engleski

Anthropometric characteristics and basic motor abilities differentiating young female sprinters from the girls in the general population

Introduction: Timely selection of talented children and early sports specialization are indispensable for achievement of top sports results. Identifying anthropometric and basic motor characteristics of sufficient predictive value to be used in selection of athletes most likely to succeed is necessary within the sports talent identification process. Based upon a large-scale testing of the girls aged 11 to 13 years in the city of Zagreb, in which the girls most gifted for athletic training were identified and selected according to the results of the 60m run test, the aim of this study was to determine the differences in anthropometric characteristics and basic motor abilities between the talented girls and non-selected girls. Methods The study sample was drawn from the population of 8184 girls aged 11 to 13 years, all pupils of the 5th and 6th grades of elementary schools in Zagreb, which were previously tested by means of the 60m run test in order to identify and select the ones most gifted for athletic (sprint) disciplines. Our final sample consisted of 189 girls, divided in two groups: selected/talented girls (N=85) and randomly picked non-selected girls (N=104). Six anthropometric measures (body height, body weight, leg length, shoulder width, upper arm circumference in relaxed position, upper arm skinfold) were taken, and 8 basic motor ability tests (agility, polygon backward, hand tapping, standing long jump, medicine ball throw, flexibility, 60’ sit ups, bent arm hang) were performed. Discriminant analysis was carried out to determine the differences in the measured variables between the two groups. Results: The differences between the two groups were statistically significant (p<0.001). The anthropometric characteristic significantly negatively related to success in sprint running was upper arm skinfold (.30). The motor ability tests that most strongly differentiated the two subject groups were: standing long jump (.87), polygon backward (.48), agility (.45), medicine ball throw (.43) and bent arm hang (.40). Discussion: The girls selected for athletic training based upon their successfulness in the 60m sprint test differed significantly from the non-selected girls. The most highly differentiating anthropometric measure was upper arm skinfold, accentuating the negative relationship between the body fat percentage and sprint running results. Motor ability tests representing speed and explosive power (standing long jump, polygon backward, agility, medicine ball throw, and bent arm hang) were good predictors of sprint results. It is suggested to consider these tests in the selection of 11 to 13-year old children potentially gifted for the sprint disciplines. References Babic V, Viskic-Stalec N. (2002). Zivot i skola [Life and school. In Croatian.], 7, 55-70. Baxter-Jones AD, Thompson AM, Malina RM. (2002). Sports Med Arthrosc, 10, 42-49. Battista RA, Pivarnik JM, Dummer GM, et al. (2007). J Sports Sci, 25, 651-7.

anthropometric characteristics; basic motor abilities; selection; sprinters; girls

nije evidentirano