INFLUENCE OF ROLLING RESISTANCE ON SPEED PERFORMANCE IN WHEELCHAIR RUGBY, REGARDLESS OF FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION

ABSTRACT Our objective was to verify the associations between speed performance and wheelchair rolling resistance (RRES) in paralympic rugby athletes. Thus, 16 athletes were evaluated at the training sites of the teams. Weights of subjects and wheelchairs were collected, RRES was evaluated by a field procedure and a speed by the 20-meter sprint test. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation procedure, partial correlation and simple linear regression. The results showed that there is a negative and significant correlation between RRES, 20-meter sprint test (r = -.825, p