Kinesiology
Doubles Pickleball Round Robin for Research
Watch this video explanation about the research round robin, or read the transcript below.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Eric Martin, Professor of Kinesiology at Cal State Monterey Bay. Thank you for your interest in our pickleball research. Our research team has been studying fatigue in pickleball. As you fatigue, you play worse. More importantly, as you fatigue, your risk of injury increases. Other researchers have tracked a dramatic increase in pickleball injury rates in the last 5 years. The purpose of this project is to figure out when fatigue may occur during several hours of pickleball play. This will allow us to help people with training and staying safe.
We are partnering with Chamisal Tennis & Fitness Club, who is graciously hosting these events. All activities will take place at the Chamisal pickleball courts.
The way we are assessing fatigue is through a jump test that measures leg power. If you participate in our research, we will ask you to perform 6 sets of the jump test throughout the day so we can see when people peak and when they fatigue. The jump test itself is very simple, you just keep your hands on your hips and jump in place.
We are hosting men's and women's doubles on Saturday, November 8th, for 3.5 level pairs, and on Sunday, November 9th, for 4.0 level pairs. Note they are separate men's and women's competitions, and not mixed doubles. The event will run from 9am until about 4pm, and we ask that if you sign up for this event, you please commit to being there the whole time.
Here is an overview of the schedule: you will arrive and check in at 9 or 9:30 am. After signing informed consent, you will perform the first set of the jump test. Next you'll complete the questionnaires related to this research, then perform another set of the jump test. We'll have you warm up together, then it'll be jump test round 3, followed by the first game. One more jump test, then you'll play 3 games in a row. Next will be the mid-tourney jump test and a break to get snacks, water, and use the bathroom, then the final 3 games and ending set of the jump test.
Because of the nature of the research, the games will be a little different than normal; instead of playing to 11 or 15 points, you'll play each game for 18 minutes, regardless of the score. This ensures that everyone plays the same total amount of pickleball throughout the day, which is an important control for our research question.
If you participate in this research, your name and all the data you provide will be kept private. On the day, you will be assigned a simple identifier, like A1, so that your actual name will not be linked to your data. Furthermore, data will be aggregated into averages for statistical processing.
Lastly, as a thank you, our research team has paid to put on a snack buffet for you.
Thank you for considering our research; if you would like to participate, please register for the competition you would like to play in. If you have any questions, please call or email me; my phone number is (831) 582-5257, and my email is ermartin@csumb.edu. I look forward to seeing you out at the courts."