METABOLIC COST OF ICE AND IN-LINE SKATING IN DIVISION-I COLLEGIATE ICE HOCKEY PLAYERS

This study compared the metabolic cost of ice skating and in-line skat ing in Division I collegiate hockey players. Heart rate and oxygen upt ake were compared between the two conditions at three skating velociti es: 12.5 km.h-1, 16.5 km.h-1, and 20 km.h-1. Twelve subjects were test ed on two occasions: on ice (ice skating) and off ice (in-line skating ). They skated for 3 min at each velocity, with heart rate recording a nd gas collection taking place during the final 30 s of each stage. A two-factor repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the chosen velocities affected the two conditions differently for heart rate (p < .01). No interaction between condition and velocity was found for absolute (p < .43) and relative (p < .15) oxygen uptake. In-line skating produced s ignificantly greater heart rate values and absolute oxygen uptake valu es than ice skating at all three velocities (p < .05). In-line skating also generated significantly greater relative oxygen uptake values at 16.5 km.h-1 and 20 km.h-1. Results suggest that the metabolic cost of in-line skating is greater than that of ice skating for collegiate ic e hockey players when skating at three velocities similar to those ska ted during game conditions.