Relationships Among Sprint-Paddling Performance, Shoulder Function, and Upper-Body Strength, in Female Surfers.

Authors

Joanna Parsonage, Hannah Webster, Justin W L Keogh, Sienna Gosney, Luke A MacDonald, Clare Minahan

Published in

Journal of strength and conditioning research. Sep 17, 2025. Epub Sep 17, 2025.

Abstract

Parsonage, J, Webster, H, Keogh, JWL, Gosney, S, MacDonald, LA, and Minahan, C. Relationships among sprint-paddling performance, shoulder function, and upper-body strength, in female surfers. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2025-The aim of this study was to establish the intrasession and intersession reliability of 2 water-based tests to determine sprint-paddling performance and the relationships of water-based sprint-paddling performance, upper-body strength, and shoulder function in female surfers. Ten female surfers (age = 30.0 ± 6.3 years, mass = 65.5 ± 8.7 kg, height = 170.0 ± 6.0 cm) completed 3 trials of an 8-s "tethered" and a 15-m "free" sprint-paddling test during 2 independent sessions. Dryland assessments included shoulder range of motion, shoulder isometric peak force (internal and external rotation at 90° abduction), and 1 repetition maximum pull-up. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (%CV), and typical error (TE). Excellent intrasession (ICC = 0.97, CV% = 2.98, TE = 0.04) and intersession (ICC = 0.97, CV% = 3.11, TE = 0.04) reliability was established for average force during tethered paddling, with moderate intersession (ICC = 0.59, CV% = 9.74, TE = 0.21) reliability established in measures of peak force. The 15-m free sprint-paddling test demonstrated good-to-excellent intrasession (ICC = 0.76-0.94, CV% = 1.55-2.52, TE = 0.16-0.33) and moderate-to-good intersession reliability (ICC = 0.58-0.76, CV% = 2.58-3.32, TE = 0.21-0.37) across 5, 10, and 15 m. Significant inverse associations were found between shoulder external range of motion and average sprint-paddle force (r = -0.65 to -0.69, p < 0.05), and between the nondominant arm's external shoulder rotation strength at 90° and time to 5, 10, and 15 m (r = -0.63 to -0.65, p < 0.05). Maximal pull-up strength was not associated with either paddle assessment. This study demonstrates that tethered and free sprint-paddling tests are reliable methods of assessing sprint-paddling performance in female surfers and that assessments of shoulder function require further investigation with a larger sample of strength-trained surfers.

PMID:
40961322
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 18 Sep 2025.

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