Changes in Stress and Recovery as a Result of Participating in a Premier Rugby League Representative Competition

The aim of this study is to monitor changes in stress and recovery of amateur rugby league players competing in a premier representative competition. A prospective observational cohort design was used in a rugby league match environment over the 2009 representative competition season with 30 registered members in the regional representative rugby league team. Members of the team completed the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport) on the first training session following every scheduled match throughout the representative competition season. Injuries were reported as rate per 1,000 match hours. A repeated measure of analysis was used to evaluate differences in the RESTQ-Sport scale scores among the different measure taken. Significant changes were observed in Social Stress between weeks 1 and 4; Fatigue between pre-competition and week 5; and Lack of Energy between week 3 and week 4. The statistical differences observed in the Social Stress scale between weeks 4 and 5 may be related to the programming of the competition. Although the RESTQ-Sport did not predict any future performance or injury of the players, it did reflect how the players were dealing with the effects of amateur participation and the other requirements of life (work, relationships, etc.).