Abstract Athletes participating in the Rally-raid Dakar must show their competence to respond to a long-term effort involving psychological and physiological limiting factors due to the accumulated fatigue during the effort. The objective of this research was to analyze the suitability of different instruments to evaluate the fatigue perception of motorcyclists in competition. The research design is single case, with one participant (motorcyclist). The study consisted of two training sessions that were developed in a circuit simulating the conditions of distance and difficulty of a stage. The instruments were the POMS questionnaire (McNair et al., 1971), the RPE-Borg scale (Borg, 1982) for the recording of perceived effort, VAS-fatigue scale (Lee et al., 1991), and SEES (McAuley & Courneya, 1994) for assessing the fatigue perception. In the results and discussion section, we analyze the data obtained, establishing different conclusions in relation to the objective set. The POMS questionnaire was valid and sensitive, the VAS-fatigue, RPE and SEES-fatigue scales met the ease of use, validity and sensitivity requirements to the study performed.

Resumen Los deportistas que participan en el Rally-raid Dakar deben mostrar su competencia para dar respuesta a un esfuerzo de larga duración en el que intervienen factores limitantes de carácter psicológico y fisiológico por la fatiga acumulada durante el esfuerzo. El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar la idoneidad de diferentes instrumentos de evaluación de la percepción de fatiga de motoristas en competición. El diseño de investigación es de caso único, con un participante (motorista). El estudio consistió en la realización de dos sesiones de entrenamiento que se desarrollaron en un circuito simulando las condiciones de distancia y dificultad propias de una etapa. Los instrumentos de registro fueron el cuestionario POMS (McNair, Lorr y Droppleman, 1971), la escala RPE-Borg (Borg, 1982), para el registro de la percepción del esfuerzo realizado y las escalas EVA-fatiga (Lee, Hicks y Nino, 1991) y SEES (McAuley y Courneya, 1994) para valorar la percepción de fatiga. En el apartado de resultados y discusión, se analizan los datos obtenidos, estableciendo diversas conclusiones en relación al objetivo planteado; viendo que el cuestionario POMS resultó válido y sensible, las escalas EVA-fatiga, RPE y SEES-fatiga cumplieron los requisitos de facilidad de uso, validez y sensibilidad al trabajo efectuado.

O objectivo do estudo foi examinar as propriedades psicométrica da versão Portuguesa do Questionário de Satisfação do Atleta ([QSA/Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire - ASQ], Riemer & Chelladurai, 1998), através da análise factorial confirmatória, uma vez que as características culturais e de idioma podem afectar a aplicação e interpretação do questionário. O QSA possui 14 dimensões, com 54 itens e visa avaliar a satisfação do atleta com a sua experiência desportiva. O modelo foi testado com uma amostra de 527 atletas de diferentes modalidades: basquetebol, andebol, futebol e voleibol, dos campeonatos nacionais e regionais de Portugal. Todos os factores apresentam elevados coeficientes de consistência interna, com valores de alpha de Cronbach entre a=0,70 e a =0,94. De uma forma geral os valores dos indicadores globais de ajustamento do modelo observado, resultantes da análise factorial confirmatória (robustos TLI/NNFI=0,93, CFI=0,93 e do IFI=0,93, RMSEA=0,042 (0,039 - 0,044 e o índice SRMR=0,05) expressam a sua qualidade. Assim, os resultados sugerem que a avaliação da satisfação do atleta nas diversas facetas consideradas relevantes para a sua experiencia desportiva, parece poder ser realizada em futuras pesquisas, através da utilização do ASQ versão portuguesa

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ), developed by Riemer and Chelladurai (1998), through confirmatory factor analysis since cultural and language characteristics can affect the applicability and the interpretation of the multidimensional Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire. The ASQ has 14 dimensions, with 54 items to evaluate the athletes' satisfaction with their sports experience. The model was tested with a sample of 527 athletes (basketball, handball, soccer and volleyball players) from national and regional championships in Portugal. All factors have good internal reliability coefficients, with Cronbach alpha values ranging from a=0.70 to a =0.94. The results of confirmatory analysis, (robust TLI/NNFI=0.93, CFI=0.93, IFI=0.93, RMSEA=0.042 (0.039 - 0.044) and SRMR=0.05) show that the model has good fit indexes, which express its quality. Therefore, this study points out that the evaluation of athletes satisfaction in different facets which are considered relevant to their sports experience through the use of the ASQ Portuguese version is valid and reliable.