The objective of the present study was to examine the aerobic fitness and the physiological demands during competitive games in elite handball referees. Sixteen referees (age: 34.9 ± 3.4 years, body mass: 77.4 ± 10.6 kg, height: 173.5 ± 7.5 cm, percent fat: 22.3 ± 6.6%) of national and international levels (14 men and 2 women) were submitted to a multistage fitness test, to determine peak velocity (PV) and maximal heart rate (HR). After 48 hours, referees performed a submaximal intermittent shuttle-running test (3 minutes at 75 and 90% PV with 1-minute recovery), to determine speeds and HR at selected blood-lactate concentrations (2.0 and 4.0 mmol/L). Game intensities were arbitrarily established as follows: <HR2mmol (moderate), between HR2mmol and HR4mmol (heavy) and >HR4mmol (severe). Eight referees (2 per game) were monitored in 4 national level games. The mean VO2max of the referees was 48.5 ± 6.1 ml/kg.min. Maximal HR, HR2mmol, and HR4mmol were 193 ± 10, 154 ± 13, and 167 ± 10 b/min, respectively. The percent time spent in the moderate intensity domain was predominant (moderate 96.4%, heavy 2.3%, and severe 1.3% of total time, p < 0.05). These findings indicate that handball refereeing is of moderate intensity. In light of this study, results aerobic fitness does not seem to be a limiting factor in handball refereeing.
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