Highly-skilled Nordic Combined skiers' integrated fitness control database

Фотографии: 

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Associate professor, PhD V.V. Zebzeev
Associate professor, PhD O.S. Zdanovich
Tchaykovsky State Institute of Physical Culture, Tchaikovsky

 

Keywords: Nordic combined skiers, integrated fitness, database

Introduction

Education and training process planning, management and decision-making systems can never be effective enough unless supported by an athletic training quality and fitness control system; and the process effectiveness will largely depend on the fitness data quality with the data collection, processing and storage components addressing every aspect of the subjects for the study. Special application databases have been increasingly in use for these purposes lately [3]. They provide high quality information to support the training process management with notable improvements in timing and efficiency of the decision-making, and this support is particularly important in the situation when the flows of information about training systems and competitive activities are so immense [1].

High efficiency of application of information technologies was demonstrated by B. Jost, Professor of Ljubljana University, who developed a special database (or an “expert assessment system” as he prefers to call it) and successfully implemented it in the Slovenia ski jumpers’ training system [4, 5, 6].

In the Russian Nordic Combined skiing sport tradition, application databases to support training process have never been designed nor applied in any format, despite the known fact that they could, if applied on a systemic basis, help process significant flows of data on current performance/ fitness levels of the athletes and manage their training process more efficiently, on the one hand; and, on the other hand, help develop model performance/ fitness criteria with due consideration for the athletes’ age, sex, skill levels etc.; and this initiatives could notably improve the existing training quality control and athletes’ selection system applied by the national Nordic Combined skiing sport management.

Objective of the study was to develop an application computer database to control performance and fitness of highly-skilled Nordic Combined skiers.

Methods and organization of the study. Subject to the prior studies geared to test the experimental database (DB) were 15 highly-skilled 17-20 years-old Nordic Combined skiers from the “Start” Sport School and the first team of Tchaykovsky State Institute of Physical Culture, qualified Candidates for Master and Masters of Sport.

We used the following methods and instruments in the DB development process: analysis and overviews of the available scientific and methodological literature; educational process surveys; education and training quality tests; mental and physiological condition tests using “NeuroSoft” computer-based system; morphological control methods (including a bio-impedance method with body composition analysis using “InBody 720” system; and an anthropometrics metering method using the body morphology scanning “BodyScaner” system); mathematical statistics methods; video recording method followed by the video data processing and analyzing procedures using special application “Dartfish” software; tensodymanometry (strain metering) and dynamometry methods using KOBC system); and stabilometric analysis using “Stabilan-01” force plate.

Study results and discussion. The experimental database was designed to accumulate data on the key morphological criteria and competitive performance data of highly-skilled Nordic Combined skiers as specified by the relevant technical/ physical and functional performance and fitness indices and their development trends (dynamics) for both the current competitive season and the Olympic cycle. The database includes a few data segments developed using Microsoft Office Access toolkit to address different aspects of the Nordic Combined skiers’ performance and fitness levels; and the relevant technical/ special fitness models to address the Nordic Combined skiing sport disciplines.

On the whole, the Highly-skilled Nordic Combined Skiers’ Fitness Control Database is composed of the following six main blocks.

Block 1: Morphological Characteristics of the Body Build is composed of three sub-blocks accumulating data on the anthropometrics, body composition and morphology characteristics, plus the jump performance specifications of the highly skilled Nordic Combined skiers. The athletes’ anthropometric characteristics are registered based on measurements of height, chest girth, thigh girth, arm and leg lengths etc.

Body composition data includes the following indices: body weight, body fat, muscle tissue weight, protein weight, total body water etc.

The Ski Jump Morphology Sub-unit is designed to save data on variations of the Bodymass Index (BMI), Morphology Index of Takeoff (MITO) and Aerodynamics Index (AI) that refers to the topmost point of the flight phase. These indices are of special importance for analysis the ski jumping component performance in the Nordic Combined sport.

Block 2: Technical Fitness gives data on the technical fitness levels of the highly skilled Nordic Combined skiers in application to the both disciplines of the Nordic Combine sport i.e. ski jumping and cross-country skiing race. Technical skills of the ski jumpers are assessed based on the kinematic factors and angular criteria of the individual jumping techniques of the athletes in every of the four phases of a ski jump, namely: in-run, takeoff, flight and landing. In addition, this Block gives integrated jump performance criteria of the athletes, including the jump stability index (Кst) and jump effectiveness index (Кef).

Technical skills of the Nordic Combined skiers in the cross-country discipline are assessed based on the following kinematic and dynamic criteria: total gliding length per cycle; maximum one-ski gliding length; run pace; total cycle time; mean cycle speed; body angle; support foot ankle joint position; support foot knee joint position; support foot hip joint position; elbow joint bending angle; pole position angle etc.

