BACKGROUND Epidemiological data on the occurrence of time-loss injuries over several A-League seasons remains lacking, while the effect of the mandatory implementation of 'Minimum Medical Standards' as a part of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) needs to be explored. OBJECTIVES To explore the 5 year evolution of hamstring, groin, knee, ankle and total time-loss injuries among professi...

The RoboCup Humanoid Kidsize League has rocketed into an exceptionally competitive league, supported by recent introduction of the open source hardware and software platforms. Teams must improve substantially their robot teams every year to stay competitive. In addition to the important skills of walking speed, kick stability, and visual acuity, the 2013 season introduced rule changes to test r...

BACKGROUND Suprascapular nerve entrapment with isolated paralysis of the infraspinatus muscle is uncommon. However, this pathology has been reported in volleyball players. Despite a lack of scientific evidence, excessive strain on the nerve is often cited as a possible cause of this syndrome. Previous research has shown a close association between shoulder range of motion and strain on the supr...

During the 1993-1994 volleyball season, injuries to players in the two Danish elite divisions were registered by means of a questionnaire survey. Eighty per cent of the players returned the questionnaire. A total of 70 female players reported 79 injuries and 67 male players reported 98 injuries, representing an overall incidence of 3.8 injuries per player per 1000 volleyball hours played. The i...

Objective(s). Main aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyse intra-positional, inter-positional differences in proportions of particular somatotype categories in youth volleyball players. Methods. Heath-Carter method was used to determine somatotype characteristics of 181 young female volleyball players (age 14.05±0.93, height 170.03±7.61 cm, mass 57.80±8.59 kg, bod...

In many professional sports leagues, teams from opposing leagues/conferences compete against one another, playing inter-league games. This is an example of a bipartite tournament. In this paper, we consider the problem of reducing the total travel distance of bipartite tournaments, by analyzing inter-league scheduling from the perspective of discrete optimization. This research has natural appl...

OBJECTIVES To compare the physiological and anthropometric characteristics of specific playing positions and positional playing groups in junior rugby league players. METHODS Two hundred and forty junior rugby league players underwent measurements of standard anthropometry (body mass, height, sum of four skinfolds), muscular power (vertical jump), speed (10, 20, and 40 m sprint), agility (L r...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine whether minor head trauma in elite soccer matches causes measurable impairment in brain function. METHODS Baseline neuropsychological testing was completed by professional soccer players in the Norwegian elite league, Tippeligaen, before the 2004 and 2005 seasons (n = 462). A player who experienced a head impact during a league match completed a follow...

PURPOSE To examine the difference in distance measured by two global positioning system (GPS) units of the same model worn by the same player while performing movements common to team sports. METHODS Twenty elite Australian football players completed two trials of the straight line movement (10, 20, 40 m) at four speeds (walk, jog, stride, sprint), two trials of the changes of direction (COD)...