1. Can physiological indices of fitness predict competitive national rank in high performance junior British surfers? Barlow, M.J. 1 ; Findlay, M. 1 ; Gresty, K 1 and Cooke, C.B. 2 1 Faculty of Science, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom. 2 Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom. Introduction Method Discussion Conclusion References Surfing is a high intensity intermittent exercise which in recent years has experienced a rapid increase in participation rates and growing professionalism amongst competitive athletes. There has been some research of the physiological aspects of surfing performance and indices of fitness in adults which may be related to competitive performance(Lowden & Pateman, 1980; Mendez-Villanueva & Bishop, 2005) with peak power output and the exercise intensity associated with a blood lactate concentration of 4mmol.L -1 being significantly correlated to ranking. However, little information is available regarding junior surfers. Following institutional ethical approval and the completion of parental informed consent (children giving assent) 19 elite male (mean age = 15.44 ± 1.40 years) surfers participated in assessments of maximal oxygen uptake using a specially adapted ergometer and online gas analysis (see figure 1). Agility was measured using a “pop-up” test, lower body explosive power was assessed using a standing long jump, upper body power was measured using a medicine ball throw, static balance was assessed using a “standing stork test” and dynamic balance was measured using a “wobble board”. A correlation analysis was performed between the measured variables and the numerical national ranking of the subjects using SPSS for Windows (V.14). Figure 2. Correlation of National rank versus VO 2 max (l.min -1 ) Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between absolute VO 2 max and national ranking (r=0.519, P<0.05,) see figure 2, with top ranked athletes having lower VO 2 max values. It would appear that VO 2 max is not an appropriate factor to predict rank within a junior group of high performance surfers and no other measured variables were significantly correlated to national ranking in this study. The mean junior VO 2 max (ml.kg -1.min -1 ) values (see Table 1) were similar to those reported for adult competitive regional level surfers (47.93 ± 6.28) but lower than those of adult European level surfers (mean 50.00 ± 4.67) using a similar assessment methodology (Mendez- Villanueva & Bishop, 2005). The present study suggests that ranking within a group of high performance junior British surfers cannot be predicted from physiological profile. Further research is required to ascertain at what point of physical maturity and age, blood lactate and peak power measures become significant predictors of performance and whether the measures used can differentiate between novice and high performance junior surfers. Results The authors would like to thank the British Surfing Association for their support in this study. Figure 1. Participant undergoing assessment of maximal oxygen uptake MeasureMean ±SD Age (years) 15.41 ± 1.28 Stature (cm) 169.01 ± 8.05 Body mass (Kg) 64.07 ± 6.89 Pop ups in 30 seconds 19.33 ± 2.70 Standing long jump (cm) 194.18 ± 55.65 Medicine ball throw (cm) 589.44 ± 81.63 Balance board test (sec) 4.41± 2.04 Standing stork test (sec) 32.55 ± 4.49 VO 2 max (l.min -1 ) 2.92 ± 0.57 VO 2 max (ml.kg -1.min -1 ) 45.20 ± 9.26 Power output @VO 2 max 93.50 ± 16.01 Lowdon, B. J. and N. Pateman (1980). "Physiological parameters of international surfers." Australian Journal of Sports Medicine 12: 30-33. Mendez-Villanueva, A. and D. Bishop (2005). "Physiological aspects of surfboard riding performance." Sports Medicine 35(1): 55-70. Table 1.. Exercise Test Means ± SD