International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2015, 10, 112-116

http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2014-0212
© 2015 Human Kinetics, Inc.
www.IJSPP-Journal.com
INVITED COMMENTARY

Velocity Thresholds for Women’s Soccer Matches:

Sex Specificity Dictates High-Speed-Running
and Sprinting Thresholds—Female Athletes in Motion (FAiM)
Paul S. Bradley and Jason D. Vescovi

There is no methodological standardization of velocity thresholds for the quantification of distances covered in various loco-
motor activities for women’s soccer matches, especially for high-speed running and sprinting. Applying velocity thresholds
used for motion analysis of men’s soccer has likely created skewed observations about high-intensity movement demands for
the women’s game because these thresholds do not accurately reflect the capabilities of elite female players. Subsequently, a
cohesive view of the locomotor characteristics of women’s soccer does not yet exist. The aim of this commentary is to provide
suggestions for standardizing high-speed running and sprint velocity thresholds specific to women’s soccer. The authors also
comment on using generic vs individualized thresholds, as well as age-related considerations, to establish velocity thresholds.

Keywords: football, time–motion analysis, sex differences, standard

Women’s soccer participation continues to grow worldwide,
with a concomitant increase in our understanding of the physical
demands of women’s matches.1–7 Attention is given to high-speed-
running and sprinting distances as important indicators of match
physical performance.8 Currently there is no methodological stan-
dardization of velocity thresholds to quantify locomotor activities
during women’s matches. This is problematic when attempting to
assess high-speed demands because of large match-to-match vari-
ability (typical error and coefficient of variation for high-speed
running, ~140 m and 8%, and sprinting, ~90 m and 13%; N = 41;
unpublished data); thus, without standardized methodologies it is
difficult to compare between studies and challenging to develop
cohesive views about locomotor characteristics of women’s soccer
(Table 1).
An early time–motion analysis study of elite men’s matches
identified velocities associated with various locomotor activities9;
however, the velocities were means as opposed to thresholds. Still,
the mean values for high-speed running (18 km/h) and sprinting (30
km/h) have been used in subsequent research as thresholds.10 Some
researchers have lowered high-speed-running (19.8–25.1 km/h) and
sprinting (>25.1 km/h) thresholds and applied them more consis-
tently to elite men’s soccer11–16; however, universally agreed-upon
values have not yet been established. Researchers transposed men’s
thresholds onto initial studies describing elite women’s time–motion
characteristics,2,4,17 but these do not accurately reflect the physical
capabilities of elite female players.
Examining sex differences will help develop more appropri-
ate criteria for velocity thresholds used in locomotor analytics of
women’s matches. There is recent evidence on the physical per-
formance6,18 and time–motion characteristics19 of female soccer
players that must be considered. The aim of this commentary is to
highlight the limitations of applying thresholds from men’s soccer
Bradley is with the Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Metropolitan Univer-
sity, Leeds, United Kingdom. Vescovi is with the Faculty of Kinesiology &
Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Address
author correspondence to Jason Vescovi at vescovij@aol.com.
112
to women’s matches and provide suggestions for standardizing
high-speed-running and sprint velocity thresholds for women’s
soccer. We will also comment on using generic versus individual-
ized thresholds, as well as age-related considerations, to establish
velocity thresholds.
Consideration of Sex Differences
in Physical Performance
There is disproportionately less high-speed-running and sprinting
distance covered during women’s than men’s UEFA Champions
League matches when using the same absolute velocity thresholds
(ie, 18 to 25 km/h and >25 km/h, respectively).3 Match demands
showed that female players covered 718 m (~7% total distance)
and 59 m (~1%), whereas male players covered 986 m (~9%) and
200 m (~2%) within those respective velocity thresholds.3 These
differences represent 37% and 238% more distance during men’s
matches, compared with a <4% difference for total distance. The
disparities in high-speed-running and sprinting distances are likely
a reflection of sex differences in locomotor ability. For example,
maximum sprint velocity is ~10% lower in female than male
soccer players over short distances (ie, 10–30 m).6,20–22 Despite a
maximum value of ~31 km/h being observed in high-level female
soccer players, it was only obtained during the final 15 m of a 35-m
sprint by a single athlete.6 The mean distance per sprint is ~15 m in
elite women’s soccer,5 with ~70% of sprints during men’s matches
initiated while moving.11 The 70th percentile for a “leading” 15-m
sprint is ~25 km/h.6 Taken together, this would prohibit most elite
female players from eclipsing the 25-km/h sprinting threshold used
for elite male players and result in omitted sprint distance.3,5
Aerobic fitness is important in handling the physical demands
of soccer matches23 and is high in male24 and female players.25
Velocity at VO2max is ~15% lower in female soccer players (~14.5
km/h) than male players (~17 km/h) during treadmill tests.26–29 For
soccer-specific tests such as the Yo-Yo Intermittent Endurance Level
2 and Intermittent Recovery Level 1 tests (IRT1), female players
demonstrate values (ie, distance reported in meters) ~30% lower
 Velocity Thresholds for Women’s Soccer Matches    113

