Digital phenotyping in young breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (the NeoFit Trial): protocol for a national, multicenter single-arm trial.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) has particular characteristics in young women, with diagnosis at more advanced stages, a poorer prognosis and highly aggressive tumors. In NeoFit, we will use an activity tracker to identify and describe various digital profiles (heart rate, physical activity, and sleep patterns) in women below the age of 45 years on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for BC. METHODS: NeoFit is a prospective, national, multicenter, single-arm open-label study. It will include 300 women below the age of 45 years treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for BC. Participants will be asked to wear a Withing Steel HR activity tracker round the clock for 12 months. The principal assessments will be performed at baseline, at the end of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and at 12 months. We will evaluate clinical parameters, such as toxicity and the efficacy of chemotherapy, together with quality of life, fatigue, and parameters relating to lifestyle and physical activity. The women will complete REDCap form questionnaires via a secure internet link. DISCUSSION: In this study, the use of an activity tracker will enable us to visualize changes in the lifestyle of young women on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for BC, over the course of a one-year period. This exploratory study will provide crucial insight into the digital phenotypes of young BC patients on neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the relationship between these phenotypes and the toxicity and efficacy of treatment. This trial will pave the way for interventional studies involving sleep and physical activity interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05011721 . Registration date: 18/08/2021.

Dealing with menstrual cycle in sport: stop finding excuses to exclude women from research.

The current literature is mostly male-based, limiting evidence-based recommendations for training individualization for female athletes. Recently, studies have relied on recent findings showing a potential effect of the menstrual cycle to exclude female athletes from their samples. We highlight that the arguments usually put forward to this action are not acceptable. Our discussion aims to elucidate that female physiological parameter can be confounding variables in the same way than other parameters (temperature, nutrition, fatigue, etc.). Those are usually well handled in most studies. This is important to bridge the current sex data gap and promote research on female athletes. Specially, as we approach the next Olympic Games, were, for the first time, there will be full gender parity in terms of athlete numbers at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Relative age effect in French alpine skiing: Problem and solution.

This study aims to identify the potential bias of the relative age effect (RAE) in French alpine skiers and to propose a mathematical correction adjustment for such a bias. All performances and birthdates of skiers on the national and international circuit were collected from the 2004 up to 2019. A goodness-of-fit chi-square test and the residuals were used to study the distribution of birth trimesters in youth competitors. A linear relationship between the distribution of performances and the months obtains a calibration coefficient allowing to rebalance the performance by considering the effect of RAE. Individuals born at the beginning of the year are over-represented in the elite young selections in all disciplines for both genders. A coefficient based on the relationship between month of birth and performance adjusts individual performance and cancels out the effect of RAE. The results show that RAE is present in French alpine skiing. We present a method allowing to consider the effect of the RAE in the performances realized in each gender and discipline. This method allows coaches to have a more objective opinion on performance and to reduce selection bias.

Is the visual impairment origin a performance factor? Analysis of international-level para swimmers and para athletes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of congenital and acquired visual impairments on the international performance of Para swimmers and Para track and field athletes. We collected results from visually impaired Para athletes competing in Para swimming or Para athletic events at all IPC-labelled competitions between 2009 and 2019. The dataset contained 20,689 events results. Impairment origin was collected from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) website. We separated impairment origin into two groups to distinguish those with a congenital impairment from those with an acquired impairment. In visual impairment sport classes (11-12-13), the performance level and the age performance relationship were investigated according to the impairment origin. In classes 11 and 12, peak performance was achieved earlier by male and female swimmers with a congenital impairment compared with those who had an acquired impairment (p < 0.05). No differences were present in class 13 or in any class in Para athletics (p > 0.05). A similar performance level was observed among the two sport disciplines for each class (p > 0.05). This study demonstrated that impairment origin can influence the performance pathway among visually impaired swimmers.

