Australian netball great Liz Ellis has defended the AFL’s decision to ban skinfold testing on incoming draft prospects.
The AFL earlier this week made headlines with its decision as a number of the game’s leading voices spoke out against it.
The purpose of the skinfold test is to measure the body fat percentage and give clubs a better idea of the fitness level of a draft prospect.
Ellis was discussing the matter on Nine’s Sports Sunday alongside former Australian sports stars Casey Dellacqua and Peter FitzSimons.
FitzSimons, a former Wallaby, said the skinfold test helped him stay in shape during his professional car.
“It helped keep you honest to say I won’t have an extra serving of apple pie and ice cream… I guess you have to worry about players’ feelings, but I think if you’re a professional athlete, part of that is testing your fitness, fat content,” he said.
“This may be going a bit far.”
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Responding to FitzSimons, Dellacqua, a former tennis star, said the skinfold test isn’t necessary these days due to better technology such as the DEXA scan which determines body composition along with fat percentage and lean muscle.
Dellacqua also noted that there “was nothing worse than standing up in your bra and undies, and people pinching your body”.
Meanwhile, Ellis says skinfold testing is clearly an outdated system and that professional organisations have since moved on from it.
“I feel like skinfolds are a really blunt instrument,” Ellis said.
“Speaking to some of the netball coaches, they’ve moved on to using this DEXA scan.
“Skinfolds tell you simply your fat level, whereas the DEXA scan tells you the muscle mass.
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“They’re now used to not tell players you’ve got to lose weight or lose your skinfolds, they actually know they now have to tell players to bulk up.
“A really good example is (Sydney Swifts co-captain) Paige Hadley – they did a DEXA scan on her, and they found her muscle mass wasn’t enough to play her position.
“They told her to put on five kilograms, which she did, and it totally transformed her game.”
Ellis also mentioned how body issue concerns among young males shouldn’t be ignored by the AFL.
“When you look at this issue with the AFL, it’s the draftees. We know young men as much as young women suffer from body image issues,” Ellis added.
“I agree with the ban… you’re dealing with young men who haven’t been at a professional club.
“They get tested on their skinfolds and some aren’t going to be selected, so they go away wondering – was it the skinfolds?
“I spoke to (Sydney Swifts head coach) Briony Akle about this, and I thought her point was interesting – with skinfolds, the physical benefits they get from the information do not outweigh the mental cost to the athlete. I think that’s key.”