Lower Limb Dynamic Strength and Short Distance Locomotion Speed in 8-13 Year Old Female Ice Figure Skaters: Age Changes and Latent Factors

Psotta, Rudolf, Lehnert, Michal, Helešic, Jiří and De Ste Croix, Mark B ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9911-4355 (2025) Lower Limb Dynamic Strength and Short Distance Locomotion Speed in 8-13 Year Old Female Ice Figure Skaters: Age Changes and Latent Factors. Sports Sciences for Health. doi:doi.org/10.1007/s11332-025-01531-6 (In Press)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate age-related changes in leg muscle strength through a set of jumping and running and skating acceleration tests in young female ice figure skaters and to identify latent factors of performance in these tests. Standing long jump (SLJ, single-leg triple hop on the right leg (TJR) and left leg (TJL), repeated vertical jumps (RVJ), and 15 m skating and running acceleration on an ergometry device were measured in 437 female figure skaters aged 8-13 years. One-way MANOVA/ANOVA (α = 0.05) showed progressive changes in all eleven indicators of the five tests, except for the ground contact time in RVJ. Performance in tests involving the horizontal component of force (SLJ, TJR and TLJ) showed significant year by year improvements, while performance in other tests showed rather nonlinear changes with age. The results of principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed three significant latent factors, i.e. the three functional qualities which were interpreted as follows: (i) the fast stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) capability for jumping in the vertical direction, determined by mechanical power (W/kg) during take-offs; (ii) the slow SSC capability for jumping in the horizontal direction, indicated by distance covered with TJR or TJL; and (iii) the fast SSC capability for skating, indicated by 15-m skating and running acceleration time.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Muscle strength; Stretch-shortening cycle; Lower extremity; Age variation; girls
Subjects:	Q Science > QP Physiology > QP301.H75 Physiology. Sport
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education, Health and Sciences
Depositing User:	Charlotte Crutchlow
Date Deposited:	09 Sep 2025 13:44
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2025 14:00
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15285

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