Table 1  Absolute and Relative Distances for High-Speed and High-Intensity Running and Sprinting in Women’s
Soccer Matches
High-Speed or -Intensity Running Sprinting
Study Standard Threshold (km/h) Distance (m) % total Threshold (km/h) Distance (m) % total
Andersson et al2 International senior >15 1530 15.5 25 256 2.6
Domestic senior >15 1330 13.4 25 221 2.3
Bradley et al3 UEFA senior >15 1358 12.6 21 291 2.7
UEFA senior >18 718 6.7 25 59 0.5
Krustrup et al4 Domestic senior >15 1310 12.7 25 160 1.6
McCormack et al48 College >13 1585 17.7 22 Not reported
Mohr et al17 Top-class senior >15 1680 16.3 25 460 4.5
High-level senior >15 1300 12.5 25 380 3.6
Vescovi7 Youth (U15) 15.5–20 458 6.6 20 76 1.1
Youth (U16) 15.5–20 611 7.6 20 185 2.3
Youth (U17) 15.5–20 658 7.7 20 235 2.7
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Vescovi and Favero1 College 15.5–20 813 8.2 20 267 2.7

Abbreviation: UEFA, Union of European Football Associations.
Note: High-speed–individual locomotor category = 15.5–20 km/h. High-intensity–collapsed category = moderate-speed + high-speed + sprint.

