Fitness Testing
Fitness Testing > Tests > Aerobic Endurance > Swimming Shuttle
10 meter Multistage Shuttle Swim Test (MSST)
This test is a variation on the Beep Test, or shuttle run, called the 10 meter Multistage Shuttle Swim Test (MSST). This test has been developed by sport scientists in Western Australia, for the assessment of aerobic fitness of competitive water polo players. See also the Water Polo Intermittent Shuttle Test (WIST).
- purpose: To test the aerobic fitness of water polo players
- equipment required: swimming pool, test cd, cd player.
- procedure: This test is a variation on the established testing protocol for the running shuttle test, but specific for water polo players and carried out in a pool. The subjects swim a 10-meter distance at a progressively increasing speed until volitional exhaustion. The test starts at 0.9 m/s, and increases by 0.05 m/sec every stage. Each stage lasts approximately one minute and the shuttles are signalled by an audio cue.
- scoring: The athlete's score is the level and number of shuttles reached before they were unable to keep up with the recording.
- target population: It is a test of aerobic fitness for competitive water polo players. The test is suitable for all players (male and female) ranging from school/club standard through to international level.
- reliability: In the published research paper, test-retest reliability was determined using a sample of 22 female and 22 male water polo players. An intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.99 (p>0.05) was calculated between the two test scores. The technical error of measurement for the test was 2.3 shuttles or 5.0%.
- validity: A validation correlation coefficient of 0.88 was found between the number of shuttles completed during the MSST and VO2max measured during an incremental tethered swim test to exhaustion. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that VO2max accounted for approximately 78% of the MSST variance.
- advantages: The test allows a whole team to have their aerobic fitness effectively assessed using minimal time and pool space.
- disadvantages: As with the running beep test, practice and motivation levels can influence the score attained, and the scoring can be subjective.
- reference:
- Rechichi, C. Dawson, B. & Lawrence, S.R. (2000). A multistage shuttle swim test to assess aerobic fitness in competitive water polo players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 3(1): 55-64
- Frankie H.Y. Tan, Ted Polglaze, Brian Dawson, Comparison of Progressive Maximal Swimming Tests in Elite Female Water Polo Players, IJSPP, 4(2), June 2009
- comments:
- This test was designed and produced by the Western Australian Institute of Sport and The University of Western Australia (Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science).
- You can create your own shuttle swim test using the team beeptest software, using the timings listed above (to be accurate you also need to know the number of shuttles per level, which is not shown here).
Related Pages
- See also the Water Polo Intermittent Shuttle Test (WIST) and the Swimming Beep Test
- Swimming Fitness Testing and Water Polo Fitness Testing
- The complete guide to the beep test for links to more information
