Sprint Performance Characteristics in Female Gaelic Football: Positional Profiles and Velocity-Time Metrics

Background : Although participation in female team sports has expanded rapidly, research on sprint performance, particularly across positional profiles and velocity–time metrics remains limited. Providing these data allows practitioners to establish normative values for comparison and quantify potential differences between playing standards, thereby supporting more informed positional profiling and talent identification within female team sport. Purpose : To compare sprint performance between intercounty and club, female team sport athletes and to report velocity–time metrics by playing position, presented for the first time in this population. Methods : One hundred and six female team sport athletes (intercounty: 29; club: 77) completed two maximal 40-m sprints on a synthetic indoor track. Sprint times were recorded at 5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 m using dual-beam timing gates. Maximum sprint speed and relative velocity–time metrics were calculated. Positional group data were analyzed descriptively; between-group differences were assessed using independent samples t tests or Mann–Whitney U tests, with effect sizes calculated (Cohen’s d , r ). Results : Intercounty players were significantly faster than club players across all distances (small to medium effect sizes) and achieved higher maximum sprint speeds (large effect size). Club players demonstrated significantly greater relative sprint velocity between 0–10 m and 10–20 m (medium effect sizes). Conclusions : Sprint performance and maximum sprint speed distinguish intercounty from club, female, team sport athletes. These findings also establish novel positional benchmarks for sprint profiling and athlete development in female team sports.