# High-Speed Running and Sprinting Thresholds in Elite Female Team Sports: A Systematic Review
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Study Selection and Eligibility Criteria  
Full-text original and primary scientific research published in peer-reviewed journals with an impact factor included in the Journal Citation Reports of the Web of Science (JCR of WoS) or SCImago Journal Rank of Scopus were considered. Studies whose status was \"in press\" or \"ahead of print\" were also included. No limitations were set regarding the publication date, and only papers in English were included.  
According to the Population, Interventions, Comparisons, Outcomes, and Study Design (PICOS) question model, the inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) population: invasion team sport female players integrated in the training/performance dynamics of teams placed in competition tier 2 (trained/developmental), tier 3 (highly trained/national level), tier 4 (elite/international level), or tier 5 (world class) [17], and studies that have not analyzed pathologies or injuries; (2) intervention: definition and use of running velocity thresholds in official team activities (e.g., competition, game, match observations, etc.), with the aim of assessing the game demands through scientifically validated tracking technologies (global positioning system--GPS, global navigation satellite system--GNSS, local positioning system--LPS, and/or inertial movement unit--IMU) in real sport environments; (3) comparison: analysis of running thresholds according to the type of sport, competition level, sport context (geographical location), and season; (4) results: measuring time and/or distance (absolute and relative terms) elapsed at different arbitrary absolute running thresholds; and (5) study design: retrospective descriptive-observational study.  
The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) studies carried out on men or referees; (2) players in tiers 0 or 1 or with an injury or pathology; (3) studies conducted in other team sports, such as net ball games (e.g., tennis, badminton, and volleyball), wall games (e.g., squash), wicket games (e.g., cricket), or base running games (e.g., baseball and softball), in simplified modalities of invasion sports (e.g., 3 \(\times\) 3 basketball), in ice-, sand-, or water-based team sports (e.g., beach handball or water polo), or in individual sports (e.g., cycling, swimming, and athletics) ([PERSON] and [PERSON] (2002) [18]); (4) intervention protocols in simulated (e.g., small-sided games) or non-competitive (e.g., friendly) matches designed to examine training demands or game-based training demands and validation/reliability protocols with athletes using wearable technologies in an experimental setting; (5) partial presentation of competition data (i.e., first or second half, extra time, etc.); (6) the use of tracking technology based on time-motion analysis (TMA) or digital video-based analysis; (7) a definition of running speed thresholds according to a prior individualized assessment of the athlete(s) (e.g., 20 m linear sprint or peak speed at training/match); (8) prospective models for the determination of thresholds according to the sample characteristics (e.g., age);(9) the validation of accelerometers in relation to the definition of speed thresholds; and (10) the reporting of other external load variables (i.e., accelerometry). Systematic reviews and other types of articles (i.e., reviews, letters to the editors, non-peer reviewed articles, editorial, books, periodicals, surveys, opinion pieces, conference abstracts, dissertations, and theses) were not included.