Female and male US Olympic athletes live 5 years longer than their general population counterparts: a study of 8124 former US Olympians.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify US female and male Olympic athletes' longevity and the years of life lost or saved due to multiple causes of death as compared with the US general population. METHODS: Former US athletes who had participated in the summer or winter Olympic Games at least once between 1912 and 2012 were included. Olympians' date of birth, death and the underlying causes of death were certified by the National Death Index. The Olympians' overall and cause-specific mortality were compared with the US general population based on the US life tables, adjusted by sex, period and age. Mortality differences between the populations were quantified using the years lost/years saved (YS) method. RESULTS: 8124 US Olympians (2301 women and 5823 men) lived 5.1 years longer (YS 95% CI 4.3 to 6.0) than the general population, based on 2309 deaths observed (225 women, 2084 men). Different causes of death contributed to longevity for Olympians as follows: 2.2 years were saved (1.9 to 2.5) from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); cancer, 1.5 years (1.3 to 1.8); respiratory diseases (eg, influenza, pneumonia), 0.8 years (0.7 to 0.9); external causes (eg, accidents, homicides), 0.5 years (0.4 to 0.6); endocrine and metabolic diseases (eg, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia), 0.4 years (0.2 to 0.5) and digestive system diseases (eg, cirrhosis, hepatic failure), 0.3 years (0.2 to 0.4). Mortality rates due to nervous system disorders (eg, Alzheimer's and Parkinsons's diseases) and mental illness (eg, dementia, schizophrenia) were not different from the general population. CONCLUSION: US Olympians lived longer than the general population, an advantage mainly conferred by lower risks of CVD and cancer. Nervous system disorders and mental illness did not differ between US Olympians and the general population.

High hopes: lower risk of death due to mental disorders and self-harm in a century-long US Olympian cohort compared with the general population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of death due to prominent mental disorders, substance abuse, and self-harm among US Olympians compared with the general population. METHODS: All female (n=2301) and male (n=5823) US Olympians who participated in the summer or winter Games between 1912 and 2012 were followed until 2016. The National Death Index certified their vital statuses and causes of death. We performed a Standard Mortality Ratio (SMR) analysis for all causes studied and applied the years-saved (YS) method to quantify differences in the risk of death for (1) anxiety, depression and self-harm and (2) substance abuse and eating disorders. Additionally, we examined the YS across sports with greater than 100 total deaths and between medalists and non-medalists. RESULTS: US Olympians had a 32% (SMR=0.68, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.91) lower risk of death compared with the general population, resulting in a longevity advantage of 0.21 YS (95% CI 0.14 to 0.29) for deaths by depression, anxiety and self-harm and 0.12 years (95% CI 0.08 to 0.15) for substance abuse and eating disorders. There were no significant differences between medalists and non-medalists, but findings varied by sports. Most sports (eg, athletics, swimming, rowing) had significantly lower risks of deaths than the general population with the exceptions of fencing and shooting. Shooting showed a trend towards a higher risk through suicide by firearm. CONCLUSION: Olympians have a lower risk of death, favouring an increased longevity compared with the general population for mental disorders, substance abuse and suicides.

Non-targeted metabolomics analyses by mass spectrometry to explore metabolic stress after six training weeks in high level swimmers.

The objective was to compare the metabolic responses of high-level national swimmers to threshold or polarised training. 22 swimmers (n = 12 males and 10 females) participated in a 28-week cross-over intervention study consisting of 2 × 6 period weeks of training. Swimmers were assigned randomly to either training group for the first period: polarised (POL) (81% in energetic zone 1: blood lactate [La]b ≤ 2 mmol.L-1; 4% in zone 2: 2 mmol.L-1 <[La]b ≤ 4 mmol.L-1; 15% in zone 3: [La]b > 4 mmol.L-1) or threshold (THR) (65%/25%/10%). Before and after each training period, urine samples were collected for non-targeted metabolomics analysis. Mixed model analysis was performed on metabolomics data including fatigue class factors and/or training and/or interaction. Ion intensities of 6-keto-decanoylcarnitine (+31%), pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (+81%), P-cresol sulphate (+18%) were higher in the threshold group (P < 0.05) indicating higher glycogenic depletion and inflammation without alteration of the neuroendocrine stress axis. 4-phenylbutanic acid sulphate was 200% higher in less fatigued swimmers (P < 0.01) linking the anti-inflammatory activity at the cell membrane level to the subjective perception of fatigue. This research suggests the importance of replenishing glycogen stores and reducing inflammation during high thresholds training loads.

