ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ELITE PADDLE PLAYERS. PILOT STUDY

Paddle is one of the racket sports that has grown the most in recent years. However, there are few or very limited studies that address the biotype of this discipline, especially in the elite paddle. The aim was to describe the anthropometric characteristics, body composition and somatotype of an international sample of high level paddle players. 29 subjects national top level (15 male and 14 female) participated in this study. 16 anthropometric variables were evaluated. Differences were found between sexes in the variables weight, height and BMI (p <0.001); in triceps, thigh and leg folds (p <0.001); in the arm, thigh (p <0.001) and leg (p <0.03) perimeters; and in all diameters analysed (p <0.001). Differences were also found between men and women in the endomorphic (p <0.01), mesomorphic (p <0.001) and ectomorphic (p <0.05) components of the somatotype. Male players present a mesomorphic-endomorphic somatotype while female players are preferably endo-mesomorphic. This research provides up-to-date reference data for somatotype in elite paddle players.