ABSTRACT
The referee plays a significant role in the game of Association Football. For referees to optimise their decision making, they must take up the correct position on the field of play and therefore, must have good knowledge of the laws of the game and the physical fitness to be in the right place at the right time. Match analysis data have revealed that referees at Football League level, cover, on average 9.4 km over the two 45-min halves of play (Catterall et al., 1993). The percentage of total distance covered by sprinting has been reported as being less than 10%, while on average the total distance covered by jogging, running backwards and walking are 50%, 20% and 20% respectively (Catterall et al., 1993; Johnson and McNaughton, 1994). It would appear therefore that refereeing is essentially an endurance task, which involves some short periods of high intensity activity interspersed with periods of lower intensity activity. A number of different fitness tests are employed to assess the fitness levels of Association Football referees in England. A 12-min continuous run is employed at County League level, the pass criterion being 2600 m. National League level Division 3 to Premier League referees have to undertake the multistage fitness test (Ramsbottom et al., 1988), the pass criterion being level 10 stage 5, which equates to a VO2 max of 48 ml·kg−1·min−1. Although these tests are essentially tests of aerobic endurance, they fail to incorporate the movement patterns employed during game situations. The tests are performed in unfamiliar surroundings and, in the case of the 12-min run, involve pace judgement. Since the tests are judged on a pass/fail basis they offer limited information to referees on monitoring their fitness. Thus the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a task specific fitness test to assess fitness levels of Association Football referees.