than their male counterparts.4,10,30,31 However, when converted to
the velocity associated with test termination, the mean sex differ-
ence is 12% for senior and youth players (17.0–17.5 vs 15.0–15.5
km/h).32 The laboratory and field-based testing results reveal that
female players have lower physical capacities than male players
across a range of fitness attributes,4,21,22,24,25,32–35 highlighting the
importance of developing sex-specific velocity thresholds to accu-
rately quantify high-speed-running and sprinting characteristics for
women’s matches.
Establishing Female-Specific High-Speed-
Running and Sprint Velocity Thresholds
Given that maximum velocity, as well as anaerobic and aerobic char-
acteristics, is consistently lower for elite female players than their
male counterparts,4,6,36,37 sex-specific velocity thresholds should
be established.6,18,19 Most sprints in men’s matches are about 5 m
and occur from a moving (ie, leading) start.11,12 To maximize the
number of sprints captured during matches, focus should be given
to the minimum velocity achieved during leading 5-m sprints, which
is ~20 km/h.6 Practitioners argue that the sprint threshold should
be aligned with sex differences in sprint velocity (ie, 90% of 25
km/h = 22.5 km/h), but preference to a slightly lower value might
be advantageous for several reasons. First, commercially available
GPS systems have 0.5- to 1.0-second dwell times that must be
exceeded above the defined threshold to confirm that a sprint has
occurred; thus, peak velocity achieved for short sprints will likely
reach a minimum of 21 to 22 km/h if the threshold is set at 20 km/h.
Second, use of 20 km/h might better equate the relative amount
of sprinting between men’s and women’s matches. The minimum
and 10th-percentile velocities for a leading 5-m sprint in a group
of subelite male players (N = 268) is approximately 22 to 23 km/h
(unpublished data). Both 20 and 22 km/h were independently
identified as sprint thresholds for elite female and male team sports,
respectively, by other researchers using different methodology19 and
align with the ~90% sex difference in sprint velocity.
Establishing a generic threshold for high-speed running poses
challenges; however, there could be potential use for maximal
aerobic velocity. Sex differences in maximal aerobic velocity
(treadmill tests) are evident, with consistent outcomes for elite
male (~17 km/h)24,28,29 and female players (~14.5 km/h).25–27 Elite
male players achieve 17.0 to 17.5 km/h on the Yo-Yo IRT1,8,32 and a
large-magnitude correlation (r = .71) exists between peak treadmill
velocity and performance on the Yo-Yo IRT1 (distance).29 Yo-Yo
IRT1 values for female athletes are scarce; available values range
from 1000 to 1380 m,4,27 corresponding to velocities of 15.0 to 15.5
km/h, with many elite players achieving 16.0 to 16.5 km/h (n = 55
of 79; unpublished data). Differences in peak speeds achieved on
a treadmill and the Yo-Yo IRT1 for female players could be due
to specificity problems with laboratory assessments. Neverthe-
less, repeated, intermittent bouts of high-intensity running during
matches are associated with large anaerobic contributions and eleva-
tions in blood lactate concentration.38 Thus, we could inductively
reason that a generic high-speed-running threshold should be above
the velocity associated with the onset of blood lactate accumula-
tion (>90% velocity at VO2max) and be situated at maximal aerobic
velocity—somewhere between 15 and 16 km/h for women’s soccer.
Individualized Velocity Thresholds
Individualized velocity thresholds have received increasing atten-
tion and are a relevant discussion topic. 36,39,40 Individualizing
high-speed-running and sprinting thresholds based on a player’s
own physiological ability seems logical, but there is a drawback—
namely, identifying tests that will provide appropriate performance
outcomes to establish reliable thresholds.
A simple approach to individualize the sprint threshold would
be to use maximal velocity. However, maximal velocity occurs
between 25 and 40 m, yet sprints of this distance, and consequently
maximal velocity, rarely occur during matches.41 This would limit,
but not eliminate, the use of maximal velocity when determining a
sprint threshold. Sprints of 5 to 20 m are considered soccer-specific,
 114  Bradley and Vescovi
but distinguishing between ages with velocity over these distances is
reduced, which seems to require longer distances.6,18 For example,
mean sprint velocity during the first 9.1 m (of a 36.6-m test) is
similar for female soccer players ranging in age 12 to 21 years, but
differences between age groups during the final 9.1 m are notable
up to age 16 years.18 Moreover, the difference between the fastest
and slowest leading 5- to 10-m sprints is about 5.5 km/h in elite
female players, whereas the difference for the final 15 m of a 35-m
sprint is 7.5 km/h.6 This larger range might permit better resolution
when identifying a threshold for an individual player. Leading 5-m
velocity is 80% to 85% of final 15-m velocity,6 so an approach to
individualize the sprint threshold could be to assess maximal veloc-
ity over longer distances (30–40 m) and adjust it according to this
