Athletic movement competency of semi-elite, adolescent, female, rugby league athletes
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Objectives: To quantify movement competency in adolescent female rugby league athletes using the Athlete Ability Assessment and compare outcomes with age-matched male athletes to identify sex-specific differences. Design: Observational, cross-sectional study. Methods: Thirty female athletes (16.0 ±1.0 years) competing in the Queensland rugby league competition completed the Athlete Ability Assessment (AAA), comprising six tasks, overhead squat, lunge, single-leg Romanian deadlift, and push-up. Task scores and total AAA scores (mean ±SD) were compared with a previously assessed age-matched males. k-means cluster analysis using the six task scores classified female athletes into lower- and higher-skilled groups. Between sex and -group differences were assessed using Mann–Whitney U tests. Effect sizes were calculated using rank-biserial correlation coefficients (r) and interpreted as small (<0.30), moderate (0.30–0.49), or large (≥0.50). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Females demonstrated significantly lower total AAA scores than males (30.0±7.9 vs. 34.7 ±4.1, p < 0.001), with lower scores across all tasks except push-ups. Females scored higher on left and right single-leg lunge tasks (p < 0.001). Sex comparisons revealed moderate to large effect sizes across tasks. Sub-analysis identified distinct lower and higher-skilled females, differentiated by overhead squat (r=0.955), single-leg lunge (left r =0.783, right r =0.819), and total AAA score (r=0.814). Conclusion: At entry to the talent development pathway, female rugby league athletes exhibited lower movement competency than males, alongside substantial inter-individual variability. These findings support movement-competency-led, sex-specific strength and conditioning approaches. The AAA provides a practical tool to stratify athletes and guide safe progression toward higher-load strength and power training.
Journal
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
Publication Name
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
Volume
N/A
ISBN/ISSN
2048-397X
Edition
N/A
Issue
N/A
Pages Count
8
Location
N/A
Publisher
Sage
Publisher Url
N/A
Publisher Location
N/A
Publish Date
N/A
Url
N/A
Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.1177/17479541261444457