JudgED: Comparison between Kickboxing Referee Performance at a Novel Serious Game for Judging Improvement and at World Championships


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Hoelbling D., Salmhofer A., Gencoglu C., Baranyi R., Pinter K., Özbay S., ...Daha Fazla

Applied Sciences (Switzerland), cilt.13, sa.17, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 17
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3390/app13179549
  • Dergi Adı: Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Communication Abstracts, INSPEC, Metadex, Directory of Open Access Journals, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: decision-making training, digital-game-based learning, judges, kickboxing, martial arts, match analysis, referees, serious game
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The particular responsibility of referees in combat sports lies in their decision-making to enforce the rules of the sport, which requires considerable experience and a multitude of skills, including perception, categorization, memory processing, and information integration. As a cost-effective alternative to in-tournament training, this research aims to evaluate the novel video-based serious game called “JudgED” to train martial arts referees’ decision-making processes through immediate feedback. The effectiveness of the JudgED game was assessed by (a) measuring decision accuracy and specific reaction time, (b) calculating a theoretical probability of correct scoring, and (c) comparing these results with real competition judging agreement data. A field study was conducted to analyze the performance of 16 kickboxing referees. The study involved two video-based tests in the serious game. The performance data for JudgED were obtained via a procedure that compares the players’ inputs in the serious game with expert-defined decisions. The results were compared to real-competition data gathered through qualitative analysis of kickboxing fights (n = 400 fights/1200 bouts) at the WAKO World Championships 2021. The findings showed an average decision accuracy of 43.011% and an average reaction time of 1.022 s. For further comparison, binominal distribution for the probability of correct final decisions (between 15.3% and 67.2%) in JudgED and Fleiss’ Kappa interrater reliability for JudgED (Ring: (Formula presented.) = 0.371; Tatami: (Formula presented.) = 0.398; p < 0.001) and tournament decisions (by bout: (Formula presented.) = 0.114; by fight (Formula presented.) = 0.063; by outcome (Formula presented.) = 0.166; p < 0.001) were calculated. The results suggest that more training is required to improve referee decision accuracy, and JudgED bears the potential to work as a suitable supporting system.