English Badminton has a well-established programme of fitness assessment designed to provide feedback for the optimisation of fitness development in its junior players. Here, some key conclusions from the first ten years of this testing programme are presented. These findings may inform the development of similar testing programmes in other sports and may educate about fitness development in this population. Methods: Since the year 2001, the most talented English junior players (n = 95 females; n=118 males; age range of 10 to 18 years) in this Olympic sport have performed fitness testing twice a year. Many of these players have gone on to become senior international players (`future elite players`; n=29). The tests include anthropometry and performance tests of jumping (vertical jump and standing long jump) and movement speed (sport-specific speed and lateral movement speed). Results: Mean performance test data between males and females were similar across the age groups until the age of 13 years, after which male players showed increasingly superior performance; a pattern which persists into adulthood. Regarding test validity, for the future elite players the movement speed results of both male and females were superior to non-elite age-matched peers. Similarly, jump performance also discriminated between future elite and non-elite in females only (e.g., vertical jump, 50.4±6.2 vs. 46.7±5.2 cm, respectively; P<0.05). Neither mean stature nor body mass were different between groups. However, the broad distribution of the data shows that future success can not be predicted from test results alone. Across the ten years of the programme, there was evidence that age-matched players during the more recent tests (2007-10) were significantly fitter during some activities than players from earlier years (2001-3, 2004-6). Finally, and in keeping with many other similar reports, the players displayed a relative age-effect, with those born in the last third (Sep-Dec) of the selection year (Jan - Dec) significantly under-represented (17.5%) compared with those from the other thirds (Jan-Apr, 45%; May-Dec, 37.5%). Discussion: The testing programme has provided valuable information on the development of fitness for this sport. The governing body has amended its selection policy to account for any relative age effect. The data have allowed for the establishment of fitness targets for the players who are implementing increasingly advanced fitness development programmes to optimise their likelihood of future success in the face of rule changes and increased international competitiveness. The trend for higher fitness in the recent players may reflect improved physical preparation or preferential selection of fitter junior players.
© Copyright 2012 17th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Bruges, 4. -7. July 2012. Veröffentlicht von Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator