POLICY STATEMENT Basketball New Zealand Guidelines: Safe return to training for players in preparation for a condensed national basketball league season following covid19 restrictions STEPHEN P BIRD, HAMISH OSBORNE, LEONARD KING, LIDIA BELLES, EMILY NOLAN, CHRIS MCLELLAN See end of article for author affiliations. competitions were suspended.18 Collectively, League competition after COVID-19 these pivotal decisions set off a chain of lockdown and training in isolation? events that led to the postponement of several 2 Condensed schedule: 14 games in 32 days: Correspondence high-profile team sport events, including Stephen P Bird • Several teams will have intensified the National Collegiate Athletic Association Associate Professor, Sport and Exercise Science game blocks during the scheduled. (NCAA) men’s and women’s tournaments, the School of Health and Wellbeing For example, some teams will be University of Southern Queensland National Hockey League (NHL) season, Major required to play 5 games in 9-days, QLD Australia League Baseball (MLB) spring training, the while others play 6 games in 12-days. English Premier League season, and the Union Tel: +61 (0) 403 213 461 • Back-to-back games: Five teams will Email: [email protected] of European Football Associations (UEFA) play three back-to-back games, while European Championship, to name a few. two team will play two back-to-back This has led to an uncertain future, with games. INTRODUCTION National Basketball Leagues (NBL) across the - Taranaki Mountainairs: 5 games in globe, including New Zealand and Australia, he outbreak of Coronavirus disease 9-days, two back-to-backs facing unprecedented times which require (COVID-19) around the world was - Franklin Bulls: 8 games in 14- diligent analysis, evaluation, and preparation declared a global pandemic by the days, two back-to-backs to cope with the altered schedule, and the TWorld Health Organisation (WHO) on - Canterbury Rams: 9 games in 18- potential deconditioning of players.16,32 February 11, 2020.34 COVID-19 is described days, three back-to-backs as a viral illness that can that can affect not New Zealand National Basketball League - Manawatu Jets: 8 games in 16- just your lungs and airways but most organs The New Zealand National Basketball days, three back-to-backs in the body, spreading from person to person League (NZ NBL) has released plans for In light of these concerns, Basketball New with close physical contact, coming into a new condensed 56-game competition Zealand (BBNZ) sought collaboration contact with virus-contaminated surfaces, and commencing June 23, with a 1-week finals from leading medical, academic and high- from respiratory droplets when an infected series to be played July 28 – Aug 1. The performance personnel in the development person coughs, sneezes, or talks.15,25,34 The league will comprise seven teams (Auckland of guidelines to assist in the safe return to viral illness can be asymptomatic, mild or Huskies, Canterbury Rams, Franklin Bulls, training for elite players, in response to the result in hospitalisation, some requiring Manawatu Jets, Nelson Giants, Otago Nuggets COVID-19 pandemic. The concepts of load, life support and in a small number of cases and Taranaki Mountainairs) that will play up overload, and recovery are key considerations multiorgan failure and death. At the time of to three games per week over five weeks, with for coaches, performance staff and team writing this document there are over 343,562 all teams playing 14 regular season games physicians supporting athletes,2 and are deaths worldwide.34 based in Auckland.1 The NZ NBL finals will addressed throughout. Importantly, these feature all seven teams from the start of week COVID-19 has resulted in youth, academic guidelines support the Sport New Zealand, 26 six as they work their way through to the last and professional sport in New Zealand, Balance is Better National Sport Season two teams standing for the Grand Final on and around the world, suspending play and Transition Guidelines,30 in providing training Saturday 1 August. From an athlete health and competitive seasons, as well as structured guidelines. in-season and off-season training for all wellbeing perspective, two primary concerns IMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 ISOLATION sports. In particular, the National Basketball have been raised in relation to the condensed ON PLAYER PHYSICAL READINESS Association (NBA) suspended the season schedule, these relate to: Effect of Detraining due to Covid-19 on March 11, 2020, after NBA player Rudy 1 Return to competition timeframe: 4 Isolation Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Initial • Length of preparation period: From The principle of training reversibility states reports from NBA Commissioner Adam the revised schedule release date, NBL that stopped or markedly reduced training Silver outlined that the season suspension teams will have a 33-day preparation induces a partial or complete reversal of would last at least 30 days. However, more period. the previous developed adaptations,21 thus recent reports suggest that a mid-to-late- • What is an acceptable pre- 28 compromising athletic performance. The June return is likely the best-case scenario. competition preparation timeframe reversibility principle is also known as On March 13, the International Basketball to safely prepare professional players detraining.20 When determining the effect of Federation (FIBA) announced that all FIBA to return to the demands of National detraining from a variety of sports,20,29 NBL NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE - 49 policy statement executives, coaches and support staff must associated with a condensed NZ NBL environment, it is recommended to reduce take into account the necessary (re)training season, and the potential injury risk during the overall conditioning volume by 50% time (‘minimum effective dose’) required for retraining,24 the concept of ‘load monitoring’ of the uppermost planned conditioning players to regain optimal physical conditions is a primary consideration for game and volume in the first week following return to and maintain, or at least attenuate, the decay training dose decisions.32 Determining training, with a 1:4 or greater work:rest ratio of endurance- and neuromuscular-related the prescribed ‘external training load’ applied. This is followed by a 30% reduction performance parameters upon return (i.e. physical ‘work’), accompanied by in uppermost planned volume (week 2), 20% to training and competition.8 Coaches measurement of ‘internal training load’ (i.e. (week 3), and 10% (week 4), which would and support staff should remain alert for physiological or perceptual ‘response’), assists then see players completing the fully planned potential risk of injury during the return to coaches in quantifying the global acute load in week 5. Theoretically, such an training stage for the following three key training and competition stress placed on the approach to progressive overload may assist reasons: athlete, and provides a means to determine with the lead management of players during 13 1 Almost 60% of noncontact injuries have the chronic load applied over time. reintegration into the training environment. been reported during periods in which Reportedly, higher loads are associated with Table 1 provides basketball-specific collegiate athletes transitioned back into lower injury risk,17 suggestive of a more considerations outlined in an example training following a period of inactivity robust athlete, so it would be fair to assume 5-week return to training and competition (e.g., after vacation).8 that best practice is to progressively build to plan. Key considerations include the number a National Football League (NFL) higher chronic loads. Building to these loads of sessions per day and per week; the session lockout (2011): Resulted in a makes it more likely that an athlete will cope duration; the reintegration of physical significant increase in Achilles with the demands of competition, and be contact and competitive training; and tendon ruptures in the following potentially more resistant to injury. That is plyometric exercise progressions.9,10 24 to say – while athletes may need greater load shortened preseason. Twelve Importance of Recovery Achilles tendon ruptures occurred in to potentially be more resistant to injury, this In the 2018 Recovery and Performance in 1-month, with 10 over the first 12- loading should be progressive. Progressive Sport: Consensus Statement, Kellmann days of the preseason. load is the gradual and systematic increases and colleagues22 define recovery as a in training load to maintain and/or achieve b National Basketball Association ‘multifaceted (e.g., physiological and (NBA) lockout (2011): Experts continued positive training adaptation.21 The psychological) restorative process relative warned of similar lockout injuries rate of progression is an extremely important to time’. From the basketball-specific following the 149-day NBA lockout.3 consideration, as progressing load too demands of training and competition, Games resumed Dec 25, 2011. By rapidly can result in injury while too little recovery should aim to minimise the impact Jan 8, 2012, 19 key players across the load will delay fitness gains. Finally, recovery associated with increased mechanical stress league had already lost time to injury. strategies should be implemented as a means related to faster and shorter accelerations 2 Cardiovascular fitness loss may occur to promote adaptive responses to internal and decelerations,