Z-scores-based methods and their application to biological monitoring: an example in professional soccer players.

The clinical and biological follow-up of individuals, such as the biological passport for athletes, is typically based on the individual and longitudinal monitoring of hematological or urine markers. These follow-ups aim to identify abnormal behavior by comparing the individual's biological samples to an established baseline. These comparisons may be done via different ways, but each of them requires an appropriate extra population to compute the significance levels, which is a non-trivial issue. Moreover, it is not necessarily relevant to compare the measures of a biomarker of a professional athlete to that of a reference population (even restricted to other athletes), and a reasonable alternative is to detect the abnormal values by considering only the other measurements of the same athlete. Here we propose a simple adaptive statistic based on maxima of Z-scores that does not rely on the use of an extra population. We show that, in the Gaussian framework, it is a practical and relevant method for detecting abnormal values in a series of observations from the same individual. The distribution of this statistic does not depend on the individual parameters under the null hypothesis, and its quantiles can be computed using Monte Carlo simulations. The proposed method is tested on the 3-year follow-up of ferritin, serum iron, erythrocytes, hemoglobin, and hematocrit markers in 2577 elite male soccer players. For instance, if we consider the abnormal values for the hematocrit at a 5% level, we found that 5.57% of the selected cohort had at least one abnormal value (which is not significantly different from the expected false-discovery rate). The approach is a starting point for more elaborate models that would produce a refined individual baseline. The method can be extended to the Gaussian linear model, in order to include additional variables such as the age or exposure to altitude. The method could also be applied to other domains, such as the clinical patient follow-up in monitoring abnormal values of biological markers.

Training Organization, Physiological Profile and Heart Rate Variability Changes in an Open-water World Champion.

This case study reports the training of an elite 25-km open-water swimmer and the daily heart rate variability (HRV) changes during the 19-week period leading to his world champion title. Training load was collected every day and resting HRV was recorded every morning. The swimmer's characteristics were V̇O2max: 58.5 ml·min-1·kg-1, maximal heart rate: 178 beats per minute, and maximal ventilation: 170 L·min-1. Weekly training volume was 85±21 km, 39±8% was at [La]b<2 mmol · L-1 (Z1), 53±8% was at [La]b 2-4 mmol·L-1 (Z2), and 8±4% was at [La]b>4 mmol·L-1 (Z3). In the supine position, the increase in training volume and Z2 training were related to increases in rMSSD and HF. In the standing position, an increase in parasympathetic activity and decrease in sympathetic activity were observed when Z1 training increased. Seasonal changes indicated higher values in the LF/HF ratio during taper, whereas higher values in parasympathetic indices were observed in heavy workload periods. This study reports extreme load of an elite ultra-endurance swimmer. Improvements in parasympathetic indices with increasing Z2 volume indicate that this training zone was useful to improve cardiac autonomic activity, whereas Z1 training reduced sympathetic activity.

The heart of the matter: years-saved from cardiovascular and cancer deaths in an elite athlete cohort with over a century of follow-up.

To quantify the years of life saved from cardiovascular (CVD), cancer and overall deaths among elite athletes according to their main type of physiological effort performed in the Olympic Games. All French athletes participating in the Games from 1912 to 2012, with vital status validated and cause of death (if concerned) identified by the national registries were included (n = 2814, 455 died) and classified according to 6 groups of effort: POWER (continuous effort < 45 s); INTERMEDIATE (45 s ≤ continuous effort < 600 s); ENDURANCE (continuous effort ≥ 600 s); POLYVALENT (participating in different events entering different classifications), INTERMITTENT (intermittent effort, i.e. team sports); PRECISION (targeting events). The theoretical years-lost method was adapted to calculate gains in longevity (years-saved) according to specific-risks under the competing risks model and was implemented in R software. Considering overall-deaths, all groups significantly saved, on average, 6.5 years of life (95% CI 5.8-7.2) compared to the general population. This longevity advantage is mainly driven by a lower risk of cancer which, isolated, contributed to significantly save 2.3 years of life (95% CI 1.2-1.9) on average in each group. The risk of CVD-related mortality in the ENDURANCE and PRECISION groups is not significantly different from the general population. The other groups significantly saved, on average, 1.6 years of life (95% CI 1.2-1.9) from CVD death. The longevity benefits in elite athletes are associated with the type of effort performed during their career, mainly due to differences on the CVD-risk of death.

