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Hauer, R, Tessitore, A, Hauer, K, and Tschan, H. Activity profile of international female lacrosse players. J Strength Cond Res 35(11): 3207–3212, 2021—This study was designed to investigate the activity profile in international women's lacrosse match-play. Data were collected of 10 female Austrian lacrosse national team players (29.1 ± 6.1 years; 64.2 ± 5.0 kg; and 165.3 ± 4.1 cm) during 4 games of an international tournament using global positioning system and heart rate monitor devices. The mean average heart rate was 75.3 ± 5.0% of maximum heart rate (HRmax) with 23 ± 6.1% of total playing time spent in HRzone 4 (80–90% of HRmax). The mean distance covered during match-play was 3,791.6 ± 554.5 m, of which 38 ± 6.5% were performed in speed zone 1 (<7.0 km·h−1). Ten ±4 sprints per game were conducted with 55 ± 3.8% of accelerations and 59 ± 3.1% of decelerations in zone 1, respectively. Defenders showed greater total distance covered compared with other positions (attack: p = 0.035; d = 0.87; confidence interval [CI] = 0.18–1.56 and midfield: p = 0.006; d = 1.66; CI = 0.93–2.40). Midfielders covered less distance in speed zone 1 (p = 0.032; d = 1.91; CI = 0.53–3.28) compared with attackers, and lower numbers of accelerations (p = 0.042; d = 0.96; CI = 0.20–1.72) and decelerations (p = 0.021; d = 1.79; CI = 0.61–2.97) in zone 3 compared with defenders. Furthermore, attackers showed less distance covered in speed zone 1 (p = 0.09; d = 1.62; CI = 0.86–2.38) compared with defenders. The provided activity data could help coaches and practitioners in designing competition-specific programs for athletes. In addition, positional differences should be taken into account for tactical and physiological aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Farmers' attitudes and expectations towards mainly animal-based welfare assessment tools such as the Welfare Quality® protocol are regarded important for successful implementation. The objectives of this study with beef farmers in Austria, Germany and Italy were to investigate farmers' willingness to join such a comprehensive assessment system and their expectations towards expected benefits, practicalities of the assessment procedure and respective feedback mechanisms. For this purpose, questionnaire-guided interviews were carried out with in total 90 beef farmers with alternative housing conditions for beef production, i.e. straw bedding or soft rubber mats at least in the lying area. 65% of the beef farmers were motivated to join a system such as WQ on a regular basis. About three quarters of all farmers considered as important, that the system is able to detect deficiencies in housing and management. Further benefits were expected in terms of profitability, state of animal welfare as well as personal job satisfaction. Regarding the willingness to implement measures to improve the welfare state, 92% of farmers agreed to change management routines and 67% would invest more labour. Only few objections were raised which mainly addressed the fear of new regulations, higher production costs and the reliability of the results. Nevertheless farmers agreed to a large extent to the practicalities of the protocol and would be willing to contribute to data provision. In conclusion, apart from the use for labelling purposes, beef farmers in this study regard a welfare assessment system such as Welfare Quality® as a valid basis for advice. Beyond assessing animals' state, information needed for improvement strategies may therefore be considered. Farmers' trust in the assessment system may be increased by further research with regard to reliability aspects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the influence of two distinct small-sided game (SSG) regimes on physiological, perceptual, and technical parameters in male elite lacrosse players., Method: Data were collected in twelve elite male Austrian lacrosse players (25.8 ± 5.5 years; 80.1 ± 7.7 kg; 178.5 ± 6.2 cm). Players' were assigned to an intermittent (SSG-I) or a continuous (SSG-C) SSG regime, respectively. Regimes were equated for total practice time, but not active playing time. SSG data from eight sessions of 3 vs. 3 self-regulated match-play were collected along a 4-week pre-season period. Players' YoYo-Level 1 (YYL1) performance before and after the training intervention was recorded. Further, heart-rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES), and technical actions during and after SSG sessions were analyzed., Results: Both SSG regimes showed improvement with medium to very large effect sizes (ES) in YYL1 total distance covered pre- to post-intervention (SSG-C mean-difference ± SD: 840 ± 299 m; p = 0.003; d = 1.08; CI = 0.60 to 1.56 and SSG-I: 607 ± 274 m; p = 0.003; d = 1.25; CI = 0.66 to 1.85 respectively). Higher %HRmax values with very large ES (92 ± 0.6%; p = 0.002; d = 5.33; CI = 2.78 to 7.88) and time spent in HR zone 4 (1248.0 ± 122.7 s; p = 0.000; d = 3.43; CI = 2.31 to 4.55) were observed for SSG-C. No differences between regimes were found for any of the assessed technical actions, global RPE, and PACES scores., Conclusions: Both SSG regimes investigated in this study were effective in improving YYL1 performance. Further, findings indicate that the regime does not influence players' subjective feelings and technical actions in SSG play. However, SSG-I in lacrosse specific training could have additional benefits such as lower signs of fatigue. Further, breaks can be used to give technical and tactical inputs by coaches., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.