ABSTRACT
The physical demands of the various football codes have been reported to be broadly similar (Reilly and Gilbourne, 2003). Specifically, most football codes require players to generate brief maximal sprints (1−6 s), repeatedly interspersed with short recovery periods (<21 s). The capacity to repeat these brief maximal sprints in a short period of time has been termed repeated sprint ability (RSA) and is considered an important performance characteristic (Spencer et al., 2006). For these reasons, researchers have examined the reliability of RSA measures using a 5 × 6 s sprint test in a ‘non-fatigued’ state (Hughes et al., 2006; McGawley and Bishop, 2006). However, in a typical football match (i.e of various football codes), repeated sprint efforts are often completed in a fatigued state. Therefore, while existing RSA tests may be a reliable way of assessing RSA in team sport participants, they may not reflect the physiological state of a participant when repeating sprint efforts during a match. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the ecological reliability of a 5 × 6 s RSA test when completed under fatigue on a non-motorised treadmill (NMT).
