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# Influence of ball handling on performance in a figure-8 test among junior wheelchair players

Lorian Honnorat, Thierry Weissland, Arnaud Faupin

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## To cite this version:

Lorian Honnorat, Thierry Weissland, Arnaud Faupin. Influence of ball handling on performance in a figure-8 test among junior wheelchair players. Multidisciplinary Biomechanics Journal, 2025, 50th congress of the.., 10.46298/mbj.16250. hal-05191805v2

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Submitted on 23 Oct 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
# Influence of ball handling on performance in a figure-8 test among junior wheelchair players

Lorian Honnorat<sup>a*</sup>, Thierry Weissland<sup>b</sup>, Arnaud Faupin<sup>a</sup>

<sup>a</sup> J-AP2S, Université de Toulon, France

<sup>b</sup> IMS, Université de Bordeaux, France

* Corresponding author: lorian.honzorat@univ-tln.fr

Received date: 06/04/2025

Accepted date: 27/06/2025

Publication date: 27/10/2025

**Keywords:** wheelchair basketball, on-field test, agility, ball impact, performance

© 2025 The Authors
Licence CC-BY 4.0
Published by Société de Biomécanique

## 1. Introduction

Research in wheelchair basketball is among the most developed within parasports. Numerous studies have focused on field-based testing in this discipline and the validity of these tests, as highlighted in a recent systematic review compiling the different types and protocols used (Ferreira da Silva et al., 2022).

Wheelchair agility is a key component of performance, enabling players to evade opponents and accelerate rapidly over short distances during games. Moreover, ball handling is an essential aspect of the sport that may affect these agility-related performances. Objective measurement of ball-handling proficiency has been highlighted as an important area for assessing performance in wheelchair sports (Altmann et al., 2022), and it has been shown to significantly affect mobility performance depending on the player's position on the court (de Witte et al., 2017).

The aim of this study was to identify performance parameters affected by ball handling during an on-court agility test in youth wheelchair basketball players.

It was hypothesized that ball handling would decrease velocity and acceleration, and increase completion times for both sprints and turns. Furthermore, we expected to observe longer times and reduced velocities and accelerations during the last three sprints and turns compared to the first three.

## 2. Methods

Eight junior wheelchair basketball players (2 girls and 6 boys; age: 18.5 ± 2.3 years; weight: 70.1 ± 9.8 kg; arm

span: 177.6 ± 8.4 cm; classification: 3.75 ± 0.5 points; wheel size: 26 ± 0 inches; camber: 18 ± 0 degrees, experience: 3.3 ± 2.1 years, weekly training: 14.7 ± 3.0 hours) participated in this study.

All participants completed a 5-meter figure-8 test for a duration of one minute, under both ball and no-ball conditions, in a randomized order. Tests were completed using each player's personal sports wheelchair. Prior to testing, a standardized warm-up was conducted, consisting of figure-eight laps at low and moderate velocity, followed by two 5-meter sprints with 30 seconds of rest between each.

To collect data, inertial measurement units (AtoutNovation, 128Hz) were placed on each wheel and on the wheelchair frame. These sensors recorded wheel velocity, acceleration, and various time-related performance metrics. Data were analyzed for the entire test duration, using MATLAB R2024b.

Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. If data were normally distributed, independent Student's t-tests were conducted. Otherwise, Mann-Whitney U tests were used. All statistical analyses were performed using RStudio 2024.09.0.

## 3. Results and discussion

All the statistics are reported in Table 1.

When comparing performance with and without the ball, participants reached a significantly higher maximal velocity in the no-ball condition (3.60 ± 0.25 m/s) compared to the with-ball condition (3.36 ± 0.27 m/s;
p = 0.0402). These results do not align with the findings of Yanci et al. (2014), as sprint times were previously reported to be longer when performed with a ball. This discrepancy may be attributed to the influence of ball handling from a static start of the sprint.

<table><caption>**Table 1.** Overall statical results.</caption><thead><tr><th>Variables</th><th>p</th><th>Cohen D or r</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Vmax</td><td><strong>0.0402*</strong></td><td>-0.942</td></tr><tr><td>Vmean</td><td>0.2992</td><td>-0.269</td></tr><tr><td>VmeanS</td><td>0.1911</td><td>0.236</td></tr><tr><td>VmeanT</td><td>0.3636</td><td>-0.178</td></tr><tr><td>TimeS</td><td>0.3996</td><td>0.130</td></tr><tr><td>TimeT</td><td><strong>0.0450*</strong></td><td>0.913</td></tr><tr><td>Time3FirstT</td><td><strong>0.0133*</strong></td><td>1.239</td></tr><tr><td>Time3LastT</td><td><strong>0.0330*</strong></td><td>1.000</td></tr><tr><td>Time3FirstS</td><td>0.4656</td><td>0.044</td></tr><tr><td>Time3LastS</td><td>0.5763</td><td>-0.098</td></tr><tr><td>Acc3FirstT</td><td>0.8828</td><td>-0.289</td></tr><tr><td>Acc3LastT</td><td>0.4392</td><td>0.053</td></tr><tr><td>Acc3FirstS</td><td>0.0652</td><td>0.394</td></tr><tr><td>Acc3LastS</td><td>0.7473</td><td>-0.158</td></tr><tr><td>V3FirstT</td><td>0.5411</td><td>0.053</td></tr><tr><td>V3LastT</td><td>0.4175</td><td>-0.106</td></tr><tr><td>V3FirstS</td><td>0.2527</td><td>0.184</td></tr><tr><td>V3LastS</td><td>0.4176</td><td>-0.106</td></tr><tr><td>Acc3FirstT vs Acc3LastT</td><td><strong>0.0027*</strong></td><td>0.750</td></tr></tbody></table>

V for Velocity, S for Sprints, T for Turns, Acc for acceleration.

Mean turning time was also significantly lower without the ball (1.72 ± 0.10 s) compared to with the ball (1.82 ± 0.12 s; p = 0.0450). More specifically, the first three and last three turns were completed faster without the ball (1.66 ± 0.13 s vs. 1.81 ± 0.12 s, p = 0.0133; and 1.73 ± 0.12 s vs. 1.86 ± 0.15 s, p = 0.0330).

Regarding acceleration, players exhibited significantly higher deceleration during the last three turns compared to the first three (−0.76 ± 0.29 m/s² vs. −0.53 ± 0.52 m/s²; p = 0.0027), regardless of ball condition.

These results suggest that handling a ball during an agility test reduces maximal velocity and increases average turning time, particularly in the first and last three turns. Additionally, acceleration (deceleration) increased during the last three turns compared to the first three. This was not attributed to ball presence, as no significant difference was found in acceleration between with-ball and no-ball conditions. However, a trend of higher average velocities and acceleration without the ball may partially explain these findings.

## 4. Conclusions

This study examined the effects of ball handling during a figure-eight agility test on wheelchair basketball performance. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, only maximal velocity, mean turning time, and the durations of the first and last three turns were significantly affected by ball handling. Furthermore, only the difference in acceleration between early and late turns showed a significant change over time (Increase in acceleration), contrary to our hypothesis.

These findings indicate that ball handling has a limited impact on performance during a figure-eight test in a youth wheelchair basketball population. Future research will explore technical aspects of turning such as velocity, distance, and turning trajectory to provide a more comprehensive understanding of test performance.

## Funding

This work was supported by the French government, managed by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The project PARAPERF from the program "Investissement d'Avenir" with the reference ANR-19-STHP-0005.

## Conflict of Interest Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

## Contributor Roles

LH: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing original; TW: Conceptualization, Supervision, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Validation, Writing-review & editing; AF: Conceptualization, Supervision, Methodology, Resources, Writing-review & editing.
References

Altmann, V. C., Mason, B. S., Geurts, T., Camp, S. A. V. D., & Vanlandewijck, Y. C. (2022). Objective measurement of ball-handling proficiency in wheelchair sports: A systematic review. *Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences, 2*, 798675. https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2021.798675

De Witte, A. M., Berger, M. A., Hoozemans, M. J., Veeger, D. H., & van der Woude, L. H. (2017). Effects of offense, defense, and ball possession on mobility performance in wheelchair basketball. *Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 34*(4), 382-400. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2016-0125

Ferreira da Silva, C. M. A., de Sá, K. S. G., Bauermann, A., Borges, M., de Castro Amorim, M., Rossato, M., ... & de Athayde Costa e Silva, A. (2022). Wheelchair skill tests in wheelchair Basketball: A systematic review. *Plos one*, 17(12), e0276946. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276946

Yanci, J., Granados, C., Otero, M., Badiola, A., Olasagasti, J., Bidaurrazaga-Letona, I., ... & Gil, S. M. (2015). Sprint, agility, strength and endurance capacity in wheelchair basketball players. *Biology of Sport*, 32(1), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.5604/20831862.1127285