Effectiveness of the individual technique was rated by the actual results in the ski jump and cross-country disciplines versus the relevant model specifications as offered by A.A. Zlydnev et al. [2].

Block 3: Physical Fitness provides data indicative of the general and special physical fitness levels of the highly skilled Nordic Combined skiers and the relevant criteria variation trends (dynamics) through the Olympic cycle and/or some specific sport season. The Block includes test data as provided by the fitness control test, tensodynamometry criteria (takeoff speed, maximum strength development time, speed-and-strength index, jump height, reactivity ratio etc.) and stabilometric data (balancing and stability function quality ratios).

Block 4: Functional fitness provides data on the individual functional fitness levels of the Nordic Combined skiers in the following two control aspects:

  • Cardiovascular and respiratory system performance indices: heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), weight (W), oxygen demand (OD), lung ventilation (LV) and respiratory rate (RR) indices;

  • Neuromuscular system performance indices: simple visual-motor response (SVMR), response to moving object (RMO), interference tolerance level etc.).

It should be mentioned in this context that it is the cardiovascular and respiratory system functionalities that largely determine success of the athletes in cross-country skiing races, whilst the neuromuscular system performance is critical for the ski jump component of the Nordic Combined sport.

Block 5: Competitive performance accumulates data on the athlete’s results in competitions including the overall Nordic Combined sport success chronicles including the data specific for the ski jumping and cross-country skiing components of the sport discipline. The competitive ski jumping successes are rated within the Block based on the following performance criteria: jump length mark, jump style mark, total score and final standings in the ski jump contest. The competitive cross-country skiing successes are rated within the Block based on the following performance criteria: 5 km, 7.5 km and 10 km ski race times; final standings in the cross-country skiing contest; athlete’s repositioning as a result of the cross-country skiing contest from the ski-jump contest position. In addition, the Block documents the individual competitive progress records for the whole Olympic cycle and gives the means to analyze the competitive results for any annual cycle of interest.

Block 6: Analytical block accumulates the data from Blocks 1 to 5 on the morphological charactersitics, technical/ physical/ functional and competitive skill/ performance/ fitness levels of the Nordic Combined skiers and formats the data for processing in application database windows. Each of the database windows is designed to track deficiencies and inconsistencies of the current performance/fitness criteria of the Nordic Combined skiers versus the relevant model characteristics, with the deviation rates being expressed in percentage terms, or versus the individually scheduled target performance/fitness levels at the specific time and profiles them in a variety of optional graphic presentations. In addition, these performance/fitness level profiles and qualitative ratios of deviation from the individual target model form in every aspect of the Nordic Combined skier’s performance/ fitness are presentable on display. Therefore, the Block is designed to provide important analytical data for decision-makers when some adjustments need to be made to the individual training and conditioning process or special corrective training programs need to be designed.

Conclusion

The study provides a basis for development of the integrated fitness control data in application to the highly-skilled Nordic Combined skiers that gives the means to:

  • Perform integrated analysis of the current individual performance/ fitness levels of the athletes;

  • Make benchmarking analysis to find deficiencies and inconsistencies in the actual technical/ physical/ functional/ competitive performance/ fitness criteria versus the individual target model specifications, with the deviation rates being expressed in percentage terms;

  • Make comparisons of the different performance/ fitness aspects to highlight the deficient/ top priority ones at different stages of the training process;

  • Adjust the Nordic Combined skiers’ current training system or develop a new one if necessary; and

  • Provide a basis for prudential management decisions for the next stage of the training process.

References

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  2. Metodika razrabotki kompleksnykh tselevykh programm podgotovki regional'nykh sbornykh komand kvalifitsirovannykh sportsmenov na chetyrekhletniy tsikl podgotovki (na primere lyzhnikov-dvoebortsev RF) (Development technology of complex target training programs for regional national teams of skilled athletes for four-year training cycle (the case of Russian Nordic combined skiers) / Comp. by G.A. Sergeev, A.A. Zlydnev, A.A. Yakovlev [et al.]; Nat. state. univ. phys. culture, sport and health n.a. P.F. Lesgaft, St. Petersburg. - St. Petersburg: [s.n.], 2013. – 132 P.
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  4. Jost B. Differences in selected kinematic flight parameters of the most and the least successful ski jumpers of the 1996 World Cup competition in Innsbruck / B. Jost, F. Vaverka, O. Kugovnik, M. Coh // Biology of Sport, 15 (4) – 1998. – P. 245-251.
  5. Jost B. Some model characteristics of ski jumpers found with the standard procedure and with a method of expert modeling / B. Jost // Kinesiologia Slovenica, Vol. 1, No. 1 – 1992. - P. 39-42.
  6. Vodicar J. The relationship between selected kinematic and length of jump of the ski-flying competition / J. Vodicar, B. Jost // Kinesiology, 43 (1) – 2011. - P. 74-81.

 

Corresponding author: zebzeev85@mail.ru