title: Shuttle swimming test in young water polo players: reliability, responsiveness and age-related value.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study investigated the applicability of a sport-specific test, the Shuttle Swim Test, in young water polo players to measure RSA. The aims were: to assess the reliability and to measure the responsiveness of the SST in young water polo athletes, and to provide age-related values of SST.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred thirty-three elite athletes (18.3±5.1 years) were involved in the study. Of these, 99 were young people under 13 (13.1±0.5 years) who also underwent measurements for reliability and responsiveness of the SST The following six measures was used to assess anthropometric characteristics of the sample: height, weight, chest circumference, hip circumference, waist circumference, and arm span. Two performance measures were performed on dry land: push up and chin up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reliability and responsiveness were measured by comparing the average speed of two trials: SST1 was 1.48±0.13 m·s-1 and SST2 1.47±.12 m·s-1. The SST showed good reliability in younger athletes (r=0.96). The Minimal Detectable Change is 0.06 m·s-1 (6 seconds of the total time) which corresponds to 3.6% of the average value measured, confirming the good responsiveness of the test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coaches and researchers can use this value in the interpretation of the SST test results: changes below these values could be related to a measurement error. The various age-related values reported may help technicians to better interpret the performance of their athletes during competition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Medicine, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.|Don Gnocchi Foundation IRCCS, Milan, Italy.|Italian Swimming Federation, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Melchiorri
authors.affiliation: Italian Swimming Federation, Rome, Italy - valerio.viero@gmail.com.|School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viero
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Triossi
authors.affiliation: Università Telematica S. Raffaele, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Padua
authors.affiliation: Italian Swimming Federation, Rome, Italy.|Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonifazi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology*; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology; D000073678:Water Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult