Dynamic Yo-Yo Test
The Dynamic Yo-Yo Test is an incremental fitness test designed to assess the aerobic fitness of soccer referees. The test involves running to various points around a football pitch, following cones marking each 20-meter interval. The test timings are based on the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 1).
purpose: The test evaluates a referee's ability to repeatedly perform job-specific intervals over a prolonged period of time.
equipment required: Football field, marking cones, measuring tape, yo-yo (YYIR1) audio track mp3 (or use the Team BeepTest software), audio player, recording sheets.
pre-test: Explain the test procedures to the referee. Perform screening of health risks and obtain informed consent. Prepare forms and record basic information such as age, height, body weight, gender, test conditions. Measure and mark out the test area. Perform an appropriate warm-up. See more details of pre-test procedures.
test layout: place 16 marker cones exactly 20 meters apart around a football pitch, as in the image.
procedure: If testing a group of referees, they can be spread out to start running from different markers. The participant starts from one marker, and begins running forwards 20 meters to the next cone when instructed by the audio track. The referee turns when signaled by the recorded beep and continues for a total of 40m. There is a 10 second active recovery period after every 40 meters, during which the referee must wait at the marker. The test continues until they are unable to keep up with the audio recording. A warning is given when the referee does not reach the marker in the allocated time, the referee is removed the next time they do not complete a successful shuttle.
scoring: The referee's score is the total distance covered before they were unable to keep up with the recording. The same audio recording as for the YYIR1 is used, with the speed levels and the number of shuttles at each level being the same.
target population: This test was specifically designed for football / soccer referees.
Football refereereliability: Some practice and familiarization with the pacing may be required. Test reliability would depend on how strictly the test is run, and the previous practice allowed for the referees.
advantages: Large groups can perform this test all at once for minimal costs.
disadvantages: Practice and motivation levels can influence the score attained, and the scoring of when a person is out of the test can be subjective. As the test is usually conducted outside, the environmental conditions can also affect the results. The test audio track must be purchased.
comments: This test is not easy to set up and conduct, which may explain why it is not commonly used. Although there seems to have some face validity relating to soccer referees, there have been no research studies found validating this test.
Similar Tests
- Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test
- Assistant Referee Intermittent Endurance Test — based on the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 2), involving forwards and sideways running.
- FIFA Change of Direction Ability (CODA) Test — forwards and sideways running over 8-10 meters.
- Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test for soccer players.
Related Pages
- Fitness Testing for Intermittent Sports
- Beep Test Software — run the standard beep test and yo-yo tests on your PC or Laptop, with many additional features.
- Tables of the distance covered for each speed level for each level of the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test
- Buying the yo-yo test
- FIFA Testing for Referees
- Fitness Tests for field officials (umpires, referees)
- Testing Protocols for Sports Officials
- About fitness testing for soccer.
- Nutrition for Field Officials, Referees and Umpires
- About Testing for Intermittent Sports
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