Sports & Exercise Research Volume 25 Number 3
Author：Tai-Fen Song; Yao-Chuen Li; Ching-Hsiu Chiang; Pei-Fan Wang; Ee-Won Liew; Sheng-Kuang Wu
Period/Date/Page：Vol. 25 No. 3 (2023 / 09 / 30) ， P313 - 332
DOI：10.5297/ser.202309_25(3).0005
Analysis of Reliability and Validity of the Competitive Table Tennis-Specific Aerobic Test
Abstract：Aerobic endurance is important for competitive table tennis (TT) players. Prior research has not yet developed a reliable and valid TT-specific aerobic test. The purpose of this study was to analyze a new competitive table tennis-specific aerobic test (CTTSAT) by evaluating test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity. The goal was to determine whether the testing method would be able to evaluate TT-specific measurement properties on aerobic capacity and effectively discriminate between competitive TT players in different ages and levels. First, 10 college level-1 players performed the CTTSAT simultaneously on two test occasions, separated by seven days. Then, 24 college level-1, 24 U16-18, 24 U13-15, and 24 college level-2 TT players participated in the validity analysis of the CTTSAT and multistage 20 m shuttle run test (20mMSRT), respectively. The total sporting times were measured. Heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and perceived exertion were recorded prior to the test, immediately after the test, and during the recovery period (3 and 6 minutes later) to determine the players' performance and physiological responses to the CTTSAT. For reproducibility, total sport time test-retest reliability was found to be high with an intra-class correlation coefficient. In concurrent validity, a significant positive correlation was found between total sporting time in CTTSAT and predicted maximal oxygen uptake. Regarding construct validity, the U16-18 group and college level-1 group had higher total sporting times than the college level-2 group, especially the U16-18 TT players also showed greater blood lactate recovery. We conclude that CTTSAT is a valid and reliable method for testing that differentiated among four-level competitive TT players. (Full text)
