Internal and External Demands in Basketball Referees during the U-16 European Women's Championship

(1) Background: The use of advanced technology to study the energy demands of sport participants during actual sport competition is an important current research direction. The purpose of this study was to identify the physiological, internal, and external demands placed on basketball referees using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, in relation to the period of the game. (2) Methods: The sample was comprised of nine international referees, and the data collection took place during the Women's EuroBasket Sub-16 championship. Internal and external load were assessed through the inertial device WIMU PRO^TM, using UWB technology in order to quantify the effort exerted by each referee. The internal load was examined in relation to each individual's heart rate (HR). The external load included the kinematic variables accelerations (Acc), decelerations (Dec), Acc/min, Dec/min, distance covered, steps, maximum speed (Vmax), average speed (Vavg), and speed zones, as well as the neuromuscular variables impacts (Imp), PlayerLoad^TM (PL^TM), PL^TM/min, Metabolic Power (PMet), and PMet/min. (3) Results: The results exposed that referees work around 62% HRmax and spend more than 80% of the match at intensities between 0-12 km/h. The first period was the period in which the greatest work demand was experienced in relation to these neuromuscular outcomes (11.92 PL; 3.61 Met; 277 Impacts). The results revealed a diminishment of internal and external demands on the referees over the course of the game. (4) Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of monitoring and quantifying the workload of basketball officials, because doing so would allow for the establishment of individualized performance profiles that could be designed with the purpose of benefiting referee performance during games. The use of inertial devices allows for the objective quantification of referee workload under competitive circumstances.