Anthropometric Profile and Physical Fitness of the Professional Referees Chilean Soccer

The objective of the current study was to analyses the state of the anthropometric profile and physical ability of referees of first category participants of professional Chilean during the 2007 soccer Season. The sample was formed by 11 main referees, all male sex. The age was 34.54 +/- 4.76 years old, height 1.74 +/- 0.05 m, body mass 76.95 +/- 5.75 kg and 25.14 +/- 1.18 kg/m(2) of body mass index (BMI). The variables of body mass, height, skinfolds, body girth and bone diameters were collected with the aim of estimating the body composition and determining the somatotype of the referees. The new group of physical tests from FIFA determines to evaluate the referee first about his fitness to run quickly (6 (sic) 40 m) with a break of one minute and also to measure his ability of aerobic resistance in the second test. Regarding to the data of body composition the result indicate that the fat percentage is 15.44 +/- 2.81% with an average somatotype of 3.81 - 5.67 - 1.57 classified in meso-endomorphic. The results show that the Chilean referees covered in average 5.32 +/- 0.02 the first test, meanwhile the second test all the referees covered easily distance of 4.000 m. The higher body fat in the professional referees can be a limitation of the physical performance during the game that could be controlled by advisement and fitness programs.