Muscular Fitness And Throwing Qualities In Collegiate Ultimate Frisbee

PURPOSE: To compare measures of muscular fitness and throwing quality between collegiate ultimate frisbee athletes and collegiate non-players. METHODS: Forty-eight college students (23 women; 25 men) volunteered to participate in this study. Students were categorized as experienced ultimate frisbee players (UF) (n = 15, 2 women) or non-players (NP) (n = 33, 21 women) using a questionnaire. UF consisted of collegiate club ultimate frisbee players and/or students with at least 6 months of ultimate frisbee experience. NP consisted of exercise science students who have little to no prior experience with ultimate frisbee (less than 6 months). During visit 1, percent body fat (%BF) and body mass (BM) were measured using a Tanita Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer. Wingspan was measured using a wall-mounted measuring tape. Grip strength was measured using a Grip-A hand grip dynamometer. Upper body muscular endurance was measured using the FitnessGram cadence push-up test. During visit 2, disc throwing accuracy and distance were measured using a throwing test consisting of targets at different ranges (5 m, 15 m, 25 m). Subject characteristics, fitness assessments, and throwing measures were compared between UF and NP using independent samples t-tests. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between UF and NP for height (177.8 ± 9.9 vs. 168.0 ± 9.8 cm, p = .003), BM (83.5 ± 16.7 vs. 68.8 ± 13.9 kg; p = .003), BMI (26.4 ± 4.4 vs. 24.1 ± 3.0 kg·m-2, p = .04), wingspan (180.9 ± 11.6 vs. 167.5 ± 14.9 cm, p = .003), grip strength (42.8 ± 7.8 vs. 34.6 ± 10.2 kg, p = .008), 5 m accuracy (9.3 ± 1.0 vs. 7.4 ± 2.5 throws, p = .006), 5 m distance (11.1 ± 1.8 vs. 9.2 ± 1.4 m, p < .001), 15 m accuracy (3.0 ± 1.6 vs. 1.1 ± 1.3 throws, p < .001), 15 m distance (21.6 ± 2.6 vs. 17.3 ± 3.8 m, p < .001), 25 m accuracy (1.1 ± 1.2 vs. 0.5 ± 0.1 throws, p < .001), and 25 m distance (27.4 ± 1.7 vs. 21.3 ± 5.4 m, p < .001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: UF had greater height, BM, BMI, wingspan, grip strength, as well as all throwing accuracy and distance measures when compared to NP. However, no differences were found for age, %BF, and upper body muscular endurance. Future studies should measure additional variables such as throwing velocity, running speed, vertical jump height, and differences between UF position players (e.g. handler, cutter).