Reliability and validity of the Fletcher test to estimate anaerobic fitness

Abstract

Introduction and objective: The Wingate test (WingT) is nonspecific for sports modalities that exhibit displacement on the ground with high frequency of jumps. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability, as well as the concurrent validity of a test of 10 successive horizontal jumps (Fletcher Test - FT) using WingT as a reference. Materials and methods: 12 amateur male volleyball players were tested in three separate sessions. The first two sessions were performed to evaluate the reliability of the FT, which consists of continuously performing 10 horizontal jumps in the shortest time and with the longest possible distance, through the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Distance and time were recorded to calculate absolute anaerobic power (AnP) and relative to body mass (AnPr). In the third session, WINGT was performed to evaluate the concurrent validity with the second session of the FT. Results: There was no significant difference between the test and the FT retest for the calculated variables, with good reliability (ICC=0.80-0.83; typical error of measurement=11.0-11.1%). Very strong correlations were found between the calculated mean AnP value in the FT and the peak power and the mean power in WINGT (r=0.84 and r=0.85, respectively), as well as the AnPr of the FT with the peak WINGT power (r=0.77, p<0.01). Conclusion: FT can be considered a reliable and valid test to measure the same anaerobic properties as WingT.