TPCT Underwater Rugby Women
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Matched Tactical Training Programme (MTT), Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) - Structured Reflective Questioning.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Tactical Index, Sport, Sport Participation, Teamwork. Basic parameters: from 18 years · Female.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Colombia
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Effects of a Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) on Tactical Efficiency in Elite Women's Underwater Rugby: a Randomised Controlled Trial
Overview
This randomized controlled trial evaluates whether adding a short, structured team-reflection protocol (Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking, TPCT) to regular elite women's underwater rugby training improves tactical efficiency. Both groups complete the same training content and time; the TPCT group uses brief guided discussion during recovery intervals, while the control group uses the same time for passive recovery. Tactical efficiency is assessed using video-recorded 3v3 scrimmages coded with the RUSTAC checklist at baseline and after 6 weeks.
Detailed description
A parallel, two-arm randomized controlled trial will be conducted in an elite women's underwater rugby squad. Players will be allocated 1:1 to TPCT or an active control condition using a computer-generated random sequence. The intervention consists of 18 sessions over 6 weeks (3/week), 2 hours per session, delivered in an outdoor 4 m pool and a marked 10 m × 8 m underwater area. Sessions include a short coach introduction (\~15 min), constrained small-sided games designed to elicit target tactical principles, and ≥60 min free-play (≥50% of session) to preserve representativeness and transfer. The TPCT condition embeds \~3 min structured reflection between small-sided bouts using a fixed 5-question protocol aligned to critical thinking operations; the control condition uses equivalent between-bout time for passive recovery/hydration.
Interventions
- Behavioral Matched Tactical Training Programme (MTT)
Standardized underwater rugby tactical training delivered over 6 weeks (3 sessions/week; 18 sessions), \~2 hours/session. Sessions include structured warm-up and an identical tactical training dose across arms using constrained small-sided game bouts targeting pre-specified offensive and defensive tactical principles through constraint manipulation (e.g., space, numerical relations, rules). Free-play exposure is matched across arms. Between-bout intervals include passive recovery/hydration; any - Behavioral Tactical Programme for Critical Thinking (TPCT) - Structured Reflective Questioning
A structured reflective questioning protocol embedded within regular training during recovery intervals between constrained small-sided game bouts. Delivered across the same 6-week period (3 sessions/week; 18 sessions) as MTT. During each recovery interval, the coach facilitates \~3 minutes of guided team discussion using a fixed set of prompts (e.g., intended objective, what helped/hindered, alternatives, and one collective adjustment for the next bout) to elicit interpretation, analysis, evalu
Primary outcome measures
- Overall tactical efficiency (RUSTAC overall index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Defensive coverage efficiency (RUSTAC principle-specific index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
- Recovery efficiency (RUSTAC principle-specific index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
- Penetration efficiency (RUSTAC principle-specific index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
- Offensive coverage efficiency (RUSTAC principle-specific index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
- Space management efficiency (RUSTAC principle-specific index) [Time frame: Baseline (Visit 1; up to 50 minutes) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2; up to 50 minutes)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Female elite underwater rugby players aged ≥18 years.
- Officially rostered members of the participating high-performance team/squad.
- Regular training participation (minimum 2 sessions per week) in the team's programme.
- Able to complete study procedures at Baseline (Visit 1) and Post-intervention at 6 weeks (Visit 2), including standardized 3v3 scrimmage video assessment.
- Willing and able to provide written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
- Current injury, illness, or medical condition that prevents full participation in regular underwater rugby training during the intervention period.
- Anticipated prolonged absence (e.g., travel/competing/other commitments) that would prevent meaningful exposure to the intervention dose (e.g., missing >20% of sessions).
- Inability to complete the assessment procedures reliably (e.g., unable to participate in the standardized 3v3 assessment or comply with study instructions).
- Declines participation or withdraws consent.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Colombia · 1 center
- Tecnológico de Antioquia — Medellín
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07458581 · TPCT-UWRW