ABSTRACT
It has been suggested (Green, 1987) that fatigue results in an inability to maintain a desired physical capability and that it is a persistent threat in ice hockey. As such, it has the potential to disrupt all aspects of performance and impact on both the players' effectiveness and risk of injury. In addition, since hockey involves alternating periods of high energy expenditure and rest, brief periods of fatigue can exist throughout the duration of a game and become even more prevalent during the later stages of the game when extraordinary efforts are often required to change the potential outcome of the game. Previous research has attempted to outline the basic mechanical aspects of maximum speed forward skating (Marino, 1977; Marino and Weese, 1978; Marino, 1984; McCaw and Hoshizaki, 1987; and Kirchner and Hoshizaki, 1989). In addition, Marino and Potvin (1989) and Marino and Goegan (1990) reported on several changes that take place in segmental kinetics of skating under fatigued conditions. These studies, however, did not deal extensively with kinematic descriptors of the movement pattern. To date, there is no evidence of research dealing with the effects of fatigue on skaters of different ability levels or on kinematic and postural aspects of the skating motion. In light of gaps in the literature, the purpose of the present study was twofold: fITst, to examine the differences in skating kinematics between skilled and less skilled performers; and, second to identify changes that occur in skating kinematics when an individual becomes fatigued during a maximum effort, anaerobic work bout.
