IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE AN OLYMPIC SPORT AND NOT HAVE ANTHROPOMETRIC REFERENCES? PROPOSAL FOR A KINANTHROPOMETRIC PROFILE FOR ELITE FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Felipe Felipe Talavera-Hernández¹Claudia Maceroni²Eleanor Louise Travis-Carr³Lewis James Macgregor^4,5Luis Gerardo Vázquez-Villarreal⁶Rubén Menargues-Ramírez⁷Martha Patricia Dergal-Irigoyen⁸Elizabeth Reyes-Castillo⁹Jesús Iván Castro-Ávila¹⁰José Miguel Martínez-Sanz¹¹Nidia Rodriguez-Sanchez^5*

• ¹Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico
• ²Entrepreneur and Sports Project Manager, Sports Science Research, USA, Seattle, United States
• ³Musculoskeletal Health Research Group, School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England, United Kingdom
• ⁴Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
• ⁵Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition Research, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
• ⁶Section of Graduate Studies and Research, Higher School of Medicine, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico City, México, Mexico
• ⁷Centro Avantia Nutrición y Salud, Alicante, Spain
• ⁸Centro Médico ABC, Mexico City, México, Mexico
• ⁹School of Nutrition, Ibero American University, Mexico City, México, Mexico
• ¹⁰Amerike University, DBSS Science Research, Mexico City, Mexico
• ¹¹Research Group in Applied Dietetics, Nutrition and Body Composition (DANuC), Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

Background: Body composition strongly influences the performance of flag football (FF) players, which makes anthropometric measurements important. With the growing popularity of FF, understanding body composition requirements for both male and female players is essential to help optimise their performance. Purpose: This study aimed to characterise and compare anthropometric and body composition profiles between male and female FF players across different playing positions. The study was conducted during the European Flag Football Championship organised by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF). Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Anthropometric measurements followed the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) full profile protocol. Data were collected from 91 male and 48 female players, and body composition was estimated using the 5-way fractionation method. Comparisons between males and females were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Normative reference values and percentiles for anthropometric variables and body composition were established for male and female FF athletes. Male players had an average sum of 8 skinfolds of 83.5 ± 30.5 mm, muscle mass of 36.0 ± 7.4 kg, and adipose mass of 19.8 ± 5.1 kg. Female players (27.4 ± 4.5 years) had an average sum of 8 skinfolds of 115.5 ± 40.9 mm, muscle mass of 27.8 ± 4.0 kg, and adipose mass of 20.5 ± 4.8 kg. Both sexes predominantly presented a mesomorphic somatotype. Conclusions: This study provides valuable data on anthropometric characteristics of male and female FF players. These results can help create normative reference values and support strategies for performance optimisation. Additionally, findings contribute to better understanding of body composition needs in FF athletes of both sexes.