SEATED VOLLEYBALL: THE INFLUENCE OF MOTOR DEFICIENCY TYPE ON PLAYERS’ TACTICAL ROLES

ABSTRACT Introduction Sitting volleyball is an adapted sport played by players in the seated position, due to impaired mobility or amputations. Court dimensions are adjusted to the players’ average height, and during the games, the actions performed are similar to those of traditional volleyball. Objective To analyze the tactical performance of lower limb amputees and physically disabled athletes during seated volleyball games. Methods Data were collected from video footage, by a single observer, of twelve games of the Brazilian north-northeast championship 2017. The analysis investigated: i) average length of rallies; ii) frequency of attack actions; iii) game actions by amputation type; iv) outcomes of the actions by amputation type; v) direction and frequency of movements by disability. Results The average duration was 70 rallies per game, with the minimum disabled athletes performing the highest number of attack actions (43). Transfemoral amputees performed the highest number of blocking actions per game (10.5, in average). Conclusion Sitting volleyball has characteristics that are determined mainly by the type of disability. Players with minimal disabilities perform more attack actions and have higher performance per action, while amputees perform actions closer to the net, such as blocking and blocking points. The results also suggest that the type of amputation influences the direction of movement. Level of evidence II; Study Prospective.