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HUMAN MOVEMENT

vol. 8, number 1, 2007

MOVEMENT

HUMAN

former ly

Czlowiek i Ruch (Human Movement)l

University School of Physical Edu ca tion in Wroclaw

University School of Physical Edu ca tion in Poznan

l

’

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Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego we Wrocławiu (University School of Physical Education in Wrocław)

Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Eugeniusza Piaseckiego w Poznaniu (University School of Physical Education in Poznań)

HUMAN MOVEMENT

formerly Człowiek i Ruch (Human Movement)vol. 8, number 1, 2007, pp. 1–74

Editor-in-Chief Ryszard Panfi l

University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland

Associate Editor Wiesław Osiński

University School of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland

Editorial Board

Tadeusz Bober University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, PolandJan Celichowski University School of Physical Education, Poznań, PolandTadeusz Koszczyc University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, PolandStanisław Kowalik University School of Physical Education, Poznań, PolandŁucja Pilaczyńska-Szcześniak University School of Physical Education, Poznań, PolandMarek Zatoń University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland

Advisory Board

Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USACharles Corbin Arizona State University, East Mesa, Arizona, USAGudrun Doll-Tepper Free University, Berlin, GermanyJózef Drabik University School of Physical Education and Sport, Gdańsk, PolandKenneth Hardman Manchester University, Manchester, United KingdomAndrew Hills Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, AustraliaZofi a Ignasiak University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, PolandSlobodan Jaric University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USAToivo Jurimae University of Tartu, Tartu, EstoniaHan Kemper Vrije University, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsWojciech Lipoński University School of Physical Education, Poznań, PolandGabriel Łasiński University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, PolandRobert Malina Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas, USAMelinda Manore Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USAPhilip E. Martin Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USAJoachim Mester German Sport University, Cologne, GermanyToshio Moritani Kyoto University, Kyoto, JapanJohn S. Raglin Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USARoland Renson Catholic University, Leuven, BelgiumTadeusz Rychlewski University School of Physical Education, Poznań, PolandJames F. Sallis San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USAJames S. Skinner Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USAJerry Thomas Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USAKarl Weber German Sport University, Cologne, GermanyPeter Weinberg Hamburg University, Hamburg, GermanyMarek Woźniewski University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, PolandGuang Yue Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USAWladimir M. Zatsiorsky Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USAJerzy Żołądź University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland

Translation: Tomasz Skirecki, Agnieszka LiwoszDesign: Agnieszka Nyklasz

Copy editor: Typoscript: Anna Noga-Grochola, Barbara BrzezickaProofreading: Ewa Śnieżyk-Milczyńska, Halina Marciniak

Indexed in: SPORTDiscus, Index Copernicus, Altis, Sponet

© Copyright 2007 by Wydawnictwo AWF we Wrocławiu

ISSN 1732-3991

http://www.awf.wroc.pl/hum_mov

Editorial Offi ceSecretary: Dominika Niedźwiedź

51-684 Wrocław, ul. Mickiewicza 98, Poland, tel. 071 347 30 [email protected]

Print: Agencja Reklamowa i Drukarnia KONTRACirculation: 300

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2007, vol. 8 (1)

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Liga AberbergaAugskalne, Han C.G. KemperLongitudinal relationship between cardiovascular functioning and peak height velocity during exercise

in 7 to 16 year old boys and girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Anna Zwierzchowska , Krystyna Gawlik, Aleksandra ŻebrowskaAnaerobic capacity of blind children and adolescents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Marek Strzała, Aleksander Tyka, Piotr KrężałekCrucial swimming velocity parameters in 2000 m front crawl performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Grzegorz Lech, Stanisław Sterkowicz, Wojciech RukaszSignificance of body height in martial arts (as exemplified by judo fighters) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Anna Demuth, Urszula Czerniak, Magdalena Krzykała, Dariusz Wieliński, Ewa Ziółkowska-ŁajpSomatic characteristic of players from chosen national teams of field hockey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Edward WlazłoInterpersonal relations in women basketball teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Ewa Dybińska, Marcin Kaca Self-assessment as a criterion of efficiency in learning and teaching swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Maria BrudnikVocational personality of a Physical Education teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Krzysztof Sas-Nowosielski, Longina ŚwiątkowskaThe knowledge of the world anti-doping code among polish athletes and their attitudes toward doping

and anti-doping policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Dieter MassinReview of Krzysztof Kusy, Jacek Zieliński Masters athletics. Social, biological and practical aspects of veterans sport . . 65

Competition of research papers on Physical Education Teaching for Prof. Bogdan Czabański’s Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

The 2nd Central European Congress on Osteoporosis and OsteoarthritisThe 14th Congress of the Polish Osteoarthrology Society and Polish Foundation of Osteoporosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Regulamin publikowania prac – Instructions for Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Zasady prenumeraty czasopisma Human Movement – The rules of subscribing the Human Movement journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

CONTENTS

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The present volume of Human Movement is a proof of the journal’s dynamic progress. Its growing recogni-tion in the scholarly community is the result of the great commitment of members of the Editorial Board and Advisory Board to the editorial process.

The scholars and scientists of the Human Movement Editorial Board possess great interdisciplinary compe-tences and attract contributors writing on a variety of subjects. The constructive and sympathetic endorse-ment of our journal by the increasing number of Re-viewers must also be emphasized. Their competent and in-depth reviews guarantee the highest level of papers accepted for publication.

Human Movement owes its wide thematic spectrum to the Authors, who although use axiology, language and research tools from different fields of science, di-rect their considerations towards the conditions of hu-man motor activity. The results of studies discussed in the present volume show that both the autotelic and het-erotelic human activity is becoming a subject of interest for an increasing number of researchers.

The present volume includes articles devoted to the issue of efficiency of physical activity of young people. An interesting publication is “Longitudinal relationship between cardiovascular functioning and peak height velocity during exercise in 7 to 16 year-old boys and girls”. Another article concentrates on the anaerobic ca-pacity of individuals with special needs, i.e. blind chil-dren and adolescents. Other papers deal with somatic, motor and psycho-social conditions of physical activity of people at different age and practicing different sports. One such publication concerns predispositions to prac-tice sports. The authors evaluate the significance of body height in martial arts and analyze the wide spec-trum of morphological properties in team game players.

The study sample was very representative and included elite judo fighters and field hockey players.

The next paper discusses motor parameters of mid-dle-distance front crawl swimming velocity; and another analyzes the impact of interpersonal relations within a female basketball team on individual predispositions to play basketball.

The volume also contains two papers concerned with different didactic aspects of physical education and sport. One presents the results of a study on self-assess-ment as a criterion of effectiveness of learning and teaching swimming skills. The other discusses profiles of professional personality of phy sical education teach-ers on the basis of J.L. Holland’s concept.

The concluding article touches on the ethical sphere of sport and presents the results of a study on the level of knowledge of the World Anti-Doping Code among Polish athletes and their attitudes towards anti-doping policy.

The multidisciplinary character of the articles pub-lished makes Human Movement a unique journal de-voted to physical culture sciences, which takes into consideration the holistic dimension of human activity. The Editors are interested in publication of results of studies from the areas of humanities, social science and biology affecting human actions and patterns of behav-iour. Papers focusing on the heterotelic and autotelic human activity as well as those concerned with stimula-tion of human development through movement activa-tion, e.g. recreation, sport, physical education, are par-ticularly welcome.

We would also like to inform our Readers that the high editorial level of Human Movement attracts an increasing number of contributors. The Editors are seriously considering publishing Human Movement on a quarterly basis.

EDITORIAL

2007, vol. 8 (1)

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2007, vol. 8 (1), 5–11

Introduction

Physical growth represents a biologic process which is determined by environmental, social and genetic fac-tors. Physical development characterizes the health of growing organism and the process of its formation, maturation, in accordance with the biological age and morphofunctional state at any stage of growth [1, 2]. The process of growth and biological maturation are re-lated, and both influence the functional capacities of the organism [3–5]. Functional abilities and performance of the skeletomuscular system and cardiorespiratory fit-ness are studied [4, 6–12] extensively. There is little data about longitudinal cardiovascular parameters in children and adolescents related to growth pattern.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to character-ize the cardiovascular system at rest and during bicycle

exercise in relation to peak height velocity (PHV) in boys and girls during their growth period from 7 to 16 years of age.

Material and methods

The study represents 10 annually repeated measure-ment points of schoolchildren aged 7–16 over a 10-year period (Tab. 1). More than 120 schoolchildren, most of them born in 1970, attending Riga Secondary School were included. They represented typical, due to social-economic conditions, homogenous and healthy group of children. About 40 of them dropped out for different reasons (sickness, left school). Measurements were con-ducted each year in fall (September–October) after summer holidays, in the same laboratory and by the same investigators. All children were volunteers and permission for observation was given by parents.

The children were examined annually by a pediatri-cian before the exercise sessions to exclude unexpected * Corresponding author.

Liga AberbergaAugskalne1*, Han C.G. Kemper2

1 Riga Stradins University, Latvia

2 Institute of Research in Extramural Medicine, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

Purpose. To investigate the cardiovascular system at rest and during bicycle exercise in relation to peak height velocity, 41 boys and

45 girls aged 7–16 were studied annually for 10 years. Basic procedures. Measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic

blood pressure (DBP), systolic volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), cardiac output per kg body weight (COkg), heart rate (HR), left

ventricular ejection time (LVET), mean systolic ejection rate (MSER), peripheral resistance (PR) were made at rest and during bicycle

exercise and expressed at yearly intervals at a range from –3 to +3 years from age at the peak height velocity (PHV) of each individual.

Main findings. The results showed a mean PHV of 8.2 ± 2.2 cm ∙ yr–1 in girls and of 9.7 ± 2.3 cm ∙ yr–1 in boys. PHV occurred on the

average at ages 12.2 in girls and at 13.7 in boys. According to age at PHV schoolchildren were divided into early, mid and late

maturers. With increasing maturation there appeared a progressive increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and a decrease in

HR, COkg, PR. Increase in SV before PHV in girls and in PHV in boys resulted in more intensive increase in MSER. Small changes in

parameters of sphygmogramms from arteries characterized stable capacity of the arterial tree to receive blood pumped with each

heart contraction. Conclusions. Adaptive cardiovascular response to standardized exercise and to incremental power output in the

bicycle test revealed gender differences and reflected increased contractility of myocardium and effectiveness of cardiovascular

control during the maturation process. Boys had higher values for SV, MSER and lower values for COkg. Late maturers at every stage

of growth till and at PHV had a more effective pattern of cardiovascular response to bicycle exercise when compared with mid/early

maturers.

Key words: growth, maturation, cardiovascular system, exercise

LONGITUDINAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTIONING AND PEAK HEIGHT VELOCITY DURING EXERCISE IN 7 TO 16 YEAR OLD BOYS AND GIRLS

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L. AberbergaAugskalne, H.C.G. Kemper, Cardiovascular function at growth

disease and only healthy children were included in the study. Height, weight, chest circumference and sub-scapular skinfold thickness were measured. Growth velocity was estimated from yearly measurements (cm · yr–1). Individual’s peak height velocity (PHV) and the age at PHV were fixed and all the measurements were related to PHV. Average chronological age ± 1 year at PHV in girls and boys was considered as midmaturers. Early and late maturers were those be-yond and after the age of midmaturers. Tetrapolar im-pedance cardiography was used to measure cardiac function. Pulse wave polysphygmograms were recorded from a. carotis, a. radialis, a. femoralis and a. tibialis. Systolic time intervals were measured by simultaneous recording of ECG, carotid pulse wave and the first deri-vate of the thorax impedance. Systolic (SBP, in mmHg) and diastolic (DBP, in mmHg) blood pressure were measured by auscultation. The records and measure-ments were performed, in the supine position, at rest

and after bicycle exercise. Two bicycle tests were com-pleted in supine: (1) at a standardized exercise intensity (50 W; 5 min duration) and after 4min rest followed, (2) a maximal incremental exercise test (increase every 3 min by 20 W) until subjective refusal to continue ex-ercising. Initial workload for the 2nd test was 50 W. Dur-ing the tests the pedaling rate was kept constant at 75 rpm. Immediately after the 1st test tetrapolar imped-ance cardiography, ECG were recorded and brachial pressure was measured. Immediately and during 3 min recovery period after the 2nd test tetrapolar impedance cardiography, ECG, pulse wave polysphygmogramms were recoded and SBP and DBP were measured.

Systolic volume (SV, in ml), cardiac output (CO, in l · min–1), cardiac output per kg body weight (COkg), heart rate (HR, times · min–1), left ventricular ejection time (LVET, in msec), mean systolic ejection rate (MSER, in ml · sec–1), peripheral resistance (PR, in mmHg · ml–1 · min–1 · 104) were determined. Data were expressed to each individual’s PHV and age at PHV [24]. All cardiovascular parameters were expressed at yearly intervals at a range from –3 to +3 years from age at PHV of each individual.

Table 1. Observed girls and boys during longitudinal studyGirls (N) Boys (N)

7 years 27 178 years 62 619 years 65 6810 years 59 5811 years 64 5912 years 58 5713 years 58 6214 years 54 5515 years 49 3116 years 42 27Established growth velocity acceleration 60 57Established PHV 44 42

Table 2. Somatic and cardiovascular characteristic at rest for early maturers, midmaturers and late maturers at PHV (means ± SD)Parameters Girls Boys

Early(N = 8)

Midmaturers (N = 27)

Late(N = 9)

Early(N = 6)

Midmaturers(N = 32)

Late(N = 4)

Height 147.9 ± 8.8 153.7 ± 6.7 161.9 ± 5.3 149.7 ± 11.4 169.8 ± 6.3 172 ± 11.5Weight 37 ± 8.1 42.9 ± 7.7 50.6 ± 8.5 40.5 ± 8.4 58.8 ± 9.5 57.3 ± 9.4HR 83.2 ± 9.7 77.9 ± 14.3 81.4 ± 14.3 71.5 ± 7.3 70.8 ± 11.1 68 ± 8.9SV 60.7 ± 26.8 73.2 ± 24.2 50.4 ± 21 82.9 ± 25.8 85 ± 22.7 103.2 ± 33.5SBP 102.5 ± 9.2 103 ± 7.1 109.7 ± 9.6 105 ± 4.5 109.7 ± 11.8 120 ± 0DBP 60 ± 11.6 64.4 ± 8.9 66.5 ± 7.8 65.8 ± 4.9 68.3 ± 10 70 ± 10LVET 254 ± 25 281 ± 22 257 ± 13 267 ± 29 272 ± 19 260 ± 0CO 5.04 ± 2.2 5.59 ± 1.8 4.15 ± 2.1 5.94 ± 2 6.07 ± 2 6.89 ± 1.8PR 171 ± 69 153 ± 57 233 ± 103 150 ± 64 155 ± 74 133 ± 42MSER 234.9 ± 85 258.5 ± 76.2 195.6 ± 79.3 311.4 ± 94.3 314.1 ± 82.9 396.9 ± 128

Figure 1. Pubertal spurt in height

Biological age

boys

girls

–3 –2 –1 PHV 1 2 3

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0Gro

wth

ve

loci

ty (

cm/y

ea

r)

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Statistics

The parameters obtained in all subjects under study were computed separately for girls and boys, and statis-tical analyses were made using SAS: group means (±SD), linear correlations and regressions were calcu-lated, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. ANOVA and independent sample T-tests were used for the analy-sis of obtained data.

