Time-motion analysis of elite field hockey during several games in succession: a tournament scenario

International field hockey tournaments may require teams to play three games within a period of four days. Therefore, there is potential for residual fatigue to affect the movement patterns of players during subsequent games. The purpose of this study was to document changes in time-motion analysis of 14 elite male field hockey players during three games within a period of four days during an international tournament. In addition, the nature of and any changes in repeated-sprint activity were investigated using a criteria of a minimum of three sprints with a mean recovery duration between sprints of < 21 s. The percent of total game time spent standing significantly increased across all three games (7.4 +/-.2, 11.2 +/- 2.7 and 15.6 +/- 5.6%, respectively, P < 0.05). Conversely, the percent time spent jogging significantly decreased from game 1 to game 2 and from game 1 to game 3 (40.5 +/- 7.3, 34.8 +/- 7.4 and 29.4 +/- 5.7%, respectively, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the percent time in striding significantly increased from game 1 to game 3 and from game 2 to game 3 (4.1 +/- 1.3, 5.1 +/- 0.9 and 5.8 +/- 1.4%, respectively, P < 0.05). Changes in mean motion frequency and duration were recorded across games for the motions of standing, striding and splinting. The frequency of exercise bouts that met the criteria for 'repeated-sprint' decreased across the three games (17, 11 and 8, respectively). In summary, the results suggest that when elite field hockey players play three games within four days there are significant changes in time-motion analysis.