Abstract
Use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for quantifying athletic performance is common in many team sports. The effect of running velocity on measurement validity is well established, but the influence of rapid directional change is not well understood in team sport applications. This effect was systematically evaluated using multidirectional and curvilinear adaptations of a validated soccer simulation protocol that maintained identical velocity profiles. Team sport athletes completed 90 min trials of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle-running Test movement pattern on curvilinear, and multidirectional shuttle running tracks while wearing a 5 Hz (with interpolated 15 Hz output) GPS device. Reference total distance (13 200 m) was systematically over- and underestimated during curvilinear (2.61±0.80%) and shuttle (−3.17±2.46%) trials, respectively. Within-epoch measurement uncertainty dispersion was widest during the shuttle trial, particularly during the jog and run phases. Relative measurement reliability was excellent during both trials (Curvilinear r = 1.00, slope = 1.03, ICC = 1.00; Shuttle r = 0.99, slope = 0.97, ICC = 0.99). Absolute measurement reliability was superior during the curvilinear trial (Curvilinear SEM = 0 m, CV = 2.16%, LOA ± 223 m; Shuttle SEM = 119 m, CV = 2.44%, LOA ± 453 m). Rapid directional change degrades the accuracy and absolute reliability of GPS distance measurement, and caution is recommended when using GPS to quantify rapid multidirectional movement patterns.
Citation: Rawstorn JC, Maddison R, Ali A, Foskett A, Gant N (2014) Rapid Directional Change Degrades GPS Distance Measurement Validity during Intermittent Intensity Running. PLoS ONE 9(4):
e93693.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093693
Editor: Dylan Thompson, University of Bath, United Kingdom
Received: January 5, 2014; Accepted: March 7, 2014; Published: April 14, 2014
Copyright: © 2014 Rawstorn et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This study was funded by The University of Auckland. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Description
This study evaluates how rapid directional changes affect GPS distance measurement validity in team sports.