Comparative Study of Speed Level in Wheelchair Basketball from different county

Abstract

Wheelchair basketball is one of the Paralympic performance sports and the only team-based sport played at the elite level by people with spinal cord injuries. It can also be performed by people diagnosed with paralysis, amputated limbs, fragile bone structure and other disabilities. In Romania, wheelchair basketball is an amateur sport. We have developed a programme including 1-2 training sessions weekly, basically due to the activities in which these people are engaged, the financing level and the required preparation for the research subjects. So, the participants were 34 Romanian wheelchair basketball players coming from different counties: Sibiu, Prahova, Ilfov and Brasov. Purpose: This study aims to make a synthesis by using a comparative analysis between the speed level of the Romanian wheelchair basketball players and those from Poland and Lithuania, two countries in top 10 at the 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championship. For this, we selected the following tests: 20m sprint and slalom without the ball. Research questions: Are the Romanian wheelchair basketball players rising to the level of the top 10 European teams? Findings: The first and fourth classes, according to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), got poor values for 20m sprint, while the second and third classes got below values. In slalom without the ball, the first and second classes got poor values, and the third and fourth classes got below values.

Keywords: Basketballdisabilitieswheelchairspeed

Introduction

Wheelchair basketball has been one of the most beloved Paralympic sports from the very beginnings of the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, in 1960 (Wheelchair Basketball Canada, 2017).

Wheelchair basketball is one of the Paralympic performance sports and the only team-based sport played at the elite level by people with spinal cord injuries. It can also be performed by people diagnosed with paralysis, amputated limbs, fragile bone structure and other disabilities. In Romania, wheelchair basketball is an amateur sport. We have developed a programme including 1-2 training sessions weekly, basically due to the activities in which these people are engaged, the financing level and the required preparation for the research subjects.

Practice does not necessarily make perfect, however it does make permanent (Hedrick, Byrnes, & Shaver, 1989). To make wheelchair basketball grow, we need new players and more professionally trained coaches and administration (Owen, 1998).

In this paper, we try to present some aspects about wheelchair basketball in Romania. We can say that this sport has a development trend, but we are at the very beginning, because there is no championship in our country, but only isolated specific competitions. In the present study, we show the level of Romanian players compared to the levels of Polish and Lithuanian players. We divided our players according to the classification model of the International Federation of Wheelchair Basketball: 1 (1.0-1.5) points for athletes with lowest ability, 2 (2.0-2.5) points, 3 (3-3.5) points, 4 (4-4.5) points for athletes with minimal disability (IWBF, 2004).

The results of the Polish and Lithuanian players are taken from Molik et al. (2010).

Problem Statement

The results reveal the preparation of Romanian players regarding motor ability, speed and wheelchair manoeuvrability. We obtained the data by testing 34 Romanian wheelchair basketball players from 4 different teams. Our research groups were: “Roțile Astrale” Sports Club Association - Sibiu, “Roțile Schimbării” Sports Club Association - Prahova, AJIF Motivation - Ilfov, “Fii Independent” Sports Club Association - Brașov. The research will compare the Romanian, Polish and Lithuanian players’ results.

Training sessions were performed 1-2 times per week, due to the daily schedule of the participants who had to go to work or school. Testing was performed between January 2017 and March 2017, during each training session of the team.

Research Questions

Are the Romanian wheelchair basketball players rising to the level of the top 10 European teams?

Purpose of the Study

The aim of this study is to highlight the speed level of the Romanian wheelchair basketball players in relation to other players from two countries in top 10 at the 2015 European Wheelchair Basketball Championship, namely Poland and Lithuania.

Research Methods

The research methods used were: comparative analysis; statistical method; graphical method.

To evaluate the abilities of basketball players, we used the literature (Molik et al., 2010; Vanlerberghe & Slock, 1987) as follows:

Tests:

• 20m sprint

  • Objectives: to test the travel speed over short distances (specific to wheelchair basketball)

  • Description: start according to the player’s desire

  • Evaluation: time elapsed to cover the entire route

• Slalom without the ball

• Objectives: to verify the wheelchair manoeuvrability

• Description: start according to the player’s desire, slalom ride between the poles

• Evaluation: time elapsed to cover the entire route

Table 01 shows the representative values.

Findings

Individual results of the Romanian players for 20m sprint and slalom without the ball are shown in Tables 02 , 03 , 04 and 05 .

Table 06 shows a statistical analysis of the results for the Romanian wheelchair players in both tests (20m sprint, slalom without the ball), where we can notice: Class 1 has an average of 9.94s for 20m sprint, which is a poor value. Class 4 has the same value for 20m sprint. Class 2 has an average of 6.99s, and class 3, an average of 6.26s for 20m sprint, which is a below value. After covering the route through slalom without the ball, classes 1 and 2 got the poorest values (12.79s and 10.87s), while classes 3 and 4 did better, but still got below values (12.79s and 10.87s)

In Figure 01 , we can see a comparison between the average results by class for the Romanian athletes and the average of the Polish and Lithuanian athletes.

See Full Size >

In Figure 01 , we notice that the Polish and Lithuanian players in the first class are faster than the Romanians by 1.19 seconds in the 20m sprint test and 1.66 seconds in slalom without the ball.

Between the 4th-class athletes, the difference is 0.97s for 20m sprint in favour of the athletes from Poland and Lithuania, while for slalom without the ball, the difference is 0.80s. The Romanian athletes achieved a poor value for 20m sprint and a below value for slalom without the ball.

Conclusion

According to the poor and very poor results of the Romanian wheelchair basketball players for 20m sprint and slalom without the ball, we can say that they do not reach the level of the Polish and Lithuanian athletes.

In conclusion, in order to reach the level of the top 10 athletes, we propose to carry out the preparation of wheelchair basketball players with more rigour, which requires a change in the mentality about their training, but also more professionally trained coaches. The purpose is to attract a large number of disabled people to practice wheelchair basketball, to develop and popularise this sport and create a wheelchair basketball championship.

Acknowledgments

This paper is made under the aegis of the University of Physical Education and Sport, Doctoral School. We would like to say thanks to Motivation Foundation for all support in this research.

References

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• IWBF, . (2004). A guide to the functional classification of wheelchair basketball player. [Prepared by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Player Classification Commission]
• Molik, B.Kosmol, A.Laskin, J.Morgulec-Adamowicz, N.Skucas, K. (2010). Wheelchair basketball skill tests: Differences between athletes' functional classification level and disability type.. Fizyoterapi Rehabilitasyon,, 21(1), 11-19
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