Reliability of Tethered Swimming Evaluation in Age Group Swimmers

The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability of tethered swimming in the evaluation of age group swimmers. The sample was composed of 8 male national level swimmers with at least 4 years of experience in competitive swimming. Each swimmer performed two 30 second maximal intensity tethered swimming tests, on separate days. Individual force-time curves were registered to assess maximum force, mean force and the mean impulse of force. Both consistency and reliability were very strong, with Cronbach’s Alpha values ranging from 0.970 to 0.995. All the applied metrics presented a very high agreement between tests, with the mean impulse of force presenting the highest. These results indicate that tethered swimming can be used to evaluate age group swimmers. Furthermore, better comprehension of the swimmers ability to effectively exert force in the water can be obtained using the impulse of force. Key words: swimming, training and testing, propulsive force, front crawl.

Critical swimming speed of the southern straight-mouth nase Pseudochondrostoma willkommii (Steindachner, 1866), a potamodromous cyprinid from southern Europe.

Critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of the potamodromous southern straight-mouth nase was assessed in a modified Blazka-type swim tunnel. Forty-one P. willkommii were tested and exhibited a mean± SD Ucrit of 0.54 ± 0.07 m/s. The sex of experimental fish had no effect on Ucrit but a significant positive relationship was found between swimming performance and the body condition of tested fish. Results from this study can be used to improve the current design of fish passes targeting this, or similar, potamodromous fish species.