Understanding how outcomes are measured in workplace physical activity interventions: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: An inverse relationship exists between physical activity and many non-communicable diseases, such as obesity. Given the daily time spent, a logical domain to reach an adult population for intervention is within and around the workplace. Many government bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), include worksite health promotions (WHPs) targeted at increasing physical activity as a public health intervention. The aim of this scoping review was to determine what was measured (outcomes) and how they were measured (evaluation tools) during workplace physical activity interventions in order to identify gaps and implications for policies and practice. METHODS: A scoping review was executed in April 2017 via PubMed, SPORTDiscus, EBSCOhost and the Cochrane Library. This search included articles published between January 2008 to February 2017 in order to coincide with the WHO's Global Plan of Action on Worker's Health. Extracted information was arranged into data collection grids. Cross-analysis of measured outcomes with their corresponding evaluation tools was completed. A quality assessment based on study design was executed. RESULTS: Identification of 732 records was made and ultimately 20 studies and reviews that met criteria were selected. Researchers themed 9 primary measured outcomes. Studies utilized various forms of both objective and subjective evaluation methods. Three primary evaluation methods were categorized: biologic, electronic and declarative tools. The researchers discovered 92 unique tools: 27 objective and 65 subjective, within these parameters. CONCLUSION: Study quality, measurement tools and data collection were heterogeneous making analysis of effect comparisons problematic and unreliable. Much of the published research does not employ robust statistical analysis making effects difficult to ascertain. Considering the variety of both measured outcomes and evaluation tools, only educated inferences can be made as to the effectiveness and efficiency of WHPs. More standardized measurement practices are therefore suggested for assessment efficiency.

A Randomized, Controlled, Observer-Blinded Phase 1 Study of the Safety and Immunogenicity of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine With or Without Alum Adjuvant.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of childhood bronchiolitis and pneumonia, particularly in early infancy. Immunization of pregnant women could boost preexisting immune responses, providing passive protection to newborns through placental transfer of anti-RSV antibody. METHODS: In this first-in-humans clinical trial of a purified recombinant RSV protein F vaccine engineered to preferentially maintain prefusion conformation (RSV-PreF), 128 healthy men 18-44 years old were randomized to one dose of a RSV-PreF vaccine containing 10, 30, or 60 µg of RSV-PreF antigen, with or without alum adjuvant, or control, and followed for one year for safety and immunogenicity outcomes. RESULTS: Injection site pain was the most common adverse event, reported by up to 81.3% of participants. The highest RSV neutralizing antibody responses were in the 30 µg RSV-PreF/alum, 60 µg RSV-PreF/alum, and 60 µg RSV-PreF/nonadjuvant groups. Responses were evident on day 7, and 30 days after vaccination these participants had RSV-A neutralizing antibody titers of ≥1:512, and >70% had titers of 1:1024, with titers increasing by 3.2-4.9 fold. Responses remained high on day 60 but waned on days 180 and 360. CONCLUSIONS: The RSV-PreF vaccine elicited rapid RSV neutralizing antibody responses in healthy young men, with an acceptable adverse event profile.

[Improving national health-enhancing physical activity promotion policies]. / Améliorer les politiques nationales de promotion de l'activité physique favorable à la santé.

CONTEXT: In order to help states to develop policies and strategies impacting on all determinants of physical activity, the WHO has set up a policy analysis tool, the HEPA PAT (Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Policy Analysis Tool). This tool allows evaluation of national policies, while considering the complex network of determinants and influencing factors. This article has a double objective: firstly, to present this tool in order to define its specificity and utility in the development of HEPA national policies; secondly, to illustrate its application in the case of France. METHODS: The national HEPA policies and projects in France were identified and analysed using the HEPA PAT methodology and quality criteria to highlight the opportunities and to propose recommendations for improvement. RESULTS: HEPA promotion is a recent and fragmented process in France. Development is more intensive at the local level and needs stronger national support and coordination. The main problem seems to be the lack of long-term vision accompanied by a unified national strategy. Implementation is impaired by vaguely defined action plans, very often without any evaluation criteria or sustainable financing methods. CONCLUSION: The use of HEPA PAT provides a clear and complete overview of the political structure in the field of physical activity promotion. Further analysis of regional policies and projects is recommended to complete this work.

