Physique classification of female volleyball players in beginner's class

Abstract

The characteristics of physique have been the subject of several studies in sport sciences because high-level competitive sports place maximum demands on the physical constitution of players. Furthermore, the specifi c function performed by a player in a game may be related to a particular modality. The goals of this study were: (1) to describe and to compare, from a somatic point of view, the physiques of 71 female volleyball players at beginner levels A and B (aged 12-14 years); and (2) to identify the components of somatic structure that best differentiate the athletics by level of experience. In order to evaluate the players’ somatic structure, we performed 21 measurements including: weight and height, diameters, circumferences, upper and lower limb measurements and skinfolds thicknesses. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) was used to identify the power of variables classifi cation. No difference was found in physique between level A and level B players. They were classifi ed by somatotype as mesomorphic endomorphs (A = 4.76 - 3.78 - 1.85; and B = 4.37 - 4.02 - 1.88).