A fitness assessment for sitting discus athletes with physical disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of selected physical fitness tests in the assessment of athletes with disabilities who participate in the sitting discus event. A total of 53 athletes who were competing in the South African National Championships in 2001, in the classes F33, F34 and F52-F58, participated as volunteers in this study. All of these athletes completed the fitness tests selected for their specific class. Their performance on each of the tests was then correlated to their discus performance in the Championships to determine the criterion validity of the tests. The results indicated that only some of the tests were valid measures of the fitness needed for the sitting discus. There were a sufficient number of subjects in classes F55-F58 to complete a multiple regression analysis to establish the efficacy of using a pair of measures to predict performance in discus. These results indicated that the basketball overhead pass and preferred grip strength tests were the best predictors of sitting discus performance in competition for athletes in the F55-F58 classes.