TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY,CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY, AND MINIMAL DETECTABLE CHANGE OF SCORE ON AN ABBREVIATED WINGATE TEST FOR FIELD SPORT PARTICIPANTS YOUNES HACHANA, 1,2 AHMED ATTIA, 1,2 SABRI NASSIB, 2 ROY J. SHEPHARD, 3 AND MOHAMED SOUHAIEL CHELLY 1,2 1 Research Unit ‘‘Evaluation and Analysis of Factors Influencing Sport Performance,’’ Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia; 2 Department of Biological Sciences Applied to Physical Activities and Sport, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, Tunis, Tunisia; and 3 Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada ABSTRACT Hachana, Y, Attia, A, Nassib, S, Shephard, RJ, and Chelly, MS. Test-retest reliability, criterion-related validity, and minimal detectable change of score on an abbreviated Wingate test for field sport participants. J Strength Cond Res 26(5): 1324– 1330, 2012—Repeat measurements in 69 young adults were performed to assess the test-retest reliability and the 95% confidence interval of the difference in score between paired observations (MDC 95 ) of a Wingate test as abbreviated for field sport participants (test of a 15-second duration [15-secT]). Test- retest reliability was excellent for peak power output (PPO) and mean power output (MPO), independently of their mode of expression and was moderate for the fatigue index (FI). The standard errors of measurement (SEM) for absolute, relative, and derived PPO and MPO values ranged from 2.6 to 3.7%, all being smaller than the corresponding smallest worthwhile change (SWC). In contrast, FI values were rated as ‘‘marginal,’’ with an SEM (9.6%) greater than the SWC (1.7). The range of MDC 95 values for PPO and MPO were 9.9–10.4 and 7.37– 7.42%, respectively. The absolute MPO showed the highest test-retest reliability and was the most effective in detecting real change. A second phase of the study evaluated the criterion- related validity of the 15-secT in 43 young men who performed 15-secT and standard 30-second Wingate anaerobic test (30-secT) in random order, on 2 separate occasions. There were no significant intertest differences in absolute, relative, or derived PPO. However, the FI for the 30-secT was greater than that for the 15-secT. Intertest correlations were highly significant for both MPOs and FIs. These findings suggest that the abbreviated Wingate test offers a reliable and valid tool for the evaluation of PPO and MPO, at least in young physical education students. KEY WORDS maximal power, leg power, working capacity, cycle ergometer, relative reliability, absolute reliability, criterion validity INTRODUCTION T he standard Wingate test (30-secT) is a 30-second cycle-ergometer test developed to evaluate an individual’s power output (8,40). Performance indices derived from this test include the peak power output (PPO), mean power output (MPO), and fatigue index (FI); these reflect, respectively, the greatest average mechanical power developed over any 5-second period, the average power maintained over the six 5-second segments of the test, and the decline in power over 30 seconds, expressed as a percentage of the peak value (20). The test requires 30 seconds of maximal effort against a constant resistance, traditionally set at 7.5% of the subject’s body mass (kilograms) (3,5,22,33). Because of its widespread use, the 30-secT has become a standard procedure to validate other measures of sprint performance such as the maximal anaerobic running test (29), and the tethered running test (24,42). It has also been used to evaluate the training status of sprinters (17), and it is considered a good predictor of short- distance running performance (27,31,34,41). Nevertheless, there are both theoretical and practical objections to the 30-secT. The theoretical premises un- derlying the test can be traced back to the classic studies of Margaria et al. (26), Di Prampero (14), and Andersen and the WHO working party on exercise testing (1). These several authors envisaged that maximal effort proceeded in 3 phases, corresponding to the usage of phosphagen reserves (usually exhausted within 2–4 seconds), accumulation of lactate Address correspondence to Mohamed Souhaiel Chelly, csouhaiel@ yahoo.fr 26(5)/1324–1330 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Ó 2012 National Strength and Conditioning Association 1324 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research the TM Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.