Results

The individual growth velocity for height in these children revealed a PHV in 44 girls (74.6%) and 42 boys (73.7%). Longitudinal individual data showed well-de-fined adolescent spurts in the height (Fig. 1). On aver-age it represented 8.2 ± 2.2 cm · yr–1 in girls; 9.7 ± 2.3 cm · yr–1 in boys. Peak height velocity (PHV) had been found in 73% of girls aged 11–13 and in 87% of boys aged 13–15. The mean age of PHV was 12.2 ± 1.2 yr in girls and 13.7 ± 1.1 yr in boys.

The cardiovascular system at rest related to the age of PHV is represented in Fig. 2 (girls) and 3 (boys). The progressive year-by-year changes in parameters of car-

diovascular system after PHV resulted in statistically significant (p < 0.01) increase in SBP and DBP. During maturation process HR decreased, LVET extended, SV increased progressively (p < 0.01; p < 0.05). After PHV CO per kg body weight diminished. There were gender differences in absolute values of parameters of hemody-namics (p < 0.01; p < 0.05) at any biological age. Year-by-year increase in girls of SV was more pronounced before PHV (p < 0.05) at the ranges –3, –2 and made on average 17 and 11 ml. After PHV SV decreased. In boys heart pumping functions were more pronounced at PHV and after PHV. At PHV increase amounted to 10 ml (p < 0.01) on average. In boys some decrease was noted at the biological age +3. Progressive year-by-year in-crease in SV in girls and boys resulted in more intensive and statistically significant changes in MSER because LVET did not change greatly. In the period of growth, prior to PHV and at the PHV, there were no changes in the velocity of pulse wave of arteries in extremities, aorta and carotid wave form.

Cardiovascular response to standardized exercise is presented in Fig. 4a and 4b for girls and for boys in Fig. 5a and 5b. During maturation the values of HR, COkg, BSP decreased (p < 0.01; p < 0.05) in girls and boys.

Figure 2. Mean values of systolic volume, heart rate and blood pressure at rest in girls related to the age of PHV

–3

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

3

SV HR SBP DBP

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 3. Mean values of systolic volume, heart rate and blood pressure at rest in boys related to the age of PHV

–3

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

3

SV HR SBP DBP

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 4a. Mean values of four parameters of cardiovascular functioning immediately after standardized exercise in girls

at different biological age

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

SV HR SBP PR

190

170

150

130

110

90

70

50

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 4b. Mean values of two heart pumping parameters immediately after standardized exercise in girls at different

biological age

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

COkg MSER

600

500

400

300

200

100

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

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The largest increase in SV occurred one year before PHV in girls and was 19 ml on average. In boys year-by-year increase in SV was 7 ml till reaching PHV. Increase in SV (p < 0.01; p < 0.05) resulted in an increase of MSER by 67 ml · sec–1 in girls and 77 ml · sec–1 in boys on average. Gender differences (p < 0.01; p < 0.05) at PHV were characterized by lower HR, COkg, larger MSER in boys when compared with girls. In spite of the decrease in absolute values of he-modynamics during this period of growth relative data (to rest) were maintained, more pronounced after PHV.

Power output according to the last level in maximal bicycle test with increasing biological age (–3 to +3) increased too, being more pronounced in boys (p < 0.01). Cardiovascular response during biological maturation (–3 to +3) was characterized by progressive decrease of COkg and did not show significant (p > 0.05) changes in HR (except for biological age –2 and –1), LVET and SBP (except for age after PHV in boys) together with continuous increase in power output in a maximal in-cremental exercise test. Heart pumping till PHV showed increase in SV (by 10 ml on average), MSER and some decrease after PHV. In boys the most pronounced in-crease in SV (by 17 ml) was at PHV (p < 0.05) and re-sulted in more intensive MSER, lower values for COkg as compared with girls (Fig. 6a, 6b). HR, SBP and PR at

PHV did not reveal gender differences. Values of pa-rameters of cardiovascular system relative to data at rest after maximal incremental exercise test in the 3rd min of recovery increased with increasing biological age with respect to increased power output.

Comparing the individual dynamic of growth and de-velopment of organism with the chronological age of the subjects and age at PHV, we singled out early matu rers, midmaturers (60% of girls and 78% of boys) and late ma-turers. Age at PHV in midmaturers was 12.2 ± 0.6 yr in girls and 14.0 ± 0.5 yr in boys. Early maturers were 18% of girls (10.5 ± 0.4 yr) and 15% of boys (11.5 ± 0.9 yr), late maturers 2.2% of girls (13.9 ± 0.6 yr) and 7% of boys (15.0 ± 0.3 yr old), respectively. Tempo of the ado-lescent spurt in girls (p < 0.05) midmaturers was 8.2 ±2.3 cm · year–1, early maturers 9.4 ± 1.7 cm · yr–1, late 7.2 ± 1.9 cm · yr–1, on average. In boys 9.9 ± 2.0 cm · yr–1; 8.3 ± 2.9 cm · yr–1; 9.7 ± 4.0 cm · yr–1, respectively. In late matured boys, some acceleration in height growth two years before PHV was also observed. Weight/height index in early maturer girls was 248.3 ± 43 g · cm–1, in middle maturers 277.8 ± 41.6 g · cm–1, late 311.6 ±45.7 g · cm–1. In boys 269.0 ± 36.8 g · cm–1, 345.2 ± 47.7 g · cm–1, 332.3 ± 33.8 g · cm–1, correspondingly.

In spite of different timing and tempo in somatic de-velopment in schoolchildren, aged 15–16, there were no

Figure 5a. Mean values of four parameters of cardiovascular functioning immediately after standardized exercise in boys

at different biological age

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

SV HR SBP PR

190

170

150

130

110

90

70

50

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 5b. Mean values of two heart pumping parameters immediately after standardized exercise in boys at different

biological age

–2

–1

PHV

1

2

COkg MSER

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 6a. Hemodynamic response to maximal incremental exercise test at PHV in girls and boys

Girls

Boys

SV HR SBP PR

200

160

120

80

40

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

Figure 6b. Heart pumping parameters to maximal incremen-tal exercise test at PHV in girls and boys

Girls

Boys

COkg MSER

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

Va

lue

s of

pa

ram

ete

rs

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significant differences (p > 0.05) in absolute values for height. At 16 years of age in girls, average values of height in early maturers was 165.2 ± 3.4 cm, midmaturers 165.8 ± 4.1 cm and late 168.5 ± 1.7 cm. In boys 185.0 ± 0.1 cm, 182.3 ± 5.4 and 175.3 ± 13.3 cm, respectively. At the age of 16 weight/height index was lower in early matur-er girls and late maturer boys.

Somatic and cardiovascular characteristic at rest for early maturers, midmaturers and late maturers is repre-sented in Tab. 2. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the maturative groups in absolute val-ues for height, body mass and cardiovascular parame-ters when compared at PHV. Values for late maturers were associated with older age. Intensification of heart pumping function to standardized exercise at PHV in children with different individual timing of maturation showed gender differences in all maturative groups (p < 0.01; p < 0.05). The most pronounced differences (p < 0.05) were between early and late maturers. Late maturers had less increase in HR (by 20% when com-pared with resting data), CO (by 50%), MSER (by 20–24%), SBP (by 14–22%). The shortening of LVET did not differ in the three groups. Cardiovascular response to exercise at the ages of 15 and 16 did not differ.

Discussion

Annual growth velocity for schoolchildren in Riga at the ages of 7–16 was not different from children in Eu-ropean countries [14, 15]. Some acceleration revealed during growth of body height in our schoolchildren is in agreement with two accelerations for growth pattern described by Lange-Andersen et al. [16]. Average tim-ing and tempo of growth in present children is similar to that described in Riga [17] and those observed in children of other countries [14, 15, 18, 19]. Most com-monly used maturity indicator is the timing of the ado-lescent growth spurt. PHV refers to the maximum rate of growth in height during adolescent spurt, and when PHV occurs it is an indicator of somatic development, it is the landmark against which attained sizes and veloci-ties of other body dimensions, physical performance and the development of secondary sex characteristics can be expressed [5]. Data relating PHV in our study revealed gender differences. Boys have higher tempo – absolute velocity values when compared with girls. Maximum velocity in body weight occurred later after PHV in girls when compared with boys, which are in agreement with [5]. In adolescent growth spurt there is

a marked increase in heart size, systolic pressure, a de-crease in resting heart rate, and an increased ability to contract an oxygen debt [1].

According to our data, at the age of PHV the rela-tionships with height (r = 0.79), weight (r = 0.89) and chest circumference (r = 0.56) were proportional. The characteristic of parameters of cardiovascular system at rest indexed to maturity age showed a pattern similar to the chronological age-based data [1, 2, 20, 21] and sug-gested that development of the left ventricle parallels the body growth. In children and adolescents height was the main determinant of left ventricular mass in subjects younger than 18 [22] and stroke volume with age increased [23]. Cardiovascular parameters after PHV constituted decrease in HR, COkg and increase in SBP, MSER together with restructuring of systolic time intervals of cardiac cycle. These findings should be in-terpreted as maintenance of effective control mecha-nisms after the age of PHV when activation of the hy-pothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and the acquisition of adult body composition take place. Relation and signifi-cance of prepubertal growth rate with the formation of mechanisms associated with control of blood pressure in later life is displayed in [24]. During the observed period (–3 to +3 biological age) there were no changes in the velocity of pulse wave in elastic type artery (aor-ta) and carotid wave form. Pulse wave velocity in mus-cle type arteries in extremities increased a little. These small changes in parameters of the wall of the vessels characterized the stable capacity of the arterial tree to receive blood pumped with each heart contraction. This is in agreement with [23]. Variability coefficients for values of heart pumping (SV, CO, MSER) about 27–31% in boys and 33–38% in girls showed evidence about in-dividual endogenic features for heart pumping. Gender differences resulted in higher (p < 0.05) SV in boys at every biological age if compared with girls and is in agreement with De Simone et al. [25]. They revealed higher left ventricular mass level in males apparent in early adolescence and indicated positive effect of height on left ventricular mass. Year-by-year increase in SV, more pronounced before PHV in girls and in boys at PHV, provoked more intensive changes in MSER as LVET did not change significantly. This testified about increase in contractility of cardiac muscle during matu-ration. More pronounced increase in SV after PHV was also found in boys in [26]. According the other study [27], the heart dimensions of growing children were more associated with weight.

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Adaptive response to standardized exercise during

PHV was characterized by larger SV, a well pronounced increase in MSER, small changes in LVET in relation to decrease in HR, SBP, and COkg. Such a pattern reflects an increased contractility of myocardium and effective-ness of cardiovascular control with maturation. Adap-tive response to incremental power output in the bicycle test also showed increase in contractility of each heart contraction (SV, MSER) and small changes in time characteristic of the cardiac cycle (HR, LVET), a de-crease in COkg body mass with maturation. This pat-tern of cardiovascular response may be interpreted as increased cardiovascular fitness in conditions when power output in submaximal exercise test increases. A close correlation was revealed between the power output on the last workload of the bicycle test and PHV in girls (r = 0.88) and in boys (r = 0.91). Boys made full use of the functional reserves of their cardiovascular system when performing a submaximal bicycle test of greater amount and intensity, which reflected in less chronotropic effect coupled with stronger inotropic ef-fect due to control mechanisms. A relatively constant increase in VO2 across maturation ages of –3 to +2 yr from PHV in boys at the heart rate of 155 beats/min was indicated by [26]. Significantly higher maximal stroke volume in boys than in girls aged 10–12 was observed by [28] and gender differences in heart size and cardiac function during exercise was interpreted as only one aspect of the lower lean body mass in girls.

Differences in biological age and chronological ages between maturers constitute on average 1.7 years in girls and 1–2.5 years in boys, which is in agreement with data obtained by [26]. We noted that at every stage of somatic development due to biological age there were less absolute values for height in early maturers and higher values for late maturers, most pronounced in girls. Late maturer girls had lower tempo at PHV, higher absolute values for height and longer timing for PHV. In spite of different timing and tempo in individual somatic development in Riga’s schoolchildren, at the age of 16 the absolute values for height reached the magnitude of young adults [29].

Hemodynamic parameters in late maturers at rest at every stage of growth till and at the PHV revealed char-acteristics for oldest chronological age. At the ages of 15 and 16 there were no differences in parameters between midmaturers, early and late maturers (p > 0.05). Late maturers had a more effective pattern of cardiovascular response to standardized exercise. Greater values of SV

and oxygen uptake in late maturers boys were observed also in [6] in bicycle test with HR 155 times · min–1. Re-covery of cardiovascular parameters after submaximal test in different maturative groups corresponded to in-tensification of power output and revealed gender dif-ferences only in late maturers. In boys the higher heart pumping recovered slower when compared with girls. Changes of pulse wave form and pulse wave velocity in arteries during early recovery (first minute) indicated the wide compliance of the arterial system.

Conclusions

The obtained data on the longitudinal relationship between cardiovascular functioning and PHV in boys and girls revealed gender differences and effective heart pumping function together with stable capacity of arte-rial tree to receive blood pumped with each heart con-traction. Increase of SV before PHV in girls and at PHV in boys resulted in more intensive increase of MSER. Late maturers at every stage of growth till and at the PHV showed a more effective pattern of cardiovascular response when compared with early/mid maturers.

References

1. Tanner J.M., Physical growth, development and puberty. In: Textbook of Paediatrics. Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia 1992, 389–423.

2. Turley K.R., Wilmore J.H., Cardiovascular responses to sub-maximal exercise in 7- to 9-yr old boys and girls. Med Sci

Sports Exerc, 1997, 29(6), 824–832. 3. Malina R.M., Beuenen G., Matching of opponents in youth

sports. In: The child and adolescent athlete. Blackwell Science, United Kingdom 1996, 202–213.

