Time-motion analysis in professional championships of Valencian handball

Abstract

Valencian handball is a sport with long tradition in the eastern coast of Spain. Among different variants of the game, this study has been focused in the professional version, also known as escala i corda. The aim was to determine the time distribution of periods of active play and rest time during matches. The variables studied were the total duration of the matches, games and game actions, differentiating real or active playing time from passive or rest time. We also quantified the number of games and the number of motor actions per match and per game in top professional competitions (Professional Escala i Corda Leagues and Cups, 2008-2011). Duration of an escala i corda match was between 57 min 43 s and 1 h 53 min 15 s, while the duration of active time was between 25 min 5 s and 50 min 46 s. The number of games per match varied between 11 and 17, and these had a mean duration of 4 min 35 s of active playing time. There are significant differences (p<0.05) in the duration of games, specifically between the three first periods (1-3, 4-6 and 7-9). Meanwhile, the mean time spent on the completion of each rally was 17.61 s ± 1.78 s. An improved understanding of players' absolute and actual game time can provide valuable information for planning specific escala i corda training exercises with respect to the duration and number of rallies.