Water Polo Intermittent Shuttle Test (WIST)
In addition to the six official yo-yo test versions as created by Jens Bangsbo, there are a few modified versions of the yo-yo test that have made changes to the original protocols for a specific purpose, such as this swimming version designed for water polo players, where participants perform the yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1 in the pool over a distance of 7.5m between lane ropes.
The Water Polo Intermittent Shuttle Test (WIST), a water-based modification of the yo-yo test, was first proposed by Mujika et al. (2006). The WIST has been found to be a reliable, sensitive, and valid match-fitness test for water-polo players (Mujika et al., 2006), though not as good as a continuous swimming beep test for measuring aerobic capacity (Tan et al., 2009).
The distance covered by the swimmers in each shuttle is 7.5 meters (24 feet 7 inches). The audio signals are per the yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1. As the distance of each shuttle is less, the swimming speed for each shuttle is slower than the running speed required for the standard 20m shuttles in the YYIR1.
The test is conducted in a pool where the participants are not able to stand. Lane ropes are set up 7.5 meters apart, and at least 2 meters away from the pool walls so that they cannot push off. At the turn they are to tag the lane rope but not hold on to it. When they return to the starting point, they remain unsupported during the 10-second break.
The swimmers adjust their speed to reach each rope in time with the audio signals. The swimmers continue until they drop behind the required pace. They are given a warning if they are more than 1 arm stroke from the lane rope at the time of the signal. After the second warning, they are eliminated from the test.
When the swimmer is eliminated from the test, the final level they started is recorded, and this is converted to the total distance in meters.
References
- Mujika, I., McFadden, G., Hubbard, G., Royal, K., & Hahn, A. (2006). The water-polo intermittent shuttle test: a match-fitness test for water-polo players. Int J Sports Phys Perform., 1: 27-39.
- Tan, F.H.Y., Polglaze, T., Dawson, B., (2009) Comparison of Progressive Maximal Swimming Tests in Elite Female Water Polo Players, Int J Sports Phys Perform., 4(2), June 2009.
- Tan, Frankie Hun Yau. (2009). Applied physiology and game analysis of elite women's water polo, PhD Research Thesis, The University of Western Australia.
More Resources
- purchase the YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 mp3 file
- Other modifications of the yo-yo tests, including the wheelchair version which also uses a different exercise mode.
- About the six variations of the yo-yo fitness test
- Alternatives to the Yo-Yo Test
- List of information pages
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