The aim of this study was to compare the perceptual and physiological responses and time‐to‐exhaustion in high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) protocols that are prescribed based on the relative anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) or maximal aerobic speed (MAS) in athletes with different ASR values, as well as the coefficient of variation (CV) of the abovementioned variables. Eleven long‐distance runners and ten rugby players were submitted to five experimental sessions on different days; the first and second session were intended for the determination of the anthropometry, MAS and maximal sprint (MSS). In the subsequent sessions, three HIIE_15:15s protocols were performed until exhaustion (110%MAS, Δ25%ASR, and Δ50%ASR) in random order. The anthropometric characteristics and variables obtained from the MAS and MSS tests in the different groups were compared by Student's unpaired t‐test. The analysis of mixed models for repeated measures (groups and protocols) was used to compare the speed, delta blood lactate, rating of perceived exertion, and time‐to‐exhaustion. Rugby players presented higher ASR (13.6 ± 0.9 km h⁻¹) compared to long‐distance runners (12.6 ± 0.9 km h⁻¹) (P = .049). For the HIIE_15:15s protocols, there were no protocol and group interaction effects. However, lower CV values were observed for time‐to‐exhaustion (a mean reduction of 52%) and delta blood lactate (a mean reduction of 48%) in Δ25%ASR and Δ50%ASR when compared to 110%MAS. Furthermore, the rating of perceived exertion CV was similar in all HIIE_15:15s protocols. The prescription of intensity of HIIE based on the ASR was able to reduce the inter‐subject variability of lactate and time‐to‐exhaustion in rugby players and long‐distance runners.

This study was done to investigate the advantage of playing at home in elite women's volleyball leagues and the influence of performance indicators in the game score according to set number. The sample consisted of 240 games of the Brazilian Volleyball League ( n = 132 games) and the Italian Volleyball League ( n = 108 games) from the 2011–2012 season. The relationship of performance indicators (including serve, attack, block, and opponents' errors) with the game outcome (win or lose) was assessed. The results showed that there was a home advantage effect in women's volleyball leagues, with a higher prevalence of victory for the home teams in Brazilian and Italian leagues (58 and 56%, respectively). When related to the performance indicators and among the aspects that were most highly correlated with victory, the attack was the technical indicator that explained most of the results of volleyball games.

Introduction: Piloting an aircraft is a complex multitasking activity that involves managing information in a nonautomatic way and generates a high workload (psychological, cognitive, and physical) for the pilot. The excess of these demands can result in decreased performance and may impair flight safety. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been used in recent studies as a method to investigate operator’s workload in complex environments. This measure can assess the stress and recovery ability of the autonomic nervous system. However, a better understanding of flight influence on the pilot’s autonomic modulation is necessary. Therefore, this scoping review aims to systematically map the studies related to changes in the autonomic modulation in military pilots during flight, in order to characterize their workload at different times and flight profiles. Materials and Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (by PubMed), SCOPUS, and LILACS databases. Recent records (2002–2022) that analyzed HRV in military pilots during flight were included. Meanwhile, studies in which piloting activity was not performed were excluded. The study was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline extension for Scoping Reviews and the Updated Methodological Guidance for the Conduct of Scoping Reviews. Results: A total of 298 records were obtained, of which 19 were included in the scoping review. The studies analyzed flights performed in high- and low-performance aircrafts, helicopters, and flight simulators, using time domain, frequency domain, and nonlinear HRV indices. Real and simulated flights produced significant autonomic changes. Some flights elicited autonomic nervous system responses that persisted up to 5 h after landing. During real flight, the most sensitive indices for identifying variations in pilot workload were root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats, standard deviation of interbeat interval of normal sinus beat (SDNN), ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency power, and Poincaré plot standard deviation perpendicular to the line of identity (SD1), whereas the interbeat interval (RR), SDNN, SD1, and Poincaré plot standard deviation along the line of identity (SD2) were the most sensitive indices when comparing segments of simulated flight with different levels of difficulty. Conclusions: This scoping review provided insight into the influence of flight on autonomic modulation in military pilots. Some key themes were highlighted: Increased sympathetic activity during flight, sensibility of different domains of HRV to flight demands, and autonomic changes during recovery time. Future research efforts may allow us to enhance the understanding of pilot’s workload limits and to elucidate the optimal postflight recovery time.

The relative age effect (RAE), within the sporting scope, refers to the possible advantages of participation and performance of athletes born in the first months of the year of selection in relation to others within the same age category. The aim of the present study was to investigate the RAE in girls’ volleyball players participating in the U-18 World Championship, analysing the differences between the medal teams and other teams in the tournament, and considering this phenomenon in relation to the continents. Data collection was obtained from the website of the International Volleyball Federation with a sample made of 1654 youth players in the last six world championships (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017). A greater representation of athletes born in the first months of the year of all the world championships was observed. In the comparison among the continents, it was observed that in Africa, there was a more equal distribution of quartiles compared to America, Asia and Europe. It should be noted that there was a higher percentage of medalist athletes born at the beginning of the year in comparison to the countries that placed in the last three positions of the championship. Therefore, in U-18 female volleyball, there is an advantage to have the closest birth age at the beginning of the competitive biennium.

The advantage of playing at home has been observed in different individual, dual and team sports. A greater prevalence of victory or points gained was observed when teams played at home, compared to the teams playing as visitors (>50%). The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the influence of game location in elite futsal; and (2) to analyze the home advantage effect in different game contexts according to quality of opposition (balanced and unbalanced games according to team ranking difference between confronting teams). Archival data was composed of 532 games gathered from three seasons of the Brazilian Futsal League (seasons 2012 to 2014). Game results and the goals scored by both confronting teams were quantified. The results suggest the existence of a home advantage effect in elite futsal (63.8%), regardless of the quality of the opposition. Considering the quality of opposition effect, a smaller presence of home advantage was found in games played by teams of different strength levels (62.2%), when compared to teams with the same strength level (65.6%). The present results suggest that the home advantage phenomenon is present in futsal competitions, regardless of quality of opposition contexts. The identified trends confirm the influence of home advantage in futsal and the negative relationship with stronger teams.