relationship. Normalizing all velocity thresholds for younger age
groups based on values from senior players has also been proposed39;
however, the challenge is the current lack of standardized velocity
thresholds for women’s soccer.
A method for individualizing the high-speed-running threshold
in elite male soccer players uses the second ventilatory threshold
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(VT2) obtained during an incremental treadmill test.36 The ratio-
nale was that exercise above VT2 is not sustainable for prolonged
periods of time; however, this only relates to continuous exercise.
The intermittent nature of soccer results in players performing mod-
erate-, high-, and maximal-intensity efforts, which are inherently
brief. Running at 100%, 120%, and 140% of velocity at VO2max is
sustainable for 6, 2, and 1 minute, respectively42; these are much
longer than bouts of higher-intensity running observed during
matches. These data, in conjunction with the mean velocity at VT2
(~15 km/h)36 highlight that VT2 is too low to define high-speed run-
ning. We believe that maximal aerobic velocity is more appropriate
for individualizing high-speed work, whereas VT2 could be ideal
for classifying moderate-speed efforts. To avoid the requirement of
gas analysis, a suggested practice would be to use 80% of maximal
aerobic velocity since it is often aligned with VT2.36,43
Difference in peak speed are obtained from treadmill and inter-
mittent tests, so it would be beneficial to have a field-based option to
acquire maximal aerobic velocity, resulting in time-efficient assess-
ments of squads without use of a laboratory. The Yo-Yo IRT1 is
regarded as a good measure of aerobic–anaerobic indices and widely
used in team sports.10 Moreover, a large-magnitude correlation exists
between Yo-Yo IRT1 performance and maximal aerobic velocity
on a treadmill.29 While the maximum velocities from these 2 tests
have not been shown to be precisely interchangeable,44 we argue
that the Yo-Yo IRT1 is soccer specific and the velocity obtained at
test termination could be used as an individual high-speed threshold.
Research is needed with female players across various standards to
examine the association between maximal aerobic velocity and that
at VT2 determined from a treadmill test against the peak velocity
obtained during the Yo-Yo IRT1. Only then will more definitive
procedures for individualizing high-speed velocity for women’s
soccer be established.
Age-Related Factors
for Defining Velocity Thresholds
Differences in performance capacities across age groups are
important considerations when deciding on locomotor thresholds.
Maximal sprint velocity tends to plateau around 16 years of age in
female players, as there was no observable increase for players 18
to 21 years of age.18 Similarly, no differences were observed for
15-m sprints between senior (23 y) and youth (17 y) female play-
ers.32 Therefore, a standardized generic sprint threshold could be
used with female players ≥U16. In contrast to applying the sprint
threshold to standards ³U16, adjustments are likely needed for high-
speed running, as evidenced by progressively increasing maximal
aerobic velocity from 17 years (~11 km/h)45 to 20 to 21 years (~14.5
km/h)26,27 and >24 years (14.7 km/h),25 as well as observations for
mean Yo-Yo IRT1 scores in U17 (1070 m, 15 km/h, N = 26), U21
(1480 m, 16 km/h, N = 29), and senior-level (1630 m, 16 km/h, N
= 22) female field hockey players (unpublished data).
Perspective
Based on the literature and our experience we recommend that
generic thresholds used to define high-speed running and sprinting
in women’s soccer should be 15 to 16 km/h and 20 km/h, respec-
tively, and be implemented for time–motion analysis studies with
players U20 to U21 and older. The sprint threshold can be used for
players to ≥U16; however, the high-speed-running threshold would
need modification to reflect the lower physical abilities of players
competing in age groups younger than U21. A word of caution:
High-speed running and sprinting may be underestimated when
based on absolute velocities, which can exclude short sprints (high
acceleration but not exceeding velocity threshold).46,47 Therefore,
methods that capture acceleration in conjunction with velocity
would help strengthen women’s match analyses.
Individualizing velocity thresholds based on established physi-
ological capacities might be advantageous in certain circumstances,
but standard protocols are required. We suggest using 80% to 85%
of maximal velocity (tests >30 m) for the sprint threshold and
either maximal aerobic velocity (laboratory-based) or the velocity
achieved during the Yo-Yo IRT1 test (field-based) for the high-
speed-running threshold. Our aim for this commentary was to
provide the rationale for developing a unified approach to velocity-
threshold selection for women’s soccer matches. More important,
we hope that we will stimulate dialog and research in this area,
because implementing consistent methods will ultimately assist in
a more cohesive description and understanding of women’s soccer.
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