The First Season After the COVID-19 Pandemic Cardiorespiratory and Statistics’ Performance in Czech Ice Hockey Players
The study describes the cardiorespiratory and statistics performance of ice hockey players during the season of 2020 after the COVID-19 lockdown’. Eight elite Czech male players (4 non-COVID-19 and 4 COVID-19 groups) were evaluated before and after the competition season. Players performed a cardiorespiratory exercise test and the maximal oxygen consumption, ventilatory threshold, respiratory compensation point, maximal heart rate and test time were measured. The number of matches, goals and plus/minus statistics were retained. No significant differences between groups before and after the season for all cardiorespiratory responses were found, and the no-COVID-19 group played more games. The conclusion highlights that the cardiorespiratory performance place all players (with and without COVID-19 history) in similar conditions to be prepared for the next season. Due to a wide variation among players’ statistics, based on plus/minus parameters, cannot be established that the 2020 season impaired the players’ statistics.
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