4. Malina R.M., Beuenen G., Growth and biological maturation: relevance to athletic performance. In: The child and adolescent athlete. Blackwell Science, United Kingdom 1996, 3–24.

5. Malina R.M., Beuenen G., Monitoring of growth and matura-tion. In: The child and adolescent athlete. Blackwell Science, United Kingdom 1996, 647–672.

6. Armstrong N., McManus A., Welsman J., Kirby B., Physical activity patterns and aerobic fitness among prepubescents. Eur

Phys Educ Rev, 1996, 2(1), 19–20. 7. Beuenen G.P., Malina R.M., Physical activity and growth, mat-

uration and performance: a longitudinal study. Med Sci Sports

Exerc, 1992, 24(5), 576–585.

8. Blimkie C.J.R., Lefevre J., Beuene G.P., Renson R., Dequeker J., Van Damme P., Fractures, physical activity, and growth ve-locity in adolescent Belgian boys. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1993, 25(7), 801–808.

9. Kemper H.C.G., De Vente W., Van Mechelen W., Twisk J.W.R., Adolescent motor skill and performance: is physical activity in adolescence related to adult physical fitness. Am J Hum Biol, 2001, 13, 180–189.

10. Lenthe F.J, Kemper H.C.G., Van Mechelen W., Post G.B., Twisk J.W.R., Welten D.C., Snel J., Biological maturation and the dis-

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tribution of subcutaneous fat from adolescence into adulthood: the Amsterdam growth and health study. Int J Obesity, 1996, 20, 121–129.

11. Lloyd T., Chinchilli V.M., Eggli D.F., Rollings N., Kulin H.E., Body composition development of adolescent white females: The Penn State young women’s health study. Arch Pediatr Ado-

lesc Med, 1998, 152, 998–1002.12. Rowlands A.V., Eston R.G., Ingledew D.K., Relationship be-

tween activity levels, aerobic fitness, and body fat in 8- to 10-yr-old children. J Appl Physiol, 1999, 86(4), 1428–1435.

13. Tanner J.M., The course of children’s growth. In: Education and physical growth. Unibooks, London 1978, 60–77.

14. Kemper H.C.G., Storm-van Essen L., Versschuur R., Height, weight and height velocity. In: Growth, Health and Fitness of Teenagers. Karger, Basel 1985, 66–80.

15. Tanner J.M., Growth at adolescence. Blackwell Scientific, Ox-ford 1962.

16. Lange-Andersen K., Rutenfranz J., Selinger V., Ilmarinen J., The growth of lung volumes affected by physical performance capacity in boys and girls during childhood and adolescence. Eur J Appl Physiol, 1984, 52 (4), 380–384.

17. Aberberga-Augskalne L., Individual growth patterns and phys-ical fitness in Riga schoolchildren. Acta Medico-historica

Rigensia VI(XXV). Riga 2002, 65–76.18. Sprynarova S., The influence of training on physical and func-

tional growth before, during and after puberty. Eur J Appl

Physiol, 1987, 56(6), 719–724.19. Vanden Eynde B., Vienne D., Vuylsteke-Wanrets M., Van Ger-

ven D., Aerobic power and pubertal peak height velocity in Belgian boys. Eur J Appl Physiol, 1988, 57(4), 430–434.

20. Rosenthal M., Bush A., Haemodynamics in children during rest and exercise: methods and normal values. Eur Respir J, 1998, 11(4), 854–865.

21. Turley K.R., Wilmore J.H., Cardiovascular responses to tread-mill and cycle ergometer exercise in children and adults. J Appl

Physiol, 1997, 83(3), 948–957.22. De Simone G., Devereux R.B., Kimball Th.R., Mureddu G.F.,

Roman M.J., Contaldo F. et al., Interaction between body size and cardiac workload. Influence on left ventricular mass dur-

ing body growth and adulthood. Hypertension, 1998, 31, 1077–1082.

23. De Simone G., Roman M.J., Daniels S.R., Mureddu G.F., Kim-ball Th.R., Greco R. et al., Age-related changes in total arterial capacitance from birth to maturation in normotensive popula-tion. Hypertension, 1997, 29, 1213–1217.

24. Montgomery S.M., Berney L.R., Blane D., Prepubertal stature and blood pressure in early old age. Arch Dis Child, 2000, 82, 358–363.

25. Dekkers C., Treiber F.A., Kapuku G., Van der Oord E.J.C.G., Snieder H., Growth of left ventricular mass in African Ameri-can and European American Youth. Hypertension, 2002, 39, 943–947.

26. Cunningham D.A., Paterson D.H., Blimkie C.J.R., Donner A.P., Development of cardiorespiratory function in circumpubertal boys: a longitudinal study. J Appl Physiol: Respir Environ Ex-

erc Physiol, 1984, 56(2), 302–304.27. Bouchard C.D.L., Malina R.M., Hollman W., Leblanc C., Sub-

maximal working capacity, heart size and body size in boys 8–18 years. Eur J Appl Physiol, 1977, 36(2), 115–126.

28. Vinet A., Mandigont S., Nottin S., Nguyen N., Lecoq A.M., Courteix D., Obert P., Influence of body composition, hemo-globin concentration, and cardiac size and function of gender differences in maximal oxygen uptake in prepubertal children. Chest, 2003, 124(4), 1494–1499.

29. James F.W., Kaplan S., Glueck Ch.J., Tsay J.X., Kuight M.J.S., Saszar C.J., Responses of normal children and young adults to controlled bicycle exercise. Circulation, 1980, 61(5), 902–912.

Paper received by the Editors: February 20, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: March 6, 2007.

Address for correspondence

Liga AberbergaAugskalne

Malkalnes pr.35-6

Ogre, LV-5001, Latvia

e-mail: [email protected]

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Introduction

Blind children and adolescents require specialist medical and pedagogical care. The basis for proper ad-aptation and rehabilitation should be a detailed diagno-sis of all possible secondary disorders. Rehabilitation of the blind focuses mostly on enhancement of spatial ori-entation and sensory compensation. Physical capacity and physical fitness are often sidelined and their crucial significance for the state of health and self-reliance of blind people is ignored. A number of studies have re-cently pointed to a much lower aerobic capacity among the blind patients as compared with their sighted peers [1]. There have been no studies, however, examining the possibility of taking short-term anaerobic exercises by the blind. It has been known that anaerobic capacity is lower in children than in adults, which is indicative of children’s lower anaerobic potential [2]. A physiological reaction of a child’s body to physical exercise differs from that of an adult. These differences become partic-ularly visible during anaerobic exercise of maximal and supermaximal intensity. Various studies have shown

that children display a lower ability of re-synthesis of highly energetic resources by means of anaerobic proc-esses as well as a lower ability to neutralize the products of exercise metabolism. The above is also reflected in lower indices of peak power output in anaerobic exer-cise and lower tolerance for homeostasis changes in conditions of physical work1.

It remains to be answered whether blind children and adolescents are predisposed to undertake anaerobic exercises of short duration to the same extent as their sighted counterparts.

The study aimed to provide answers to the following questions: (1) What is the course of development of anaerobic capacity of blind children aged 10, 13 and 16 years? (2) Do the blind children and adolescents reach maximal anaerobic capacity at the same time as their sighted counterparts? (3) What is the level of maximal anaerobic power output of the blind children as com-pared with their sighted counterparts?

The present study is mainly of cognitive character, as no such studies have been carried out so far. It seems obvious that only the complete knowledge about the

* Corresponding author.

Anna Zwierzchowska1* , Krystyna Gawlik1, Aleksandra Żebrowska2

1 Department of Correction and Special Physical Education, University School of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland2 Department of Physiology, University School of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The main aim of this study was to establish whether blind children and adolescents can achieve the same level of short-

term anaerobic capacity as their sighted peers. Basic procedures. Forty-eight blind children aged from 10 to 16 years participated in

the study. The subjects were divided into three age groups (10-, 13- and 16-year-olds). The Wingate test was applied to assess the

subjects’ anaerobic capacity, which consisted of a 30-second maximum speed exercise on a cycloergometer. The results of each age

group were compared with the reference ranges set by Inbar, Bar-Or, Skinner. Main findings. The average maximal anaerobic

capacity for each group amounted to 5.46, 7.86 and 7.81 kG/W for boys and 4.2, 6.43 and 6.27 kG/W for girls. These values for the

group of 13- and 16-year-olds (both boys and girls) were significantly higher (p < 0.1) as compared with the groups of 10-year-old

boys and girls. All these values were significantly lower than those in reference range for age and sex. Conclusions. Maximal

anaerobic capacity of blind boys and girls increases significantly between 10 and 13 years of age and is sustained until 16 years of

age. Similar tendencies in development of anaerobic capacity can be observed both among the blind and sighted students. The level

of maximal anaerobic capacity of blind boys and girls is significantly lower than that of their sighted counterparts. The lowest results

are achieved by the blind students from the youngest age group.

Key words: handicapped children, blind children, anaerobic capacity

ANAEROBIC CAPACITY OF BLIND CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

1 Inbar O., Bar-Or O., Anaerobic characteristics in male children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1986, 18, 264–269.

2007, vol. 8 (1), 12–14

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A. Zwierzchowska, K. Gawlik, A. Żebrowska, Anaerobic capacity of blind pupils

causes of deterioration in life quality of the blind will make it possible to refine the rehabilitation processes.


Forty-eight blind children from special schools took part in the study. All subjects were blind since birth, in-tellectually able and in good general health. They were divided into the following age groups:

was used. The level of statistical significance was set at p = 0.1

Results

The analysis of maximal anaerobic capacity results points to an increase in the anaerobic power between the groups of 10-year-old and 13-year-old boys. No sig-nificant differences between the obtained results were observed between the groups of 13-year and 16-year-olds (Fig. 1). The analysis of variance confirmed the existence of significant differences between the groups under study. Tukey’s post hoc test showed statistical dif-ferences between the 10-year-olds, 13-year-olds and 16-year-olds at p = 0.1.

A significant increase of maximal anaerobic capacity was also noted between 10-year-old and 13-year-old blind

Table 1. The number of subjects in particular age groups

Age group Girls Boys Total

10 (1) 9 7 16

13 (2) 6 5 11

16 (3) 10 11 21

Total 25 23 48

The applied research method was based on the Win-gate Bar-Or’s test. It is a non-invasive, frequently ap-plied and highly specific test for evaluation of anaerobic capacity as the contribution of anaerobic metabolism to the overall exercise-induced energy expenses amounts to 90%. It also allows the recording of strength dynam-ics in time2. In the study a Monark cycloergometer was used for measuring the duration of the cyclometer pedal revolutions. A subject began cycling following a sound signal. The aim of each test was to reach the maximal velocity of pedal revolutions in the shortest time possi-ble and maintain it for 30 seconds. As a result, maximal power output, mean power and power decline index were calculated. For each subject individual training loads were adapted in consideration of the subject’s age and sex (75 G/kg of body mass) [3].

In order to assess anaerobic capacity of the blind subjects the obtained values of maximal anaerobic ca-pacity were compared with reference ranges for sex and age of children, adolescents and adults, respectively, set by Inbar, Bar-Or, Skinner [4]. Then the subjects were classified according to their sex at three levels (below medium, medium and above medium).

In the statistical analysis arithmetic means, standard deviations and kurtosis of the parameters examined were calculated. To determine statistically significant differences a multiple comparison post hoc Tukey’s test

2 Bar-Or O., The Wingate anaerobic test: an update on methodolo-gy, reliability and validity. Sports Med, 1987, 4, 381–394; see: Bar-Or O., The young athlete: Some physiological considerations. J Sports Sci, 1995, 13, 31–33.

Figure 1. Maximal anaerobic capacity of blind boys from different age groups

1

Age group; Expected reference ranges

Wilks’ lambda = 0.16828, F(14, 26) = 2.6701, p = 0.01469

Dissection of effective hypotheses

Columns indicate 0.95 confidence level

3Age group

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

WG

_M

MA

X

2

Figure 2. Maximal anaerobic capacity of blind girls from different age groups

1

Age group; Expected reference ranges

Current result: F(2, 20) = 3.5971, p = 0.04630

Dissection of effective hypotheses

Columns indicate 0.95 confidence level

3Age group

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

WG

_M

MA

X

2

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A. Zwierzchowska, K. Gawlik, A. Żebrowska, Anaerobic capacity of blind pupils

girls with no significant decline in power output (Fig. 2). The analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences between the particular groups. Tukey’s post hoc test yielded significant differences between the 10-year-old, 13-year-old and 16-year-old girls at p = 0.1.

The results show that the highest percentage of blind students reached their maximal anaerobic capacity be-low medium (68% of boys; 82% of girls). The above-medium level was reached by 27% of boys and 4% of girls (Fig. 3).

inhibition of their unassisted motor activity. Short-term efforts, such as stationary bike exercises or other con-trolled speed exercises, can be effectively undertaken by the blind [8]. As was mentioned in the introduction, the significance of physical fitness and capacity for the blind people’s health and independence is often ignored in re-habilitation. Without it the blind will never fully regain their capabilities. In consequence, lower physical capac-ity will have a negative influence on the blind people’s adaptability and education.

Conclusions

1. Maximal anaerobic capacity of blind boys and girls increases significantly between 10 and 13 years of age and is sustained until 16 years of age.

2. Similar tendencies in the development of anaero-bic capacity can be observed among the blind and sighted students.

3. Maximal anaerobic capacity of blind boys and girls is significantly lower than that of their sighted counterparts. The lowest results are achieved by the blind students from the youngest age group.

References

1. Klimek A., Physiological reaction of the respiratory system during repeated physical exercise in the context of aerobic and anaerobic capacity of children and adults [in Polish]. AWF, Kraków 2004.

2. Sundberg S., Maximal oxygen uptake in relation to age in blind and normal boys and girls. Acta Paediatr Scand, 1982, 71.

3. Gawlik K., Żebrowska A., Assessment of the level of physical capacity of blind adolescents [in Polish]. Ann Univ Maria Cu-rie Skłodowska, 2005, 60, 2.

4. Inbar O., Bar-Or O., Skinner J., The Wingate anaerobic test. Human Kinetics, Champaign 1996.

5. Cempla J., Bawelski M., Anthropomotorics [in Polish]. 1998, 18. 6. Hopkins W., Gaeta H., Thomas A., Hill P., Physical fitness of

blind and sighted children. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol, 1987, 56.

7. Bar-Or O., The Wingate anaerobic test: an update on methodolo-gy, reliability and validity. Sports Med, 1987, 4.

8. Gawlik K., Zwierzchowska A., Physical education of blind and partially sighted children [in Polish]. AWF, Katowice 2004.

Paper received by the Editors: February 13, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: October 24, 2006.


Anna Zwierzchowska

Zakład Korektywy i WF Specjalnego

Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego

ul. Mikołowska 72

40-065 Katowice, Poland


Discussion

The anaerobic capacity increases in children be-tween the age of 11 and 16, optimally between the age of 13 and 15, as reflected by the highest power values [5]. The visible increment of anaerobic capacity in the blind subjects between 10 and 13 years of age is indica-tive of a similar tendency in sighted children. Concur-rently, much worse predispositions to anaerobic exer-cises in the blind can be noted against the established reference ranges. Lack of data (both in Poland and worldwide) on the blind subjects’ capacity to undertake anaerobic efforts renders it impossible to compare our data with data of other authors.

Studies concerning motor ability and physical fitness of the blind usually point to a lower capacity of the blind. Gawlik, Żebrowska [3] noticed a lower aerobic capacity in 17-year-old blind students than in their sighted coun-terparts. Some earlier studies also confirmed such ob-servations [6, 7]. Simultaneously some authors stress that a proper environmental influence can significantly raise the level of physical fitness and capacity [5]. This seems possible, especially in the case of short-term anaerobic efforts. Such exercises do not always require the blind people to move in space, which usually leads to

Figure 3. Maximal anaerobic power of the blind subjects against reference ranges

Below medium

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Medium Above medium

Boys

Girls

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2007, vol. 8 (1), 15–20

Introduction

The front crawl is the most common stroke in swim-ming events. It is the fastest swimming technique, and it is also used by swimmers in swimming marathons and triathlons. The front crawl stroke is constantly refined affecting the swimmer’s velocity in the water. The de-velopment of the stroke is possible thanks to scien tific data obtained from direct measurement of swimming parameters in aquatic conditions. Numerous studies point to the great significance of morphological and physiological determinants of the swimmer’s body in attaining the highest results in the crawl [1–7]. The front crawl stroke at a specific velocity (V) requires applica-tion of an effective swimming technique in which the stroke length (SL) and stroke rate (SR) of the motor cy-cles of arms are matched with the swimmer’s training level. The SL and SR depend on the swimming distance and swimming velocity.

The strategy of long-distance swimming consists in maintaining the steady and possibly the highest speed of

motion. Each change of swimming velocity, e.g. accele-ration, entails increased hydrodynamic resistance of the water in proportion to the swimmer’s squared velocity (Hollander et al. [8]). The world elite swimmers usually maintain a steady swimming velocity over the entire swimming distance; however, they also tend to modify the stroke parameters (SR and SL) as their fatigue in-creases [9–12]. Recent studies into the front crawl stroke, apart from analyzing swimming velocity, SR and SL, have also concentrated on the index of arm coordination (IdC) [13–16]. According to Chollet et al. [13] the index affects swimming velocity to a great extent.

The 2000m swimming test [17] was used in the study with regard to the specific characteristics of mus-cle work in swimming involving to a large extent aero-bic metabolism. Swimming velocity over this distance is similar to the speed in a 1500m front crawl race or in long-distance swimming events (swimming mara-thons). In experienced swimmers it corresponds to ex-ercise intensity above the maximal lactate steady state [18]. Swimming with such intensity for several minutes may even exceed the critical swimming velocity (Vcrit) [19]. It is only possible, however, in highly trained ath-* Corresponding author.

Marek Strzała1*, Aleksander Tyka2, Piotr Krężałek3

1 Department of Theory and Methodology of Water Sports, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland 2 Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland3 Department of Biomechanics, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The authors tried to point out the crucial factors determining swimming results in a 2000m front crawl race. Basic procedures. Two groups of subjects: G1 (16.8 ± 0.77 years) and G2 (14.7 ± 0.49 years) of 15 swimmers each took part in two

incremental tests for assessing aerobic endurance of arms in arm cranking (V̇O2max

AR) and of legs in cycling (V̇O2max

LG). The applied

procedure made it possible to simultaneously determine the anaerobic threshold AT (WLLT

AR and WLLT

LG) and the maximal oxygen

uptake [l . min–1] (V̇O2max

AR and V̇O2max

LG). The 2000m front crawl race was recorded by means of a digital camcorder. On the

basis of analysis of two complete cycles of swimming strokes, the stroke rate (SR), arm coordination index (IdC) and stroke phases (E,

PL, PS, R) were computed. Main findings. The results of the hierarchic regression analysis showed that the factors connected with the

front crawl technique, especially the coordination index (IdC) and stroke rate (SR), played a significant role among all the determinants

of swimming velocity. On the other hand, no significant influence of stroke length (SL) on swimming velocity was found. Among the

examined physiological indices swimming velocity was dependent only on the anaerobic threshold level (WLLT

AR). Conclusions. Swimming velocity over the 2000m distance is determined mostly by the stroke rate (SR), coordination index (IdC) and anaerobic

threshold level (WLLT

AR).

Key words: swimming, stroke parameters, oxygen uptake, anaerobic threshold

CRUCIAL SWIMMING VELOCITY PARAMETERS IN 2000 M FRONT CRAWL PERFORMANCE

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M. Strzała, A. Tyka, P. Krężałek, Velocity parameters in the front crawl stroke

letes. In consideration of the above observations it seemed necessary to examine relationships between se-lected somatic variables (body weight-length and struc-tural indices) and physiological variables (V̇O2max and anaerobic threshold WLLT) and long-distance front crawl swimming velocity. Also the effect of swimming technique parameters on swimming velocity was deter-mined.


Thirty well-trained swimmers from a school of sport championship at a high national and international level took part in the study. They were divided into two fif-teen-member age groups G1 (16.8 ± 0.77 years) and G2 (14.7 ± 0.49 years) (Tab. 1). All subjects featured the level of biological development at 4–5o on the Tanner scale. In GI, 9 subjects featured a mesomorphic body build and 6 subjects had an ectomorphic body build; in G2, 10 and 5 subjects, respectively, according to Carter–Heath [2]. The total body length (TBL) was measured from the tips of the fingers with the arms stretched up above the head down to the pointed toes. The lean body mass (LBM) was calculated using the formula of Slaughter et al. [20]. All statistical correlations, tests of statistical significance, analyses of variance and hierar-chical analysis of regression were made with the aid of SPSS software package (Version 12, USA). In the hier-archical analysis of regression with the variable calen-dar age, indices that were correlated below r = 0.6 were applied.

Laboratory tests and swimming exercise test

The swimmers performed two incremental tests for assessment of aerobic capacity of arms (V̇O2maxAR) and legs (V̇O2max LG). The V̇O2max AR test was performed on an 834E-Ergomedic cycloergometer (Monark, Swe-den) modified for arm cranking in a sedentary position, and the incremental V̇O2max LG test on the ER 900 Jaeger ergometer (Germany). The V̇O2max LG was pre-ceded by a warm-up (WU) at the intensity of 45% V̇O2max, after which the exercise intensity was increased by 30 watts every three minutes. The intensity of the warm-up in V̇O2max LG amounted to 150 W in G1 and to 120 W in G2. The V̇O2max AR test was preceded with a warm-up of intensity of 90 W in G1 and 60 W in G2, after which the exercise intensity was increased by 18 W and 12 W, respectively, every three minutes. The incre-

mental tests were performed at 70 rpm–1 in V̇O2max LG and 60 rpm–1 in V̇O2max AR. The indices of respiratory exchange were determined using the 919ER MEDIKRO meter (Finland). During the last 30 seconds of each load segment in V̇O2max AR and V̇O2max LG tests blood sam-ples were drawn from the earlobe and the blood lactate concentration (La) was marked with the aid of PLUS DR LANGE Miniphotometer (Germany). The applied research procedure in both incremental tests made it possible to estimate the anaerobic threshold AT (WLLTAR and WLLTLG) with the Dmax lactate method [21, 22] as well as the maximal oxygen uptake [l . min–1] (V̇O2max AR and V̇O2max LG).

The 2000m swimming race with the start from the water was held in a 50m-long pool. The swimmers’ movements were recorded by means of a GRV 9800 JVC digital camcorder (Japan) at 50 frames per second, from the side of the pool about one meter below the water surface. In biomechanical analysis the move-ments of the swimmer’s arms are cyclic. According to Chollet et al. [13] a movement cycle of the arm starts and ends with the arm’s entry into water (E). Each cy-cle was divided into four phases: E (Entry), PL (Pull), PS (Push), and R (Recovery). The propulsive phases were PL and PS; non-propulsive phases were E and R. The following parameters were used in assessment of the swimming technique: stroke rate (SR), index of co-ordination (IdC) and stroke length (SL) understood as body’s translocation during one complete cycle. SL was calculated on the basis of the arm stroke rate and mean swimming velocity (V). The above mentioned parameters were marked for each swimmer after each 20m leg of the swimming distance, with the exception of the 5m distance before each turn. The analysis cov-ered two complete stroke cycles. The duration of the swimming race and its individual legs was measured with a stopwatch with an accuracy of 0.01 s. The leg movement quantity (LQ) was calculated from the same footage as the arm movements. The leg movements were classified as six-stroke movements (performed for one complete cycle of arm movements), four-stroke movements and two-stroke movements. The front crawl indices were calculated from the footage after 8, 18, 28, and 38 pool lengths of the 2000 m swimming distance. After each 500 m a 30s break was taken to draw a blood sample (arterialized blood) to mark lac-tate concentration (La). The arm movements in the front crawl were divided into four stroke phases (fol-lowing Chollet):

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1) E (entry) – the time from the hand’s entry into the water until the commencement of the arm’s move-ment backwards; non-propulsive phase;

2) PL (pull) – the time from the commencement of the arm’s movement backwards until its positioning ver-tically downwards; propulsive phase;

3) PS (push) – the time from the positioning of the arm downwards until its drawing out of water; propulsive phase;

4) R (recovery) – the time from drawing the arm out of water until its re-entry; non-propulsive phase. To assess the interaction of arms in propulsion the

index of coordination (IdC) was calculated (similarly to the contribution of all stroke phases) as percentage of the entire cycle duration:

IdC = tk1

R – tk2PL

Tc

. 100%

where IdC – coordination index of arms,

tk1R – time of commencement of phase R for the first

arm, tk2PL – time of commencement of phase PL for the second

arm,TC – time of the entire cycle.

In case the propulsive phases overlapped the IdC was positive; when they occurred following an inter-mission the IdC took negative values.

Results

The swimmers from both groups differed statisti-cally in terms of their body height and total body length (TBL), arms stretch (AS) and body mass (BM and LBM) (Tab. 1). The anaerobic thresholds in both incre-mental tests also displayed statistically significant dif-ferences. In G1, in the V̇O2max AR the maximal oxygen

uptake was higher than in G1; however, the difference was statistically non-significant per kilogram of body mass. The absolute values of V̇O2max in the V̇O2max LG test did not differ significantly between both groups; however, in terms of relative values they were higher among the younger swimmers.

The mean level of selected parameters of swimming (SR, SL and IdC) over this distance displayed statisti-cally significant differences in both groups, with the exception of swimming velocity (Tab. 2). In the swim-ming test the swimmers from G2 reached higher SR and IdC (p < 0.05) than swimmers from G1, their SL was, however, lower. No statistically significant differen-ces in post-exercise blood lactate concentration (La) were observed in G1 and G2. The percent contribution of leg actions for each cycle of arm movements amount-ed to 46.6% of six-stroke movements, 20% of four-stroke movements and 33.4% of two-stroke movements in G1; and 6.7%, 26.7% and 66.6% in G2, respectively.

In the analysis of swimming results over the control-led distance (every 500 m) the SR showed statistically significant differences in G1 and G2 in the 2nd and 3rd legs of the distance; IdC in the 2nd and 4th legs, whereas swimming velocity only in the 1st leg. The SL showed statistically significant differences in both groups of subjects over the entire distance (Tab. 3).

In the statistical analysis of changes of swimming technique in individual legs of the race ANOVA was used for all swimmers. It was noted that the length of arms cycles decreased linearly in both groups: in G1 (F = 12.16, df = 1.14, p < 0.01), and in G2 (F = 12.16, df = 1.14, p < 0.01). The decrease from the 1st to the 4th leg of the distance amounted to 3.87% and 4.64%, re-spectively. The blood lactate concentration (La) in both groups showed no statistically significant differences and increased linearly: F = 50.64, df = 1.14, p < 0.001 in G1; F = 34.81, df = 1.14, p < 0.001 in G2, which can be indicative of increasing contribution of glycolitic anaer-

Table 1. Statistical analysis of biometric, structural body indices and indices of physical capacity of swimmers from G1 and G2

Parameter G Age (years) BH (cm) BM (kg) LBM (kg)V̇O2max AR(l . min–1)

V̇O2max LG(l . min–1)

x–, SDG1G2

16.8 ± 0.77 14.7 ± 0.49*

182.2 ± 6.05 175.7 ± 6.55*

70.8 ± 5.40 62.4 ± 6.00**

62.5 ± 4.47 56.2 ± 5.25*

3.13 ± 0.38 2.83 ± 0.33*

3.71 ± 0.37 3.56 ± 0.29

Parameter G AS (cm) BTL (cm) WLLT AR (W) WLLT LG (W)V̇O2max AR(ml . min–1)

V̇O2max LG(ml . min–1)

x–, SDG1G2

187.0 ± 7.79 180.3 ± 8.13*

252.7 ± 9.43 243.4 ± 10.51*

124.80 ± 18.59 104.27 ± 14.42*

210.00 ± 27.77 178.00 ± 28.83*

44.51 ± 6.10 45.61 ± 4.94

52.75 ±6.45 57.96 ± 6.33*

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.001

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obic changes to the energetic expenses of muscle work in this exercise. The SR in G1 was more stable and its increase was statistically non-significant; similarly in G2 after covering the first 500 m.

In G1 swimming velocity (V) decreased significant-ly over the entire distance of 2000 m (F = 4.743, df = 1.14, p = 0.046); in G2 it was more stable (Tab. 3). In both groups the IdC altered more visibly over the en-tire swimming distance.

In both groups of swimmers the indices of swim-ming technique and biometrical and physiological pa-rameters (Tab. 1 and 2) were statistically non-signifi-cantly correlated with swimming velocity (V). It should be noticed that the anaerobic threshold in G2 (WLLT AR with V2000) was close to statistical significance (0.48, p = 0.07).

The leg movement quantity (LQ) in G1 was nega-tively correlated with the arms stroke rate (–0.50, p = 0.057). In the same group of subjects SL was posi-tively correlated with LQ (0.46, p = 0.086).

The analysis of regression (Tab. 4 A and B) made it possible to examine correlations between selected pa-rameters that affected swimming velocity in all subjects (n = 30), with the exception of the subjects’ calendar age. Swimming velocity depended on the swimmers’ age in 19.4%. After processing all the remaining varia-bles from Tab. 1 and 2, the percentage of variance in-creased to 57.7%.

Discussion

Swimmers’ circulatory and respiratory capacity as well as aerobic capacity expressed by the V̇O2max level and the anaerobic threshold are considered by some au-thors [5, 7, 23–25] to be decisive in attainment of high sports results in front crawl swimming over long dis-tances. The results of this study correspond partially to the data obtained by other authors. The swimming ve-locity reached by our swimmers over the distance of 2000 m was related, among the examined physiological

Table 2. Statistical analysis of parameters of swimming velocity and the front crawl stroke and blood lactate concentration over the distance of 2000 m

Parameter GroupV

(m . s–1)SR

(cycles . min–1)SL(m)

Propulsive phasesE+R (%)

Non-propulsive phases

PL+PS (%)

x–, SD,G1G2G1+G2

1.37 ± 0.04 1.34 ± 0.05 1.36 ± 0.06

33.6 ± 0.06 36.8 ± 4.41* 35.2 ± 4.04

2.28 ± 0.16 2.11 ± 0.20* 2.20 ± 0.20

40.3 ± 5.69 43.4 ± 9.42 41.8 ± 7.81

59.7 ± 5.69 56.6 ± 9.42 58.2 ± 7.81

Parameter GroupLa

(mmol . l–1)IdC(%)

E(%)

PL(%)

PS(%)

R(%)

x–, SDG1G2G1+G2

7.03 ± 2.09 7.36 ± 2.14 7.19 ± 2.08

–9.9 ± 5.13 –4.6 ± 7.77* –7.3 ± 7.0

38.0 ± 7.36 33.7 ± 12.4 35.8 ± 10.26

14.9 ± 2.71 16.2 ± 4.63 15.5 ± 3.79

25.4 ± 3.81 27.2 ± 5.80 26.3 ± 4.90

21.7 ± 2.78 22.9 ± 3.93 22.4 ± 3.39

*p < 0.05

Table 3. Mean swimming velocity, selected parameters of the front crawl stroke and lactate blood concentration marked after each 500m leg of the 2000 m distance in G1 and G2

Parameter GroupV

(m . s–1)La

(mmol . l–1)SR

(cycles . min–1)IdC(%)

SL(m)

I 500 x–, SDG1G2

1.38 ± 0.05 1.33 ± 0.05*

5.95 ± 2.11 5.56 ± 2.06

33.1 ± 3.08 35.7 ± 5.13

–9.9 ± 5.7 –4.8 ± 8.3

2.32 ± 0.21 2.15 ± 0.25*

II 500 x–, SDG1G2

1.38 ± 0.05 1.34 ± 0.05

6.81 ± 2.15 6.89 ± 2.19

33.5 ± 3.45 37.7 ± 4.61*

–10.6 ± 5.2 –4.8 ± 7.2*

2.29 ± 0.17 2.14 ± 0.20*

III 500 x–, SDG1G2

1.37 ± 0.05 1.34 ± 0.05

7.34 ± 2.19 8.15 ± 2.50

33.6 ± 2.80 37.3 ± 4.36*

–9.2 ± 5.3 –4.3 ± 8.4

2.28 ± 0.18 2.10 ± 0.21*

IV 500 x–, SDG1G2

1.34 ± 0.05 1.34 ± 0.05

8.01 ± 2.10 8.83 ± 2.54

34.3 ± 3.22 37.1 ± 4.71

–10.0 ± 5.4 –4.7 ± 7.8*

2.23 ± 0.15 2.05 ± 0.20*

*p < 0.05

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parameters, to the anaerobic threshold (WLLTAR). The results of the analysis of regression point to parameters of the front crawl technique – the index of correlation, in particular – and arms stroke rate as having the great-est impact on swimming velocity. The IdC was shown to be highly correlated with the arm stroke, which was also observed in swimmers by Chollet et al. [13]. The IdC which was correlated with SR (over 0.6) was not used in the analysis. However, the calculation involving this index in a parallel model of regression showed a statistically significant correlation with swimming velocity (Beta = 0.725, t = 2.621, p = 0.015). As can be seen from the results of our study and other authors’ the so-called “opposition” coordination of arms movements revealing delay minimization between the propulsive phases of arms [13–15] was conducive to attaining a higher swimming velocity over a long distance. No sig-nificant effect of the arms stroke length (SL) on swim-ming velocity was observed.

Some authors suggest that performing longer arm movements engages the swimmer’s anaerobic metabo-lism to a greater extent [10, 11, 26, 27]. Such claims are also confirmed by Dekerle et al. [9], who noted a de-crease in SL by 6.5% in front crawl swimmers during a 30min exercise with the maximal lactate steady speed. On the other hand, in swimmers who did not finish the race due to extreme fatigue the decrease in SL amount-ed to 11.4%. Pelayo et al. [4] noticed the significance of reduction of power in a motor cycle of arms in front crawl swimming over the distances of 1500 m, 800 m and 400 m. This allows maintaining a higher stroke rate (SR) for the entire race duration. These observations are confirmed by the results of our study, where the SL de-creased significantly every consecutive 500 m of the distance, whereas the SR was more stable.

The above observations show that the decrease in the length of arms movement cycles during an exercise of intensity above the anaerobic threshold leads to mus-

cle fatigue demonstrated by a higher lactate concentra-tion in blood. That is why a swimmer’s high anaerobic threshold makes it possible to maintain his or her swim-ming velocity with the use of an optimal movement technique. On the other hand, it should be noticed that persistent maintenance of long SL by the swimmer may lead to increased fatigue and decline in SR and V. In this context the results achieved by Chollet et al. [28] who studied energetic effects of velocity and stroke rate control in swimmers over three 400m distances seem particularly interesting. They observed that post-exer-cise lactate concentration and the number of cardiac contractions was lower when the swimmers maintained a predetermined arm stroke rate than when the stroke rate was performed intuitively.

Our study showed that among the swimmers from G1 the arms stroke rate was negatively correlated with leg movement quantity (LQ). On the other hand, in the same group the LQ was positively correlated with SL. These results show that some long-distance swimmers mostly focus on maintaining a convenient arms stroke rate while inhibiting the legs stroke rate.

In conclusion, it can be stated that the front crawl swimming velocity of young swimmers over a distance of 2000 m is mainly determined by the stroke rate and index of coordination. It also depends on the anaerobic threshold measured in an incremental test of arms movement (WLLTAR).

References

1. Grimston S.K., Hay J.G., Relationships among anthropometric and stroking characteristics of college swimmers. Med Sci

Sports Exerc, 1986, 18, 60–68. 2. Carter J.E., Heath B.H., Somatotyping development and appli-

cations. Cambridge Studies in Biological Anthropology. Cam-bridge University Press, New York 1990.

3. Kolmogorov S.V., Duplishcheva O.A., Active drag, useful me-chanical power output and hydrodynamic force coefficient in different swimming strokes at maximal velocity. J Biomech, 1992, 25, 311–318.

Table 4. A – percentage of variance for the subjects’ calendar age and variables most significant for swimming

velocity over the distance of 2000 m; B – indices of regression of predictors for independent

variables for swimming velocity

A n = 30 R R2 Change R2

F for change

p <

V2000Age 0.440 0.194 0.194 6.735 0.015

Vari-ables

0.760 0.577 0.383 4.166 0.008

B V2000 (m . s–1)

Beta T p <

Constant 2.219 0.037

SR2000 (cycles . min–1) 0.936 3.382 0.003

SL2000 (m) 0.440 1.454 0.159

V̇O2max AR (l . min–1) 0.200 1.114 0.277

WLLT

– AR (W) 0.349 1.845 0.078

AS (cm) –0.215 –1.202 0.242

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4. Pelayo P., Sidney M., Kherif T., Chollet D., Tourny C., Stroking characteristics in freestyle swimming and relationships with anthropometric characteristics. J Appl Biomech, 1996, 12, 197–206.

5. Holmer I., Physiology of swimming man. Acta Physiol Scand, 1974, 407, (Suppl.), 1–55.

6. Wakayoshi K., Yoshida T., Ikuta Y., Mutoh Y., Miyashita M., Adaptations to six months aerobic swimming training. Changes in velocity, stroke rate, stroke length and blood lactate. Int J

Sports Med, 1993, 14, 368–372. 7. Martin L., Whyte G.P., Comparison of critical swimming ve-

locity and velocity at lactate threshold in elite triathletes. Int J

Sports Med, 2000, 21, 366–368. 8. Hollander A.P., De Groot, Van Ingen Schenau G.J., Toussaint

H.M., De Best H., Peeters W. et al., Measurement of active drag during crawl arm stroke swimming. J Sports Sci, 1986, 4, 21–30.

9. Dekerle J., Nesi X., Lefevre T., Depretz S., Sidney M., Hout-Marchand F. et al., Stroking parameters in front crawl swim-ming and maximal lactate steady state speed. Int J Sports Med, 2005, 25, 53–58.

10. Craig A.B., Skehan P.L., Pawelczyk J.A., Boomer W.L., Veloci-ty, stroke rate, and distance per stroke during elite swimming competition. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 1985, 17, 625– 634.

11. Strzała M., Tyka A., Żychowska M., Woźnicki P., Components of physical work capacity, somatic variables and technique in relation to 100 and 400m time trials in young swimmers. J

Hum Kinetics, 2005, 14, 105–116.12. Wakayoshi K., Yoshida T., Udo M., Kasai T., Moritani T., Mu-

toh Y. et al., A simple method for determining critical speed as swimming fatigue threshold in competitive swimming. Int J

Sports Med, 1992, 13, 367–371.13. Chollet D., Chalies S., Chatard J.C., A new index of coordina-

tion for the crawl: description and usefulness. Int J Sports Med, 2000, 21, 54–59.

14. Millet G.P., Chollet D., Chalies S., Chatard J.C., Coordination in front crawl in elite triathletes and elite swimmers. Int J

Sports Med, 2002, 23, 99–104.15. Seifert L., Chollet D., Bardy B.G., Effect of swimming velocity

on arm coordination in the front crawl. J Sports Sci, 2004, 22, 651–660.

16. Alberty M., Sidney M., Hout-Marchand F., Hespel J.M., Pelayo P., Intracyclic velocity variations and arm coordination during ex-haustive exercise in front crawl stroke. Int J Sports Med, 2005, 26, 471–475.

17. Maglisho E.W., Swimming fastest. Hum Kinetics, 2003, 596.18. Aunola S., Rusko H., Does anaerobic threshold correlate with

maximal lactate steady-state? J Sports Sci, 1992, 10, 302–323.

19. Dekerle J., Pelyo P., Clipet B., Depretz S., Lefevre T., Sidney M., Critical swimming speed does not represent the speed at maxi-mal lactate steady state. Int J Sports Med, 2005, 26, 524–530.

20. Slaughter M.H., Lohman T.G., Boileau R.A., Horswill C.A., Stillman R.J., Van Loan D. et al., Skinfold equations of body fatness in children and youth. Hum Biol, Wayne State Univer-sity Press, 1988, 60, 709–723.

21. Cheng B., Kuipers H., Snyder A.C., Keizer H.A., Jeukendrup M., Hesselink M., New approach for the determination of ventila-tory and lactate thresholds. Int J Sports Med, 1992, 13, 518–522.

22. Strzała M., Tyka A., Żychowska M., Reliability of invasive and non-invasive anaerobic threshold estimation in young swim-mers. J Hum Kinetics, 2004, 12, 135–146.

23. Chatard J.C., Collomp C., Maglisho E., Maglischo C., Swim-ming skills and stroking characteristics of front crawl swim-mers. Int J Sports Med, 1990, 11, 156–161.

24. Wakayoshi K., D’Acquisto L.J., Cappaert J.M., Troup J.P., Rela-tionship between oxygen uptake, stroke rate and swimming ve-locity in competitive swimming. Int J Sports Med, 1995, 16, 19–23.

25. Pyne D.B., Lee H., Swanwick K.M., Monitoring the lactate threshold in world-ranked swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2001, 33, 291–297.

26. Craig A.B., Pendergast D.R., Relationships of stroke rate, dis-tance per stroke, and velocity in competitive swimming. Med

Sci Sports, 1979, 11, 278–283.27. Keskinen K.L., Tilli L.J., Komi P.V., Stroking characteristics of

front crawl swimming during exercise. J Appl Biomech, 1993, 9, 219–226.

28. Chollet D., Moretto P., Pelayo P., Sidney M., Energetic effects of velocity and stroke rate control in non-expert swimmers. In: Troup J.P., Hollander A.P., Strasse D., Trappe S.W., Cappaert J.M., Trappe T.A. (ed.), Swimming Science VII. E&FN Spon, London 1996, 172–176.

Paper received by the Editors: July 6, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: November 14, 2006.


Marek Strzała

Zakład Teorii i Metodyki Sportów Wodnych


ul. Rogozińskiego 12

31-559 Kraków, Poland


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2007, vol. 8 (1), 21–26

Introduction

When defining a sport technique (understood as a motor action) and determining factors that have a de-cisive impact on the quality of its execution, the authors list somatic build in the first place [1−3]. Therefore, it may be said that in sports disciplines, where success depends upon one or just several ways of performing a motor action, somatic parameters should be the main selection criterion. That kind of approach is characteris-tic of sports disciplines such as volleyball or basketball where – according to references [4, 5] – suitability of a player depends, to a large extent, on their height.

With judo the situation is quite different. Due to mul-titude of fighting techniques, there is no necessity for special selection favouring fighters of particular body build. More important is the choice of techniques optimal for a given situation with regard to the player’s somatic parameters. Kuźmicki stated that [6]: “Body build of a judo fighter is listed among other characteristics as the

one which determines correctness of selection of a play-er’s personal fighting techniques (TOKUI-WAZA)”.

The first studies on the relationship of body build with selection of TOKUI-WAZA were made in Japan [7] and USSR [8]. In Poland, this issue was investigated by Kuźmicki [6, 9] and Marchocka [10]. One common conclusion may be drawn from the review of those pa-pers – taller and slenderer fighters tend to use tech-niques which most often rely on legs (so called leg techniques), whereas short fighters (with large circum-ferential values and strong musculature) tend to use techniques that mostly rely on hands (so called hand techniques).

