The main purpose of the paper was to evaluate selected psychomotor abilities of handball players depending on the competition class (league), position on the court, training seniority and the dominant hand. The study covered a group of 40 handball players (age: 24.02 ± 3.99), while 50 non-training men (age: 22.90 ± 1.13) formed the control group. Studies were performed using Test2Drive computer tests. The following four tests were used for measuring psychomotor fitness: simple reaction time test, choice reaction time test, hand-eye coordination test and spatial anticipation test. An analysis revealed that handball players had better reaction times and movement times than the control group. The league, position on the court, training seniority and the dominant upper limb were analysed for their impact on the reaction time and movement time in handball players. An analysis of psychomotor abilities of handball players with regard to the league revealed that in the majority of tests the Superliga players had a shorter reaction time than players in lower leagues.

This study presents mathematical models for predicting VO₂max based on a 20 m shuttle run and anthropometric parameters. The research was conducted with data provided by 308 young healthy people (aged 20.6 ± 1.6). The research group includes 154 females (aged 20.3 ± 1.2) and 154 males (aged 20.8 ± 1.8). Twenty-four variables were used to build the models, including one dependent variable and 23 independent variables. The predictive methods of analysis include: the classical model of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, regularized methods such as ridge regression and Lasso regression, artificial neural networks such as the multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) network. All models were calculated in R software (version 3.5.0, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). The study also involved variable selection methods (Lasso and stepwise regressions) to identify optimum predictors for the analysed study group. In order to compare and choose the best model, leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) was used. The paper presents three types of models: for females, males and the whole group. An analysis has revealed that the models for females ( ${\mathit{RMSE}}_{CV}=4.07$ mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) are characterised by a smaller degree of error as compared to male models ( ${\mathit{RMSE}}_{CV}=5.30$ mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹). The model accounting for sex generated an error level of ${\mathit{RMSE}}_{CV}=4.78$ mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹.

Little is known about physical activity (PA) of preschool-age children in Poland through the course of the day. PA monitoring using an accelerometer increases the reliability of measuring daily PA levels and offers a reasonable compromise between accuracy and feasibility of measurement. The aim of the study was to determine the level of physical activity of preschool children (aged 5–6) on the basis of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) index and the number of steps. The physical activity of preschool children was assessed using accelerometery (ActiGraph) in 371 children for up to seven days. The normality of distribution was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. The Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to assess the significance of differences. The study group children had an average age of 5.4 years (± 0.6). Boys and girls showed a different level of MVPA index. The results significantly improve the current knowledge of PA in Europe. Promoting active lifestyles in children should be one of the health priorities in developed countries.

This paper describes a system for the automatic detection and tracking of a ball trajectory during a free throw. The tracking method is based on a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The proposed method allows for the measurement of selected parameters of a basketball free throw trajectory. Ten parameters (four distances, three velocities, and three angle parameters) were taken into account. The research material included 200 sequences captured by a 100 Hz monocular camera. The study was based on a group of 30 basketball players who played in the Polish Second Division during the 2015/2016 season and the Youth Polish National Team in 2017. The experimental results showed the differences between the parameters in both missed and hit throws. The proposed system may be used in the training process as a tool to improve the technique of the free throw in basketball.

Handball is a high-intensity game, during which players run, change directions with or without the ball, interact with the opponent and make different decisions in both offensive and defensive actions. Players‘ performance may depend on a number of factors, including explosive force, power, speed and agility. Players‘ results may be significantly influenced by their, psychomotor abilities. This article presents an analysis of selected psychomotor abilities of female handball players at different level of competition. Test2Drive computer tests were used. The following four tests were used to measure psychomotor abilities: the Simple Reaction Time Test (SIRT), the Choice Reaction Time Test (CHORT), the Hand-Eye Coordination Test and the Spatial Anticipation Test (SPANT). The study covered a group of 118 female handball players (average age 19.6 ± 3.16), playing in the PGNiG Polish Women’s Superliga, the Polish 1st Handball League and 2nd the Polish 2nd Handball League, in the playing positions: goalkeepers, centre players, pivot players and wing players. The study also included analyses of the players‘ body composition and aerobic capacity through the use of the multistage 20-m shuttle run test. In addition, the players‘ psychomotor abilities were analysed depending on the level of competition and playing position. The analysis of the reaction time and movement time showed statistically significant differences between the results obtained by the female handball players on different levels of competition. Moreover the female players from the Polish Women’s Superliga exhibited the fastest reaction times according to the SIRT, the CHORT and the SPANT. Additionally, on the basis of the linear Pearson correlation coefficient, a statistically significant relationship was determined between the players‘ psychomotor abilities (movement time in the SIRT, the CHORT and the SPANT) and elements of their body composition or aerobic capacity. The analysis showed that the higher the level of competition (leagues), the shorter the female handball players‘ reaction times. The study also revealed that the players‘ body mass index and percentage of fat content reassociated with movement times, while their aerobic capacity (measured in the multistage 20-m shuttle run test) had a significant influence on their reaction times. This study shows that reaction time it’s one of ability which should be consider to develop in training of female handball players.

The purpose of this study was to report sex- and age-specific physical fitness level in Polish children aged 4 to 7. 11.709 children participated in the study, including 5.684 girls and 6.025 boys aged 4 to 7 who attended kindergarten institutions throughout Poland. Physical fitness was assessed using four tests developed by Sekita including shuttle run 4 × 5 m with moving the block, standing long jump, throwing 1 kg medicine ball with two hands above the head and 20 m run. Percentile charts were developed separately for males and females using the LMS method. Boys showed higher physical fitness values than girls. In addition, an increase in the level of physical fitness was observed along with the age of the subjects. The developed reference values by age and sex in the field of physical fitness can be used for diagnostic purposes and assessing the level of physical fitness of preschool children. In addition, they can be helpful for healthcare professionals, parents and teachers to develop children’s motor activation programs and monitor their physical fitness.