to examine the relationship between physical exertion and decision-making performance of Australian football umpires at the sub-elite and junior levels. A total of 18 Australian football umpires (sub-elite, n = 10; junior n = 8) performed 10 × 300 m runs, with each repetition immediately followed by a video-based decision-making test, then 1 min of recovery. A Mann-Whitney U assessment indicated a significant difference between the sub-elite and junior level umpires for decision-making accuracy (U = 13.00, z = -2.43, P = 0.016, r = -0.5). However, there was no significant difference in response time (U = 28.00, z = -1.07, P = 0.315, r = -0.25). The sub-elite umpires completed the running efforts in significantly less time than the junior umpires (P < 0.05). Further, there was no significant correlation between decision-making performance and running times for either skill level (P > 0.05). This suggests decision-making performance may not be affected by physical exertion. Therefore, it may be suggested coaches of football umpires allocate more time to the decision-making development of their umpires instead of focusing largely on the physical fitness side, as is currently the trend.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Education and Social Work , University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Kasey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Paradis
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Education and Social Work , University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Education and Social Work , University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Connor
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Perceptual-cognitive; decision-making; physical performance; sport officials