There are no reports available on the impact of body height on the activity of fighters in attack and their achievement level. Also the results of studies on the in-fluence of the fundamental somatic parameters on the fighting techniques preferred by the fighters need up-dating, taking into consideration the constant develop-ment of this discipline of sport.

The following hypothesis was verified in this paper: the height of judo fighters influences the way of fight-ing and the achievement level.* Corresponding author.

Grzegorz Lech*, Stanisław Sterkowicz, Wojciech Rukasz

Department of Theory and Methodology of Martial Arts, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The aim of this study was to establish the impact of body height on the techniques preferred in combat and the achievement

level of senior judo fighters. Basic procedures. The research material included the video recordings of 518 judo fights that had taken

place during Polish Judo Championships in Chorzów (1998) and Wrocław (1999). The competitors were surveyed about their height.

Using the criterion x– ± 0.5 SD, the fighters were divided into tall, medium and short in every weight category. Following the division

a comparative analysis was made of the actions preferred in combat by the representatives of the particular groups. The analysis covered

initiative in attack and proportions of its elements, techniques used and their reliability and average scores. Main findings. It was

established that: (1) Body height of the fighters was moderately connected with the preferred techniques in combat. Hand techniques

were preferred by short and medium-height fighters and leg techniques by tall fighters. Techniques including trunk rotation were

more often performed by medium-height fighters. Techniques including leaning out/forward were more often used by medium-

height fighters. (2) There was a strong relationship between body height and reliability of the techniques in the case of counterattacks

and a moderate one that concerned the techniques including leaning forward. (3) The height of fighters was only moderately related

with the level of achievements. Conclusions. The points listed above should be taken into consideration by club trainers when

planning training loads, selection of TOKUI-WAZA (techniques preferred by fighters) and selection of weight category.

Key words: judo, body height, motor skills

SIGNIFICANCE OF BODY HEIGHT IN MARTIAL ARTS (AS EXEMPLIFIED BY JUDO FIGHTERS)

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G. Lech, S. Sterkowicz, W. Rukasz, Body height in martial arts


The research material included the video recordings of 518 judo fights that had taken place during Polish Judo Championships in Chorzów (1998) and Wrocław (1999). The competitors were surveyed about their height direct-ly before the tournaments, after official weighing and physical examinations. The championships in Chorzów (1998) hosted 164 competitors from 24 clubs and in Wrocław (1999) 151 competitors from 23 clubs.

The competitors were divided into three groups ac-cording to their body height using the following crite-ria:• Body height lower or equal to x– – 0.5 SD − short

fighters;• Body height higher than x– – 0.5 SD and lower or

equal to x– + 0.5 SD − medium fighters;• Body height higher than x– + 0.5 SD − tall fighters.

Bearing in mind the passage of time (there was a year long gap between the tournaments analyzed) and specificity of the weight categories (fighters are divided into seven weight categories), each weight category was classified individually during each tournament. The body height characteristics of the fighters are presented in Tab. 1.

While analyzing the tournament fights the tech-niques used by the fighters were recorded in Microsoft Access ‘97 software to create a database, which was later on processed and analyzed using the STATISTICA PL software.

The research material was statistically analyzed in or-der to determine the level of proficiency of the fighters.

The analysis covered: activity of fighters in attack and proportions of its elements; reliability of attacking techniques; value of techniques used as marked by ref-erees.

The activity was evaluated using the modified for-mula established by Sikorski and Łaksa [11]:

Activity index: AI = ΣANF

where:ΣA – sum of actions (number of failed, successful at-

tacks and penalties earned by opponents),NF – number of fights fought by each of the fighters.

The analysis of elements of activity consisted in comparison of distribution of the number of failed at-tacks (unmarked by referees), successful (marked) and penalties received by opponents.

Reliability index (RI) was calculated by means of the following formula:

RI = NSANA

× 100%

where:NSA – number of successful attacks (marked by refe-

rees),NA – number of attacks in combat.

The value of reliable attacks is the arithmetic mean of the referees’ marks.

In order to extend the analysis, fighting techniques observed in attacks were classified according to the fol-lowing criteria:

Table 1. Body height of competitors in Polish Judo Championships in Chorzów (1998) and Wrocław (1999)

Chorzów ‘98 Wrocław ‘99

Weight categories

Number of competitors

Height (cm) SDWeight

categoriesNumber of competitors

Height (cm) SD

60 kg 19 166.3 3.2 60 kg 19 165.9 3.2

66 kg 33 169.3 4.3 66 kg 24 171.4 5.2

73 kg 36 175.0 4.9 73 kg 30 173.5 4.5

81 kg 24 180.2 2.8 81 kg 24 180.1 3.0

90 kg 19 182.1 2.4 90 kg 20 183.0 3.7

100 kg 16 185.1 4.8 100 kg 15 185.2 5.3

+ 100 kg 17 188.4 6.8 + 100 kg 19 188.8 7.1

Total 164 177.8 8.3 Total 151 178.7 8.3

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– use of rotations around the longitudinal body axis (with or without rotation),

– Kodokan classification1 (in vertical position: hand, leg and in horizontal position2);

– the direction in which the opponent is leaning dur-ing attack (forward, backward);

– the side of knocking the opponent out of balance that was connected with the main technique causing them to fall (right or left);

– place where the attack was initiated or executed (red band, green field),

– the fight’s duration (minutes).The distribution of the number of attacks, their reli-

ability and mean values were compared with regard to the criteria listed above.

Contingency tables were used in the description of the research material. To compare the distribution of num-bers of the classified actions used in combat, the χ2 test was used. The strength of correlation was determined by means of Pearson’s “C” contingency coefficient [12].

The following ranges of values were assumed for in-terpretation of the coefficient C3:• C lower than 0.1 – weak correlation;• C higher or equal to 0.1 and lower than 0.3 – mode-

rate correlation;• C higher or equal to 0.3 – strong correlation [13].

In the case of the referees’ marks it was established that this variable has no normal distribution (for testing normality of distribution, depending on the sample size, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with Liliefors modifica-tion or Shapiro-Wilk W test were applied [14]). Non-parametric equivalents of analysis of variance were also used in this study: the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test [15].

If the number of comparisons in a given group was more than 1 in the Mann-Whitney U test, Bonferroni’s modification was used, which consisted in division of the significance level p = 0.05 by the number of com-parisons [16]. The analysis of variance was used to as-sess the significance of difference between the mean values of AI (to examine the differences between the mean values of the individual group the RIR test by Tukey was used). The homogeneity of variance was tested with Levene’s test [14]. The similarity of group

profiles was evaluated using the “rps” index by DuMas [17, acc. to Brzeziński 1980].

Results

Initiative in combat

In the group of short fighters, the highest AI value was recorded in the third minute of fight (0.849) and the lowest in the first minute (0.646). AI was growing in the second and third minute and declining in the fourth and fifth minute (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Activity index (AI) values in the groups of short, medium and tall fighters

0.9

0.85

0.8

0.75

0.7

0.65

0.6

0.55

0.5

0.45Average

AI A

ctiv

ity In

dex

Short fightersTall fighters

Medium fighters

The fight’s duration1 min 2 min 3 min 4 min 5 min

In medium fighters, the highest AI was recorded in the fourth minute (0.605) and the lowest in the second minute (0.52). AI was growing in the third and fourth minute and declining in the second and fifth minute.

In tall fighters, the highest AI was recorded in the second minute (0.76) and the lowest in the third and fourth minute (0.576 and 0.579, respectively). AI was growing significantly in the second and fifth minute and declining in the third minute of combat.

The mean AI values (from the consecutive minutes of combat) differed significantly (F = 9.81; p < 0.01) in the groups of fighters being compared. Based on data compiled in Tab. 2, it was established that the highest activity occurred in the group of short fighters (mean arithmetic AI was 0.748). Lower activity was observed in tall fighters (x– = 0.634) and in medium-height fight-ers (x– = 0.565).

The highest spread of AI was observed in the group of short fighters (0.203), lower in the tall fighter (0.184) and the lowest in the medium-height fighters (0.085).

Very low degree of similarity of AI changes in the consecutive minutes of combat was noticed when com-paring the short with the tall fighters and the tall with the medium-height fighters (rps = –0.5).

1 Due to statistical tests’ requirements hand and hip throws were merged into one group – hand techniques.2 These terms correspond with the notions used by judo trainers – “standing position” and “takedown”.3 We used Sakoda’s adjusted Pearson’s C by dividing C by Cmax.

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Low degree of similarity of AI changes when com-paring the short with the medium-height fighters (rps = 0.5).

There was no statistically significant correlation be-tween the height of the fighters and the proportions of their actions (χ2 = 4.98; p > 0.05). The proportions of failed and successful attacks and penalties received by opponents were: 27.4%, 45.8% and 26.7%, respectively. Analysis with regard to each minute of fights also did not reveal any correlation.

Techniques used in attack

This part of the paper presents only the differences and statistically significant correlations.

A moderate correlation between the height of fighters and three of the fighting techniques grouping criteria:a) Kodokan classification (χ2 for Tab. 3 is 30.4;

p < 0.01; C = 0.172);b) trunk rotations (χ2 for Tab. 4 is 9.24; p < 0.01;

C = 0.112);c) direction of attacks (χ2 for Tab. 5 is 8.6; p < 0.05;

C = 0.109).In Kodokan classification (Tab. 3) the strongest dif-

ferentiation occurred in the case of frequency of the hand and leg techniques. The hand techniques were dominant in short (50.6%) and medium-height (47.2%) fighters, while the tall fighters preferred leg techniques (32.0%).

The techniques with trunk rotation (Tab. 4) were most often used by medium-height fighters (43.7%) and less frequently by tall (36.6%) and short (34.7%) fighters.

The techniques with tipping the opponent forward (Tab. 5) were most often used by medium-height fighters (62.5%) and less frequently by short (54.6%) and tall (53.87% fighters).

Reliability of techniques

A statistically significant correlation between the height of the fighters and the reliability of their attacks was observed and it concerned:a) counterattacks (χ2 for Tab. 6 is 13.03; p < 0.01;

C = 0.326) andb) attack with tipping the opponent forward (χ2 for Tab.

7 is 7.17; p < 0.05; C = 0.130).The reliability of counterattacks (Tab. 6) reached the

highest values among tall fighters (98.04%). This pa-

rameter was significantly lower in short and medium-height fighters (75% for both groups).

The highest reliability of attacks with tipping the op-ponent forward (Tab. 7) was observed in tall fighters (66.7%). This kind of technique was less reliable in

Table 2. Matrix of “p” values of the Tukey’s RIR test for the consecutive pairs of means AI values

Competitors (1) (2) (3)

Short (1) 0.002 0.046

Medium (2) 0.002 0.258

Tall (3) 0.046 0.258

Table 3. Body height of fighters vs. frequency of using techniques in vertical (hand, leg, sacrifice techniques) and

horizontal position

Type of technique

Fighters

Tall Medium Short

Hand 111 318 205

% 33.8 47.3 50.6

Leg 105 148 73

% 32 22 18

Sacrifice 82 142 91

% 25 21.1 22.5

Takedown 30 65 36

% 9.2 9.7 8.9

Table 4. Body height of fighters vs. frequency of using techniques with and without trunk rotation

Type of technique

Fighters

Tall Medium Short

With rotation 109 266 128

% 36.6 43.8 34.7

Without rotation

189 342 241

% 64.3 56.2 65.3

Table 5. Body height of fighters vs. frequency of using techniques with tipping the opponent forward or backward

Direction of tipping

Fighters

Tall Medium Short

Forward 153 370 196

% 53.9 62.5 54.6

Backward 131 222 163

% 46.1 37.5 45.4

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short and medium-height fighters (54.59% for both groups).

The comparison of the mean values of the referees’ marks revealed no statistically significant differences between the categories of techniques that had been used by the fighters of varied height. The mean value of the referees’ marks of successful attacks was 7.3 pts.

Body height vs. achievement level

Analysis of the data compiled in Tab. 8 showed a moderate correlation between the height of the fight-ers and the achievement level (χ2 = 9.20; p < 0.05; C = 0.220). According to this correlation the percentage of medal winners (Fig. 2) in short fighters’ (25.4%) and tall fighters’ (25.4%) group was higher than in the me-dium-height fighters’ group (12.2%).

Discussion

Showing how the judo fight is changing with time is one of the greatest difficulties in the fight’s analysis.

The authors, by quantifying activity and quality of at-tacks in consecutive minutes, indicated that these values varied depending on the period of competition.

The research results define a certain scheme of fighting a judo fight [11, 18, 19], which is characterized by a gradual progression of activity from the first to the third minute, its decline in the fourth minute and its growth (determined by the level of sport competition) in the last minute of a fight. It is difficult to interpret ex-plicitly the influence of body height on the activity of fighters observed in this study. It may only be said that (apart from the level of sport competition) it is another significantly modifying factor. The range of variability of this parameter indicates that its high values in certain periods of the fight have to be compensated for by a de-cline in other periods.

More frequent use of the hand techniques in vertical position by shorter fighters and the leg techniques by tall fighters confirms the research results of other au-thors quoted in the Introduction section of this paper [6−10].

The correlation between body height and the use of techniques with trunk rotation seems interesting. Morgunow et al. [8] showed that the choice of tech-niques by fighters of various height depended on the height of their opponents. This study revealed that the techniques with trunk rotation were less frequently used by short and tall fighters. It seems that ease of use of those techniques grows along with decreasing differ-ence in height between the opponents4.

Table 6. Frequency of successful and failed counterattacks by fighters of varied height

AttacksFighters

Tall Medium Short

Successful 50 69 42

% 98 75 75

Failed 1 23 14

% 2 25 25

Table 7. Frequency of using techniques with tipping opponent forward by fighters of varied height

AttacksFighters

Tall Medium Short

Successful 102 202 107

% 66.7 54.6 54.6

Failed 51 168 89

% 33.3 45.4 45.4

Table 8. Number of short, medium and tall fighters with regard to achievement level in the tournament

Competitors Non-Medallists (N) Medallists

Short 50 17

Medium 159 22

Tall 50 17

Figure 2. Percent of medallists in the individual groups of fighters of varied height

Short

Medallists

[%]

25.4

74.6

12.2

87.8

25.4

74.6

Medium Tall

Competitors

Non-Medallists

4 According to the classification criterion assumed in this study, with normal distribution, the fighters of medium height probably more often fought opponent of similar height.

