Changes in Player Activity Profiles following the 2015 FIH Rule Changes in Elite Women’s Hockey

The aim of this study was to compare the player activity profiles of elite international womenhockey players pre (2014) and post (2015) the 2015 FIH match rule changes at team andpositional levels. The match activity profiles (n=400) of 19 female hockey players (Age 23±4years, mass 63.6±5.5 kg, VO2max 57±6 ml·kg-1·min-1 in 2014, 58±6 ml·kg-1·min-1 in 2015)were recorded during competitive international matches in 2014 (match n=12) and 2015(match n=13) using 10Hz GPS units. The practical utility of an effect was only classified assubstantial when there was a >75% likelihood that the ±90% CI of the ES was equal to orgreater than the small (ES ± 0.2) reference value. Mean match time decreased by over twominutes from 71.72±1.38 to 69.40±4.72mins. There were increases at the team level inrelative substitutions (SUB), relative distance (RD), High Speed Running (HSR - 3.08-5.27m·s-1) and surges (S), with a fall in Low Speed Running (LSR- 0-3.05m·s-1) between2014 and 2015. There were no changes in the between-position differences observed from2014 to 2015. Within-positions, there were relative increases in RD for all positions, HSRand S for midfield, and in SUB and S in forwards. The 2015 FIH rule changes appear to haveincreased the general intensity of international women’s hockey. However the different facetsof physical performance did not change uniformly across team positions. Therefore specificmodifications to conditioning practises for each position may be warranted to moreaccurately reflect match demands.