THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AEROBIC CAPACITY AND MATCH PERFORMANCE IN TEAM-HANDBALL

The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between aerobic capacity and match performance of elite handball players. A total of 12 male handball players who competed in the male super league had participated in the study as volunteers. The participants' mean age was 25.25 +/- 2.76 years, height was 188.3 +/- 4.8 cm and weight was 90.00 +/- 6.22. All participants had a training experience over 7 years. For measuring aerobic capacity, the Cooper 12-minute run-walk test was performed. To determine the match performance of players, Performance Appraisal Inventory in Handball developed by Ulrich was used. Study results show that there was a relationship between aerobic capacity and match performance of participating handball players. Our findings indicated that athletes with high positive score have higher match performance and aerobic capacity. As a result, aerobic capacity may use as a predictor of the match performance in team-handball.