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Such actions (apart from sporadic attacks using WAKI-OTOSHI and YOKO-GAKE techniques) con-sist in tipping the opponent out of balance in a forward attack. Probably, this is the reason why this kind of at-tack is preferred by medium-height fighters.

The correlation of body height with reliability of counterattacks and attacks with tipping the opponent forward indicates explicitly that the height of the fight-ers has a positive impact on the quality of performance of those techniques.

The observed correlation between body height and achievement level (higher competence was presented by the taller and shorter fighters in a given weight catego-ry) may be an additional factor when selecting the weight category5.

Conclusions

1. Short fighters showed the highest initiative and the widest range of its variability.

2. There was a moderate correlation between the body height of the fighters and preferred combat tech-niques in vertical position:a) The hand techniques were more often used by short

and medium fighters contrary to the tall fighters, who preferred the leg techniques.

b) The techniques with trunk rotation were more often used by medium fighters.

c) The techniques with tipping the opponent forward were more often used by medium-height fighters and were less preferred by the short and tall fighters.3. There was a strong correlation between body

height and reliability of counterattacks. A moderate one concerned the techniques with tipping the opponent for-ward.a) Counterattacks performed by tall fighters were most

often successful.b) Forward counterattacks performed by tall fighters

were most successful and the one performed by short and medium-height fighters – less successful.4. The mean value of referees’ marks did not differ-

entiate between the groups compared.5. There was a moderate correlation between body

height and achievement level. Medium fighters won medals less frequently.

References

1. Ważny Z., A Small Lexicon of Sports Training [in Polish]. AWF, Katowice 1989.

2. Ważny Z., A Lexicon of Sports Training [in Polish]. AWF, Warszawa 1994.

3. Bober T., Sports Technique [in Polish]. Trening, 1992, 2 (14), 5–55.

4. Grądziel G., Body Height, Age, and Effectiveness of Volleyball Players at the Seoul Olympic Games [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 1989, 9–10, 53–61.

5. Danieluk M., Foryszewska-Wójt E., Kłyszejko W., Analysis of the Indices Describing the Effectiveness of Male and Female Basketball Players of Different Height [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 1976, 7, 35–39.

6. Kuźmicki S., Somatic Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Some Technical Elements Applied in Judo Fight [dissertation] [in Polish]. AWF, Warszawa Poland 1985.

7. Igarashi K., Tokui-Waza and Tokui-Waza Tests Versus the Body Build and Motor Functions [in Polish]. Biblioteka Trene-ra – Judo, 1971, 3, 67–76.

8. Morgunow J.A., Szynielow I.W., Potratij R.S., The Opponent’s Height and Its Impact on the Gripping Techniques Applied [in Russian]. Sportiwnaja Borba, 1974, 16–18.

9. Kuźmicki S., An Attempt at Determining the Interrelations be-tween the Effectiveness of a Technique Versus the Judoist’s Body Build [in Polish]. Wych Fiz Sport, 1981, 1, 35–39.

10. Marchocka M., The Body Build Versus the Preferred Fighting Styles in Judo [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 1988, 9, 25–31.

11. Sikorski W., Łaksa C., Analysis of the Maastricht Judo Cham-pionships (Netherlands) 1981. Sport Wycz, 1982, 4, 28–35.

12. Clauss G., Ebner H., Rudiments of Statistics for Psychologists and Sociologists [in Polish]. Warszawa 1972.

13. Contingency Coefficient. 2002. Available from: URL: http: //www.graduate.tourouniversity.edu/bus6...s/Correlation-ContingencyCoefficient.html.

14. Stanisz A., A Crash Course in Statistics [in Polish]. Statsoft, Kraków 1998.

15. Blalock H.M., Statistics for Sociologists [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1975.

16. Wilcox R., New statistical procedures for the social sciences. Modern solutions to basic problem. Lawrence Erlbaum Associ-ates, Hilldale 1987.

17. Brzeziński J., Methodological Elements of Psychological Re-search [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1980.

18. Łaksa C., Sikorski W., Description of Judo Bouts at the World Championships Held between 1981 and 1983 [in Polish]. Sport

Wycz, 1984, 10, 32–37.19. Sterkowicz S., Maślej P., Technical and Tactical Actions Ap-

plied in Judo Fight [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 1999 B, 9–10, 45–53.

Paper received by the Editors: June 13, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: March 6, 2007.


Grzegorz Lech

Zakład Teorii i Metodyki Sportów Walki


al. Jana Pawła II 78



5 Being a fighter of medium height in a given weight category and fighting in a higher weight category, one will probably be classified a short fighter in this category.

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2007, vol. 8 (1), 27–31

Introduction

There is a variety of references concerning the issue of morphological conditions and consequences of sport activity. They deal with both the characteristics of the top teams winning the highest sport trophies and the juniors just beginning their sports career [1]. However, there are disciplines or competitions which are selec-tively treated by morphologists. They certainly include field hockey, an Olympic discipline originating from India. This sports discipline relies on extensive fitness training, motor co-ordination, impeccable techniques and agility. Moreover, field hockey is thought to be an exclusive sport – practiced by the most elitist society in England, perceived as the main sport activity of the middle class in the Netherlands, commonly practiced also in Germany and in almost the whole area of the former British Empire. However, in Poland that disci-

pline is not really popular and quite exotic, according to European standards, origin did not contribute to in-creasing its popularity among sport researchers. As far as morphology of the field hockey players is concerned, very few references can be found in the literature. All of the studies on that subject focused on simple, routine-like characteristics of height and body mass or they ap-proached the features especially important in that disci-pline, such as: the structure of hand [1–3]. However, those papers are also very sparse.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the morphologi-cal build and tissue composition of field hockey players from the national teams of China, Malaysia, Poland and Switzerland. Taking into consideration the fact that good results in most disciplines are conditioned by proper body build, it was assumed that also in field hockey a set of specific morphological features would be preferred.

As the group examined consisted of people of vari-ous ethnic backgrounds, the authors made an attempt to include their morphological differences.* Corresponding author.

Anna Demuth*, Urszula Czerniak, Magdalena Krzykała, Dariusz Wieliński,

Ewa Ziółkowska-Łajp

Chair of Anthropology and Biometry, University School of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The aim of this paper is to show the morphological diversification of field hockey players from the national teams of China,

Malaysia, Poland, and Switzerland. Basic procedures. The anthropomorphical measurements were taken in the group of field hockey

players representing China, Poland, Malaysia, and Switzerland. In order to compare the analyzed characteristics the mean values

were normalized and presented on the charts. Then the typological differentiation of the competitors was conducted, according to

Heath and Carter’s system. Main findings. (1) In comparison with non-practicing population the field hockey players were shorter,

slimmer and their skeletons were much heavier. (2) Secondly, the body build of individual competitors was assessed. Body height

and body mass of European and Asian competitors differed significantly. Moreover, the Chinese competitors – the best in the

championships – were characterized not only by the lowest body height and body mass, but also by the most massive skeleton. (3)

The given information about body build describes the players’ somatotypes. Although, all the groups under study had mesomorphic

body build, the Chinese representatives had the highest values of that characteristic. The Swiss representatives, who were the last,

had the lowest values of the analyzed characteristic. Conclusions. The differences in the morphological characteristics of individual

teams refer to their final position in the ranking. This suggests that the morphological factor is one of the determinants which facilitate

the selection process and success in sport. Therefore, the properly realized training process should be supported by many specialists,

including anthropologists.

Key words: somatic characteristics, field hockey

SOMATIC CHARACTERISTIC OF PLAYERS FROM CHOSEN NATIONAL TEAMS OF FIELD HOCKEY

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A. Demuth, U. Czerniak, M. Krzykała, D. Wieliński, E. Ziółkowska-Łajp, Somatic characteristics and field hockey


A team of staff of the Chair of Anthropology and Biometry took anthropometric measurements of the field hockey players participating in the World Champi-onships taking place in May 2005 in Poznań and repre-senting China, Poland, Malaysia and Switzerland.

The analysis included the following somatic charac-teristics: the most significant circumference of the arm and shank; the thickness of the five adipo-cutaneus folds, which were as follows: under the lower angle of the scapula, over the triceps muscle of the arm, on the belly, on the iliac crest and on the shank. The measure-ments were taken according to Martin technique de-scribed by Ćwirko-Godycki and Drozdowski [4]. In or-der to make a comparison the authors used the results of similar characteristics gathered by the team from the Chair of Anthropology and Biometry in June 2005 after examining the males taking the entrance exam for Uni-versity School of Physical Education in Poznań (candi-dates who did not practice any sport). The research team included the same people every time. The average characteristics of the four analyzed teams were com-pared with the mean values and standard deviation of the control group of candidates for University School of Physical Education and arithmetic mean values of the analyzed features of the sportsmen examined.

Based on the results obtained the authors presented typological diversification of the field hockey players according to Sheldon’s system modified by Heath and Carter [5–7]. The level of development of tissue compo-nents was derived from the equations proposed by Chanina [8]: body weight without fat, mass of fatty tis-sue and mass of water. All of the gathered research data was analyzed statistically according to the principles by Guilford [9] using Statistica for Windows v. 5.1. soft-ware.

The mean age of the males under study ranged from 25.2 for Swiss players to 26.4 years for Polish players.

There were large differences in training experience of the sportsmen. The Swiss players turned out to be most experienced in field hockey and the representatives of Malaysia were the least experienced (Tab. 1).

Results

Tab. 2 and Fig. 1 show the mean values of somatic parameters and Sheldon’s features of body build, which enabled defining the features characteristic of this disci-pline. Field hockey players are characterized, regardless of their ethnic origin, by lower height and weight. Ad-mittedly, these differences are not statistically signifi-cant in all of the cases – Poland, Switzerland – however, they enable defining certain tendencies concerning se-lection of players for this sports discipline. Especially the differences in musculature and fat deposition are very much pronounced. The comparison of the mean arithmetic values of the thickness of apido-cutaneous folds provides, after normalization, negative values in most of the cases. It confirms the tremendous impact of physical exercises on reduction of the fatty tissue. Low-er share of the fatty tissue in the overall body mass of hockey players was confirmed by the outcomes of

Table 1. Age and training experience of the sportsmen under study

Tournament ranking

nAge

Training experience

Service in represen-

tationin years

1. China 18 26.44 9.77 4.112. Poland 20 26.36 16.26 5.453. Malaysia 18 25.31 5.47 4.474. Switzerland 16 25.20 16.67 6.07

Figure 1. Profile of mean standardized values of the ana-lyzed morphological features of the field hockey players

under study in comparison with non-practicing population

Switzerland

MalaysiaPoland

China

–2.00 –1.50 –1.00 –0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50

ectomorphy

mesomorphy

endomorphy

knee epiphysis

ulnar epiphysis

shank circumference

brachial circumference

hip fold

brachial fold

scapular fold

Mc

Bv

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Chanina’s equations of body composition (Tab. 3). Es-pecially prominent is the domination of the studied sportsmen in terms of shoulder circumference and the mesomorphic component’s share in their body build. Large musculature of this part of the body should be as-sociated with its strong involvement during training and significant size of this component confirms its useful-ness in the sports competition. On the other hand, the characteristics of circumferential values of shanks are surprising, which after normalization have negative val-ues.

Next, a comparative analysis of body build of the field hockey players from selected teams was carried out (Tab. 2, Fig. 2). All of the studied sportsmen re-vealed a similar body build profile. There were signifi-cant differences in height and weight between players from Europe and Asia. Low height and weight of the Asian players reflect the average characteristics of the populations they originate from. In the authors’ opinion, this may result from various roles of social factors shap-ing their biological structures. The general evaluation of

the mean values revealed some directional changes of the parameters examined which were connected with the teams’ place in the final league table. It should be underlined that the Chinese players – highly experi-enced and holding the first position in the tournament – were not only the shortest and lightest, but also of the

Table 2. Numerical characteristics of anthropometric features of the players under studyFeature

China Poland Malaysia SwitzerlandCandidates for USPE* studies

M SD M SD M SD M SD M SDHeight (cm) 171.9 4.5 177.2 5.5 170.5 6.5 179.2 6.6 179.9 6.5Weight (kg) 70.9 4.2 7 3.6 7.3 70.4 9.2 75.0 5.9 74.3 8.9Width of elbow (mm) 6.8 0.2 6.9 0.6 6.7 0.3 7.3 0.3 7.0 0.4Width of knee (mm) 8.9 0.3 8.9 0.6 8.8 0.5 9.4 0.3 7.8 10.8Muscular circumference of arm (cm) 30.7 1.8 32.2 1.8 30.3 2.4 32.1 2.9 28.6 2.7Circumference of shank (cm) 36.4 1.3 36.1 2.3 36.7 2.9 35.1 1.4 24.0 45.5Fold below scapula (mm) 11.8 2.9 11.3 3.8 13.2 4.4 13.6 4.1 13.6 4.4Fold on abdomen (mm) 9.2 3.9 11.9 4.5 11.3 5.0 11.8 6.2 15.5 7.1Fold on hip (mm) 10.7 5.4 13.4 6.4 12.9 7.5 13.7 6.0 14.8 7.0Fold on brachial triceps (mm) 6.6 2.5 8.8 3.1 9.0 3.5 8.8 2.2 10.9 4.1Fold on shank (mm) 7.9 3.4 8.5 4.4 9.6 3.1 7.4 2.5 11.5 4.4* USPE – University School of Physical Education

Table 3. Composition of body of field hockey players

Tournament ranking

Componentswater

%fat%

active mass%

1. China 60.82 16.91 22.272. Poland 60.00 18.04 21.973. Malaysia 59.43 18.81 21.764. Switzerland 59.82 18.28 21.905. Candidates for

USPE)* studies58.55 20.01 21.44

* USPE – University School of Physical Education

Figure 2. Profile of mean standardized values of the ana-lyzed morphological features of the field hockey players

among the national teams under study

Switzerland

MalaysiaPoland

China

–1.00 –0.50 0.00 1.00 1.50

ectomorphy

mesomorphy

endomorphy

knee epiphysis

ulnar epiphysis

shank circumference

brachial circumference

hip fold

brachial fold

scapular fold

Mc

Bv

0.50

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strongest built and with lowest fat deposits in compari-son to the other players.

These characteristics were reflected by the somato-types of the individual players (Tab. 4 and Fig. 3) De-spite the fact that all of the analyzed players had meso-morphic body build, the Chinese showed the highest values of this component. In comparison with the play-ers from other countries they had the lowest endomor-phic values. On the other hand, the Swiss had the largest fat deposits and they held the last position in the final league table.

Therefore, every attempt at empirical studies deserves deeper insight and utilization for the practice and popu-larization of physical culture.

