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Anthropometric and Physiological Characteristics
of Japanese Elite Women’s Rugby Sevens Players [Received March 27, 2015; Accepted September 28, 2015] This study investigated the anthropometric and physiological characteristics of Japanese elite women’s rugby sevens players and compared them with Japanese elite women’s field hockey players. Twenty-three Japanese elite women’s rugby sevens players (age 23.1 ± 4.1 years) and twenty-six elite women’s field hockey players (age 24.3 ± 3.4 years) underwent measurements of body size and weight, sprint ability (30- and 50-m sprint), agility, and lower body muscular power (squat jump, countermovement jump). Standing height (165.0 ± 4.7 vs. 161.0 ± 5.9 cm), body weight (64.2 ± 7.3 vs. 57.8 ± 4.7kg), lean body weight (53.4 ± 5.0 vs. 48.5 ± 3.2 kg), countermovement jump distance (37.9 ± 4.0 vs. 34.8 ± 3.9 cm), 30-m sprint time (4.69 ± 0.16 vs. 4.82 ± 0.14 sec), 50-m sprint time (7.33 ± 0.24 vs. 7.53 ± 0.25 sec), and agility index (1.80 ±0.07 vs. 1.73 ± 0.05 a.u.) greatly differed between the rugby sevens and field hockey players, respectively. Superior straight sprint ability over distances of 30-m was a physiological characteristic of elite women’s rugby sevens players. These data may assist coaches and national federations in determining individual weaknesses and designing training programs for elite women’s rugby sevens teams. Keywords: field-based team, female rugby, sprint, physical fitness, team sports |