Establishing Expert Consensus on Athletic Movement Quality Assessment Components

ABSTRACT: Wijekulasuriya, GA, Woods, CT, Kittel, A, and Larkin, P. Establishing expert consensus on athletic movement quality assessment components. J Strength Cond Res 40(9): 1069-1077, 2026-The literature lacks a unified athletic movement quality assessment containing movement skills thought to be related to performance in physical fitness tests. Considering this, the aim of this study was to use expert consensus to define the components of a new athletic movement quality assessment. Subjects with experience assessing athletic movement quality in athletes completed a 3-stage Delphi study. Stage 1 sought to establish consensus regarding the movements included within the assessment. Stages 2 and 3 determined the procedural instructions and scoring criteria for each movement, respectively. In total, 32 subjects met the inclusion criteria and completed stage 1, with 20 subjects completing all 3 stages ( n = 2 academics; n = 18 practitioners; attrition rate: 38%). Results demonstrated expert consensus (>70% agreement) for every component of the assessment. Experts agreed on the inclusion of 6 movements within the athletic movement quality assessment: (a) an active straight leg raise, (b) shoulder mobility test, (c) squat, (d) push up, (e) lateral bound, and (f) triple hop. Movement quality was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, with scoring criteria anchored around range of motion and movement control. The attainment of expert consensus for this movement quality assessment provides a foundation for future research into its application in athletic populations. Future research should establish the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the assessment, its association with physical fitness attributes, and discriminant validity.