## 1 Introduction  
Beach handball is a discipline that was born on the beaches of Italy in 1992 with the intention of promoting court handball during the summer period [1, 2]. From the beginning, scientific studies have analyzed psychological profiles, levels of competitive anxiety or moods and self-efficacy [3], decision-making at a tactical level [4, 5], body composition and anthropometric profile [6], or physical and physiological demands of beach handball players [7, 8, 9]. This sporting discipline is characterized by intermittent efforts, with actions lasting 6-15 s, although these physical demands vary depending on the sex of the players [5, 10]. High-intensity actions predominate in this sport, with short recovery periods and constant changes in the role of the players during the game [11]. The match is divided into two sets of 10 min of duration, with the team that achieves victory in both sets being the winner. If there is a tie, a tiebreaker set is played to determine the winning team; therefore, it is necessary to know the physical demands of the player during each of the sets of the match [12, 13]. Thus, the study of physical demands during sports practice has become a fundamental aspect in the design of training sessions and the assessment of physical load during competition [8; 9; 14]. For this, some authors differentiate between the internal load of the athlete and the external load [15]. The monitoring of this physical load has evolved in recent years based on advances in tracking technologies, such as global positioning systems (GPS) [16]. This technology makes it possible to monitor the individual physical demands of the players, as well as the collective tactical behavior within a team during training and competition [17; 18]. GPS technology is an effective tool for evaluating the external load of athletes (e.g., jumps, impacts, or collisions), especially for team sports disciplines (e.g., beach football, futsal, rugby, hurling, or cricket) in the open air that incorporate a high complexity of movements. These tracking systems make it possible to identify the specific physical and physiological demands of a sport, positional determinants and collective interaction within the team, the mechanical load accumulated by the athlete, and the type of efforts that characterize a sport [17; 18]. Specifically, these demands have also been analyzed in female categories (e.g., camogie, football, beach handball, or hockey) [8; 9; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23]. Finally, these devices can be synchronized with heart rate monitoring systems in order to relate the external load to which the athlete is subjected with the internal response derived from exercise [24; 25]. In the same vein, the Abalakov jumps, Countermovement Jumps (CMJs), and Handgrip (muscular strength) tests also offer the possibility of analyzing the onset of fatigue [26]. GPS is a satellite radio navigation system with technology that allows for the monitoring of the three-dimensional movement of a subject or group in different outdoor environments [16; 17; 18]. This technology makes it possible to determine in real time, by triangulation [16], the positioning (spatial coordinates), 24 h a day, anywhere on earth, and under any atmospheric condition of both static and moving points with an error rate of a few meters [17; 27; 28]. In reference to the validity and reliability of the use of GPS technology, different studies determine an acceptable degree to evaluate the patterns of movement at lower speeds [16; 18; 29]. In contrast, reliability is questioned when analyzing short-distance, high-speed straight-line runs and efforts involving changes of direction (GPS with a sampling frequency of 1-5 Hz). However, GPS units with a higher sampling frequency, such as the one used in this research (15 Hz), obtain greater reliability and validity in their application in monitoring team sports, being able to measure the smallest change in the variables analyzed [16; 18; 30].