Prediction of one-repetition maximum from submaximal ratings of perceived exertion in older adults pre- and post-training.

BACKGROUND: Individual's one-repetition maximum (1-RM) is required to calculate and prescribe intensity for resistance training, while testing protocols enhance the risk of injuries and are time-consuming. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to assess the accuracy of 1-RM prediction from ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) of resistance exercises performed at submaximal sets (intensity and volume) in older adult males before and after a 12-week rehabilitation program. METHODS: 18 untrained subjects (70.4 ± 4.5 years) first completed a 1-RM direct assessment with a horizontal leg press pre- and post-training. Thereafter, participants performed, in a random order, 2-repetition sets with loads unknown to them (corresponding to 20, 45 and 70 % of 1-RM). The RPE was recorded immediately after the sets. That RPE associated to its corresponding load was subjected to a linear regression analysis to extrapolate the maximal RPE score and its corresponding 1-RM. RESULTS: RPE and relative intensities of sets appeared related pre- [r (2) = 0.59, standard error of estimate (SEE) = 13.3 %] and post-training (r (2) = 0.83, SEE = 8.1 %). Differences between measured and predicted 1-RM were reduced from the beginning to the end of training but standard deviations remained high (17.4 ± 11.8 vs. 4.2 ± 11.1 kg). Pre-training, 1-RM expressed relatively to body weight was negatively related with the errors of 1-RM predictions (r (2) = 0.39, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In older subjects, RPE may be used to predict 1-RM; however, the predicted value deviates considerably from the measured one, necessitating cautious application. Importantly, this method allows to capture training-induced change in 1-RM, thus making possible assessing training's effectiveness and allowing its modification if necessary.

Ageing and endurance training effects on quantity and quality of pulmonary vascular bed in healthy men.

It has recently been demonstrated that in healthy individuals, peak oxygen consumption is associated with a greater pulmonary capillary blood volume and a more distensible pulmonary circulation. Our cross-sectional study suggests that, in healthy men aged 20 to 60 years (n = 63), endurance sport practice (vigorous-intensity domain of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire) is associated with better quantity (pulmonary capillary blood volume) and quality (slope of increase in lung diffusion for carbon monoxide on exercise) of the pulmonary vascular bed, partly counterbalancing the deleterious effects of ageing, which remains to be demonstrated in a prospective longitudinal design.

Mortality of French participants in the Tour de France (1947-2012).

AIMS: In the context of recent concerns regarding performance enhancing techniques and potential negative health effects of high-level physical activity, data on the long-term outcomes and causes of death in elite endurance cyclists are of particular interest. METHODS AND RESULTS: Characteristics and vital status of all French participants in the Tour de France were collected for the 1947-2012 period. Causes of death were obtained from 1968. Overall and disease-specific mortalities were compared with the French male population using overall and specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among the 786 French cyclists who participated at least once between 1947 and 2012, 208 (26%) died by 1 September 2012. Neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases accounted for 61% of deaths. We observed a 41% lower mortality in French cyclists (SMR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.51-0.68, P < 0.0001), which did not change over time (P = 0.70). It was observed for main mortality causes: for neoplasms (SMR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.42-0.72, P < 0.0001) and for cardiovascular death (SMR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.50-0.88, P = 0.004), except mortality related to external causes (SMR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.71-1.53, P = 0.80). CONCLUSION: We observed a substantially and significantly lower mortality in participants in the Tour de France, compared with the general male population. However, our results do not allow us to assess in detail the balance between positive effects of high-level sports activity and selection of healthy elite athletes, vs. any potential deleterious effects of excessive physical exercise or alleged doping.

Secular trend: morphology and performance.

