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2016-03-30 12:40:00 CET

FAQ: How Does Altitude Affect the Game?

Do you think the athletes can even breathe?

Epic volleying at Gstaad Major 2015; Photo Credit: Samo VidicEpic volleying at Gstaad Major 2015; Photo Credit: Samo Vidic

Since we just recently posted an article about how the weather affects beach volleyball, we thought we’d take it a step further and investigate how altitude may affect the game.

The Gstaad Major is one of the biggest beach volleyball tournaments in Europe, and set in the heart of the alps, it is “located 1,050 meters (3,445 feet) above sea level, making it the highest altitude venue for a FIVB World Tour event” according to FIVB.org.

What we know

According to Dan Peterson (Life's Little Mysteries Contributor), air is thinner at higher altitudes which means that there are fewer oxygen molecules per volume of air. Thus every breath taken at a higher altitude delivers less of what working muscles require.  Therefore, in order to compensate for the decrease in oxygen, one of the body's hormones, erythropoietin (EPO), triggers the production of more red blood cells to aid in oxygen delivery to the muscles.

How Does Altitude Affect the Game?

Ross, writing for sportscientists.com, although referring to soccer, makes some interesting statements regarding competing at higher altitudes. He hypothesizes that competing at higher altitudes: reduces sprinting and running distances, fatigue is more pronounced earlier in a game,  players may not recover as quickly from obstacles (falling etc.), decision-making would be compromised, as will skill execution as a result of fatigue and other sensations (breathlessness, for example) and finally the overall tempo of the game will be reduced.

Taking a break at Gstaad Major; Photo Credit: Samo VidicTaking a break at Gstaad Major; Photo Credit: Samo Vidic

To Practice or Not to Practice at High Altitudes?

The real question is whether it makes any difference on performance if athletes have trained in higher altitudes prior to competition.

Sport-fitness-advisor.com states that it takes at least two weeks (up to six) to acclimatize to a change in altitude and that an athlete has two options available to them in order to prepare for a competition that’s taking place at a higher altitude.

  1. To arrive at the tournament city/venue etc. two weeks prior to the competition.
    And since there is a decrease in work/athletic capacity – they should opt to train at 60%-70% at first, in order to give the body time to produce more red blood cells and adapt.
     
  2. To arrive and compete within 24 hours of arrival.
    This sounds nuts, but according to sport.fitness.advisor.com this method does not allow much acclimatization to take place but most of the classical symptoms of altitude sickness will not have had time to manifest. However, this is not advisable as they also mention that after the initial 24 hours, dehydration and sleep disturbances become more prominent.

It seems that competing at a higher altitude has a multitude of physiological effects on athletes, good thing is, that our beach volleyball stars are all pros and handle these effects like bosses.

Talking about this just adds to the build-up of the Gstaad Major! See you soon in Gstaadium!

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