Validation of the rating of perceived challenge in elite Australian Rules Football

The Rating of Perceived Challenge (RPC) provides coaches with a method of understanding athletes’ perceptions of the technical and tactical demands of training. However, the scale has not yet been validated, which is necessary to support its future use in research and applied sports settings. The present study therefore aimed to evaluate the validity of the RPC in Australian Rules Football training. 22 professional Australian Rules Football players completed four training drills that differed in their physical, technical and tactical requirements (i.e., technical, game-based, physical, and rotation drills). Immediately after each drill, participants provided responses for the RPC, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), and NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). The RPC was able to differentiate between drills with differing technical and tactical demands, providing support for its construct validity. Discriminant validity was somewhat supported between the RPC and RPE, however, this was dependent on drill characteristics. Training drills with greater technical and/or tactical focuses showed convergent validity with subscales of the NASA-TLX such as temporal and mental demand. The RPC is valid for measuring challenge in sports training, allowing for researchers and practitioners to monitor and manage perceived challenge at an individualised level.