In a context of morphological expansion of the general population, how do athletes follow such a pattern of anthropometric growth? Is there any relation to performance? Biometric data including mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and age were collected for 50,376 American athletes representing 249,336 annual performers playing in professional baseball, football, ice hockey and basketball. Distributions by mass in National Football League (NFL) players are described by periods. Field goals have been studied in relation to players' height in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between 1871 and 2011, athletes from the four sports have increased significantly in mass, height and BMI, following a multi-exponential function series. Consequently, biometric differences between athletes and the general population are increasing gradually. Changes in the mass distribution within the NFL show the emergence of a biometrical specificity in relation to the field position. At the professional level, performance remains structured around precise biometric values. In the NBA, a height-attractor at 201.3 ± 6.3 cm for the best scorers is invariant, regardless of the level of play. These results suggest that laws of growth and biometrics drive high-level sport and organise performance around the specific constraint of each field position. Discrepancies between some mass and height developments question the (disproportionate) large mass increase (relative to the height increase) during the 1980s and 1990s.

Marathon progress: demography, morphology and environment.

As opposed to many other track-and-field events, marathon performances still improve. We choose to better describe the reasons for such a progression. The 100 best marathon runners archived from January 1990 to December 2011 for men and from January 1996 to December 2011 for women were analysed. We determined the impact of historical, demographic, physiological, seasonal and environmental factors. Performances in marathons improve at every level of performance (deciles). In 2011, 94% of the 100 best men athletes were African runners; among women athletes they were 52%. Morphological indicators (stature, body mass and Body Mass Index (BMI)) have decreased. We show a parabolic function between BMI and running speed. The seasonal distribution has two peaks, in spring (weeks 14 to 17) and autumn (weeks 41 to 44). During both periods, the average temperature of the host cities varies close to optimal value for long distance race. African men and women runners are increasingly dominating the marathon and pushing its record, through optimal eco-physiological conditions.

Individual In-Situ GPS-Derived Acceleration-Speed Profiling: Toward Automatization and Refinement in Male Professional Rugby Union Players.

BACKGROUND: Recently a proof-of-concept was proposed to derive the soccer players' individual in-situ acceleration-speed (AS) profile from global positioning system (GPS) data collected over several sessions and games. The present study aimed to propose an automatized method of individual GPS-derived in-situ AS profiling in a professional rugby union setting. METHOD: AS profiles of forty-nine male professional rugby union players representing 61.5 million positions, from which acceleration was derived from speed during 51 training sessions and 11 official games, were analyzed. A density-based clustering algorithm was applied to identify outlier points. Multiple AS linear relationships were modeled for each player and session, generating numerous theoretical maximal acceleration (A0), theoretical maximal running speed (S0) and AS slope (ASslope, i.e., overall orientation of the AS profile). Each average provides information on the most relevant value while the standard deviation denotes the method accuracy. In order to assess the reliability of the AS profile within the data collection period, data were compared over two 2-week phases by the inter-class correlation coefficient. A0 and S0 between positions and type of sessions (trainings and games) were compared using ANOVA and post hoc tests when the significant threshold had been reached. RESULTS: All AS individual profiles show linear trends with high coefficient of determination (r2 > 0.81). Good reliability (Inter-class Correlation Coefficient ranging from 0.92 to 0.72) was observed between AS profiles, when determined 2 weeks apart for each player. AS profiles depend on players' positions, types of training and games. Training and games data highlight that highest A0 are obtained during games, while greatest S0 are attained during speed sessions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides individual in-situ GPS-derived AS profiles with automatization capability. The method calculates an error of measurement for A0 and S0, of paramount importance in order to improve their daily use. The AS profile differences between training, games and playing positions open several perspectives for performance testing, training monitoring, injury prevention and return-to-sport sequences in professional rugby union, with possible transferability to other sprint-based sports. KEY POINTS: AS profiles computed from rugby union GPS data provide positional benchmarks during training and competition. This study provides automatic detection of atypical data and the computation of error measurement of theoretical maximal acceleration and speed components. This refinement constitutes a step forward for a daily use of ecological data by considering data collection and method reliabilities. This easy-to-implement approach may facilitate its use to the performance management process (talent identification, training monitoring and individualization, return-to-sport).