Fourteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Tournament water skiing is split into three separate events, each requiring a very specific and different set of skills in order to be high standard. To date there is sparse published literature on tournament water skiing, with the majority of this research being outdated and focusing on injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate specific metabolic and physiological responses, including heart rate (HR), heart rate recovery (HRRe) and blood lactate (La−) of high-performance water skiers in a simulated tournament setting for all events slalom, trick and jump. This study involved 10 colligate water-ski athletes both male (n = 4) and female (n = 6). Peak HR was taken during each event. Furthermore La− and HR was measured throughout recovery and was noted at different time points (immediately post, 5-minutes, 10 minutes and 30-minutes) post exercise. This study found no significant differences between events. However statistically significant values were found between prior HR and La− and immediate, 5- and 10-minutes post exercise (p = 0.253) (p = 0.730). The results from this study show that both HR and La− had returned to the same level prior to exercise approximately 30 minutes post. Additionally, there were spike in La− immediately post exercise. Future research should focus on how water-ski athletes can change their recovery techniques to reduce La− at a more efficient rate.