Shooting performance in high level women's water polo according to the final ranking

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze the situational framework (numerical equality, counterattack and numerical inequality) associated with shooting performance in women’s Water polo considering three different levels in the final ranking (high -1st-4th-, medium -5th-8th- and worst -9th-12th-). Material and Methods: All shots (2698) made in 34th European Championship in 2020 were analyzed in the present study. The study was developed with an observational design. The reliability between three observers was verified using the Kappa concordance index. The shots were registered using Polo Direct Analysis v1.0 software. Results: There are differences between the high level teams (ranked at 1st-4th) and the rest of the teams, appreciating a greater scoring efficiency in equality lob shots (.5; 1.0; 1.2) and reverse shot [.7; .5; .2]) inequality short post (3.0; 1.8; 1.7) and counterattack in the situations shots from left side (1.6; .7; .5), shots from center with feint (2.9; 1.5; .7), drive (2.0; .8; .7) and rebound shot (.9; .7; .3). Discussion: The existence of differences between the top-ranked teams, those in the intermediate zones and the lowest-ranked teams are found. There is a greater scoring efficiency in the top-ranked teams. Conclusions: It is concluded that in order to achieve a higher performance in women's water polo, athletes must have the ability to withstand great efforts and perform fast swims to convert counterattack situations. Likewise, and in static situations, it is necessary to have fast ball circulation, lining up players with a great versatility of shooting in the different game situations, which therefore allows them to have more resources and take advantage of the opportunities generated by the opponent.