Key features of beach handball self-organization: comparison between genders

Abstract

Purpose. the aim of this study is to find the aspects that identify the self-organization cycle of beach handball and to compare these between genders. Methods. Overall, 13 elite matches of each gender were analysed. We observed each team during the game, considering the following variables: offensive phase, ball possession, and attack outcome. Results. A self-organization cycle was identified, characterized by a predominance of attack over defence. We found that ball possession changed constantly (> 84%) and the same behaviour occurred in both genders. the difference between genders was that male teams were more likely to throw (81% vs. 74%, p < 0.001) and score a spectacular goal (49% vs. 39%, p < 0.001) when compared with female teams. Conclusions. the self-organization cycle of beach handball involves a prevalence of attack over defence, with a higher probability of the offensive phase ending with a spectacular throw, and with a constant change of ball possession during the match (system attractors).

La autoorganización del balonmano masculino y femenino a alto nivel

“…In this context, there are some attractors in players and teams organizations, which provides patterns for the game in each sport (Morato et al, 2012). The game's patterns generate a self-organization, contributing to understanding how the rules influence the players' actions and their occurrence (MacGarry et al, 2002;Morato et al, 2012;Passos et al, 2013;Modolo et al, 2022).…”

“…Analyzing positional plays during handball matches, it could be observed that women perform different actions in defense and make different decisions when compared to men (Quiñones et al, 2020). In beach handball it was noted that despite having the same behaviors as women during the matches, men tend to create more scoring 2-point chances (Modolo et al, 2022).…”

“…As performance indicators take an important role in sports analysis, it can be observed a lack of studies that help to understand how players and teams behave during matches, especially by investigating the self-organization in male and female handball. A study related to beach handball has analyzed the self-organization in the high level matches and found similarities in male and female games (Modolo et al, 2022), which led to inquiring about the comparisons in handball.…”

Musculoskeletal symptoms and training characteristics differ between sex and playing positions: A cross-sectional study among high-performance Brazilian beach handball players

“…12,13 It is known that reduced injury rates and their relationship with internal-external training load are essential for athletic success 14,15 and that injuries that could potentially be considered training load-related are commonly seen as 'preventable'. 16 An important previous finding of the physical demands in BH is that there is a similar self-organization of male and female matches in high-level teams, 17 but the high-intensity actions and load demand seem to be particularly performed by men due to differences in tactical and technical aspects. [18][19][20] In this direction, BH female athletes seem to have a lower risk of injury or musculoskeletal symptoms related to training characteristics (especially volume of training), however, there is a paucity of empirical research focusing on this relationship.…”