INTER- AND INTRA-RATER RELIABILITY OF THE ATHLETIC ABILITY ASSESSMENT IN SUBELITE AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL PLAYERS

The aim of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-rater rater reliability of the Athletic Ability Assessment (AAA) in subelite Australian Rules football (ARF) players. Eighteen male ARF players completed the AAA movement assessment (overhead squat, double lunge [left and right], single-leg Romanian deadlift [left and right], chin-up and push-up), on 2 occasions separated by 1 week. During the first movement assessment, players were filmed in the frontal and sagittal planes. Ten raters took part in the study (1 experienced rater and 9 novices) and were assigned in a quasirandom manner, to complete either (a) real-time assessment on 2 occasions, (b) real-time assessment on 1 occasion, or (c) video-based assessment on 2 occasions. When assessed in real-time, of the 7 component movements of the AAA, raters registered moderate or greater intrarater agreement on between 2 and 5 occasions. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of between 0.50 and 0.61 for the AAA total score indicated poor real-time intrarater reliability for this variable. When assessed by video-recording, raters registered moderate or greater intrarater agreement on between 6 and 7 occasions. The ICC for total score ranged between 0.60 and 0.93. Overall poor interrater reliability was evident for AAA component movements regardless of whether it was assessed in real-time or from video. Findings suggest the AAA is most reliably used when assessed through video. It is recommended that if comparison between multiple raters is desired, a stringent training process be applied so that the interpretation of AAA scoring criteria is standardized across raters.