The sportsmen under study were the best field hock-ey players in their countries. Thus it seems probable that the basic primary selection taking place during the process of sport training was sufficiently homogeneous for all of the teams. This thesis seems to be confirmed by the general morphological characteristics of the ex-amined players displayed against the background peo-ple, who did not practice sports. A similar profile of the body build of the players examined indicates, in this perspective, a strong orientation of the individual teams in the selection process; morphologically they are al-most identical in terms of development of the individual features. It is worth underlining here that among the representations under study, there were several teams with players of various ethnic origin and despite that fact the group still remained homogeneous in terms of the body build. There was a clear domination of meso-morphic and balanced meso-endomorphic types. In all of the groups, the degree of saturation with the meso-morphic component was similar and oscillated around the value of 3.5. The ectomorphic component had the smallest share and varied between 1.83 and 2.56. There-fore, it may be assumed that the selection of players for that sports discipline should take into account the pa-rameters connected with the skeleton mass. This thesis was confirmed by the results of this study. The Chinese, who held the first position in the tournament, were characterized by the highest values of this component and the Swiss, holding the last position, had the lowest values of this parameter. Attention should also be paid to body height, which did not exceed 180 cm in any of the teams. This indicates the average, similar in all the teams, development of this parameter.

Conclusions

1. Field hockey is characterized by a distinct selec-tion of players; players of average height and massive bones are preferred. It may be assumed that the features preferred in this discipline are, to a large extent, a result of selection, since they are under strict genetic control.

2. The morphological factor is one of the determi-nants of success in field hockey, which was confirmed by the directional differences in the morphological characteristics of the individual teams related to their position in the final league table.

Figure 3. Distribution of somatotypes of the field hockey players

meso

ecto

endo

MalaysiaChina

SwitzerlandPoland

–14 –12 –10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8–14

–12

–10

–8

–6

–4

–2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Table 4. Mean arithmetic saturation values of individual somatic components of body in field hockey players

Tournament ranking

Componentsendo- meso- ecto-

1. China 2.97 3.88 1.892. Poland 3.39 3.62 2.373. Malaysia 3.52 3.75 1.834. Switzerland 3.75 3.53 2.56

Discussion

In terms of morphology, field hockey players were subjects to narrow-scoped studies. Apart from tradi-tionally undertaken studies on height and weight of the players also the structure and build of the arm, as the organ very much involved in this sport, was investigated [3, 10]. Only the last three have witnessed a broader in-terest in morphology of the field hockey players [1–3, 11–14]. However, these studies are also insufficient.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr Jan Konarski for his help in arranging and performing the study.

References

1. Drozdowski Z., Michałowska A., Field hockey players in the light of Adam Wanke’s typology [in Polish]. Wych Fiz Sport, 1997, 1, 113–118.

2. Drozdowski S., Drozdowski Z., Michałowska A., Sokołowski M., Attempt at comparative analysis of body build of field hockey players from selected national representations. In: Where do we come from, who are we, where are we heading? [in Polish]. AWF, Wrocław 1998.

3. Sokołowski M., Motor studies and morphological conditions in field hockey [doctoral dissertation] [in Polish]. AWF, Poznań Poland 1998.

4. Ćwirko-Godycki M., Drozdowski Z., Anthropology in studies on physical education [in Polish]. AWF, Poznań 1967.

5. Carter L., Heath B., Somatotyping – development and applica-tions. University Press, Cambridge 1990.

6. Heath B., Carter L., A modified somatotype method. Am J Phys

Anthropol, 1967, 27(1), 57–74. 7. Sheldon W.H., The varieties of human physique. Harper, New

York 1940. 8. Chanina K.P., Human body build assessment concerning age

[in Czech]. Woprosy Antropołogii, 1962, 10, 77–84. 9. Guilford J.P., Basic statistical techniques in psychology and

pedagogics [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1960.10. Pawelski R., Anthropometric characteristics of hand of indi-

viduals performing various jobs and practicing various sports [doctoral dissertation] [in Polish]. AWF, Poznań Poland 1970.

11. Bittner K., Krawczyński M., Smorawiński J., Strzykała K., Nephrological regulation of acidic-alkaline balance during sub-maximal exercise in field hockey players [in Polish]. Wych Fiz

Sport, 1985, 4, 37–43.12. Elferink-Gemser M.T., Visscher C., Lemmink K.A.P.M., Psy-

chological characteristic of talented youth athletes in field hockey, basketball, volleyball, speed skating, and swimming. Sport Psychol, 2005.

13. Elferink-Gemser M.T., Visscher C., Maj van Dujin, Lemmink K.A.P.M., Development of the internal endurance capacity in elite and sub-elite youth field hockey players. Br J Sports Med, 2006, 40, 340–345.

14. Scott P.A., Morphological characteristics of elite male field hockey players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 1991, 1, 31–61.

Paper received by the Editors: February 16, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: March 20, 2006.


Anna Demuth

Katedra Antropologii i Biometrii


ul. Królowej Jadwigi 27/39

61-871 Poznań, Poland


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2007, vol. 8 (1), 32–38

Introduction

Improvement of sport results is followed by an im-pressive increase of the players’ pay [1]. Sponsors and managers are doing their best to find and buy the best players for their teams. This situation results in a con-tinuous migration of a large number of professional sports players. The cases of sports players who stay with just one sports club throughout their career are rare. There are players who have been playing in several clubs during their career and the record holders have changed their club colours more than ten times through-out their career.

The consequence of such a situation is that when one team is strengthened by the new players, the other one is weakened by their absence. This is most difficult for the coaches. Instead of focusing on the workshop activities (tactical goals of the team, improving sport skills of indi-vidual players) they are forced to form a new team over and over again. Continuous changes within the team cannot positively influence the interpersonal “atmos-phere”, which the final sport result depends on [2–9]. The basic idea of team games, including basketball, is interdependence. The aims and plans of the coach and

team cannot be achieved and realized individually. That natural organization of actions is based on interdepend-ence and it induces contact, competition, but also co-operation. It seems that despite the clear rule stating that every single player in a team should be treated equally, in reality some players are favoured and some are not, as they form the main line-up (better players) and the re-serve (worse players). Team coaches who are focused on the core line-up players (the first five in basketball) often forget about the reserve players, who are less skilled. The level of basketball skill is the main criterion for the distribution of players to either the core team or the re-serve team. It is obvious that the reserve team is not in a psychologically comfortable situation (they get much lower salaries, have fewer chances to improve their skills, cannot fulfill their ambitions; they feel like “los-ers”, etc.). From a scientific point of view, it would be worth knowing if the reserve players would be rejected or isolated and the core players would be “privileged”, i.e. accepted in terms of interpersonal relations.

In this paper, we would like to determine the posi-tions* of the CT and RT players in the informal struc-tures of their teams. The research problem is presented in three research questions:

Edward Wlazło

Department of Psychology, University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. This paper is a report on interpersonal relationships in leading teams of the Polish premier female league of basketball. The

study was based on the Scale of Interpersonal Relations (SIR) [4]. The main subject of the paper was a comparison between the

interpersonal situation of basketball players from the core team (CT) and basketball players from the reserve team (RT). Basic procedures. The analysis of our findings confirmed a hypothesis that players from the reserve team (RT), i.e. basketball players with

less sports competence, are in a disadvantageous interpersonal situation. They were usually isolated and rejected by their colleagues

from the team. The findings were dependent neither on personal nor material interpersonal relations. The players from the core team

(CT) were usually better rated in terms of their basketballs competence (material relation) than considering friendly relations

(personal). Main findings. This research confirms the fact of great stability of interpersonal situation of the players regardless of their

interpersonal bonds (personal or material), basketball skills (CT, RT) or the line-up changes in the particular sport teams. Conclusions. The results of the examination of women basketball players using SIR are similar to the research carried out in other sport disciplines

[2–4], and in male basketball teams [10]. They are not, however, in accord with opinions or results of classical researchers in this

regard [17–20].

Key words: sport, basketball, interpersonal relations

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS IN WOMEN BASKETBALL TEAMS

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E. Wlazło, Interpersonal relations in women basketball teams

1. What kind of interpersonal situation (advantageous, disadvantageous) will players of varied basketball skill have? Will CT players represent sociometric categories, such as acceptance, polarization or a mix of these categories (MC

1) and will the RT play-

ers have a disadvantageous interpersonal situation and represent isolation and rejection or a mix of these categories (MC

2)?

2. Will the general interpersonal atmosphere in the teams tested by means of IRI (Interpersonal Rela-tions Index) be better in terms of personal or materi-al bonds? What will be the level of this atmosphere: high (sten 8–10), average (sten 4–7) or low (sten 1–3)?

3. Regardless of their sports skill, will the interpersonal positions of the examined players (CT vs. RT) re-main stable or vary throughout several seasons’ time, despite numerous personal changes to the teams?These research questions were formulated based on

the results of earlier studies [2–8, 10–13] and theories concerning interpersonal attractiveness (Thibut J.W. and Kelley H.H. and Heider F.). Nęcki [14] wrote a de-tailed review of those theories. In brief, the interper-sonal attractiveness reflects positive attitudes of indi-viduals toward one another, that are expressed by mu-tual liking, willingness to spend time together and respect (we admire a given person for their, e.g. high level of basketball skills). The theory of Thibut J.W. and Kelley H.H. assumes that attitude of one individual to-ward another is dependent on a balance of rewards and penalties they receive from one another, whereas, Hei-der’s F. cognitive dissonance theory emphasizes the in-ternal accord of attitudes of the interaction partners.

Taking into account the facts presented in the pre-ceding paragraph, one could say that the indicators of mutual social attractiveness (sociometric choice) are as follows: frequency of interpersonal relations, their emo-tional level, physical attraction, competence in a given field, authority, verbal compliments of the inter-action partners, etc. In the case of sports teams, their popularity depends on physical performance and tech-nical skills (basketball skills), practical intelligence, ac-curate self-evaluation and realistic level of aspirations of the players.


The study lasted from 1998–2002 and was conduct-ed in two top teams of Polish female premier basketball league. The tests were repeated several times in the same clubs, yet the line-ups were different every time. Altogether, 6 line-ups (teams) of 10–13 players were in-vestigated. Out of 65 players participating in the re-search, 36 played in the core teams (CT) and 29 in the reserve teams (RT). Some of them (see. Fig. 1) were tested four times (E.P. and I.K.), some three times (A. Sz., L.M., A.M., O.Ż., E.Ł., E.Ś.) and some two times (M.K.). Out of 9 players mentioned in the preceding sentence, E.P., A.Sz., L.M. and A.M. belonged to the core team and E.Ś. and M.K. belonged to the reserve team. The remaining three players (I.K., O.Ż. and E.Ł.) played either in CT or RT depending on the season.

SIR, a standard methodological scale developed in Sports Psychology Laboratory of the University School of Physical Education in Wrocław, was used in this study [2, 4, 15]. By means of this scale, it was deter-mined which of the players from a given team were in an advantageous (representing various degrees of ac-ceptance – A**, polarization – P or on the border of these sociometric categories, i.e. representing mixed catego-ries – MC1) or in a disadvantageous interpersonal situa-tion (representing isolation – I, rejection – R, or on the border of these sociometric categories, i.e. representing mixed categories – MC2).

Figure 1. Interpersonal situation vs. basketball skills (CT and RT)

Adv.

CTRT

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

27.6

5.6 6.911.1

65.5

83.3

BSA Disadv.

Interpersonal situation

Core Team – CT; Reserve Team – RT* One must not equate the interpersonal position of an individual in the informal group structure with the notion of the interpersonal status (ref. Discussion, see also [5, 16, 17]).

** Each qualitative interpersonal category (A, P, I, R) has three le-vels: strong, average, weak accordingly A0 – strong acceptance, A1 – average acceptance, A2 – weak acceptance, etc. (see the Scale of Interpersonal Relations (SIR) [2, 4]).

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It was assumed that some of the players examined would be on the border of sympathy and antipathy (BSA) on the SIR (Tab. 1). It is a kind of situation when a given player is neither liked nor disliked (this situation is sometimes confused with polarization, where the feelings are clearly extreme – positive or negative).

The position of an individual in an informal group structure is influenced not only by a single status, but by a set of two (e.g. very high – VH, very low – VL). The first one refers to positive attitudes (measure of

sympathy) and the other to negative attitudes (measure

of antipathy). There are 49 set of statuses on the SIR because there are 7 statuses of positive choice and 7 of negative choice***. The VH-VL set (first position on SIR) is reserved for the so called sociometric star and VL-HV (last position on SIR) is characteristic of a group outsider.

Three sociometric criteria for the personal bond (shared room, personal celebration, personal secrets) and another three for the material bond (group training, personal defeat, team defeat) were used in the study conducted by the author. An unlimited number of posi-tive and negative sociometric choices was available every time the players were tested.

Results

In the six female teams of basketball (Tab. 1) regard-less of the kind of bond (personal, material), the players represent the following categories: accepted or at the border of acceptance and polarization (MC1). The re-maining categories are less significant (from 2.3% to 6.9%). Detailed data in Tab. 1 indicates that the accept-ed individuals dominate among the CTs and the rejected

Tabl

e 1.

Num

ber

of p

laye

rs r

epre

sent

ing

diff

eren

t soc

iom

etri

c ca

tego

ries

(I–

VI)

vs.

type

of

inte

rper

sona

l bon

d

Team

Soci

o-m

etri

c ca

tego

ries

Inte

rper

sona

l bon

dTo

tal

Pers

onal

Mat

eria

l

III

III

IVV

VI

ΣTo

tal

III

III

IVV

VI

ΣTo

tal

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT+RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT

RT

CT+RT

n%

Acc

epta

nce

(A)

51

3–

11

41

31

41

205

254

15

–4

–6

15

–5

–29

231

5643

.1

MC

1–

12

–1

2–

12

21

16

713

––

––

1–

––

1–

–2

22

417

13.1

Pola

riza

tion

(P)

1–

––

––

––

––

––

1–

1–

––

–1

––

––

–1

–2

–2

32.

3

BSA

––

12

––

2–

–1

––

33

61

––

––

––

1–

––

–1

12

86.

2

Isol

atio

n (I

)–

––

–1

––

–1

––

12

13

––

–2

––

––

––

–1

–4

47

5.4

MC

2–

––

12

––

1–

––

–2

24

1–

1–

–1

––

–2

––

23

59

6.9

Rej

ectio

n (R

)–

2–

11

2–

2–

31

12

1113

–3

–2

–4

–3

–4

–1

–17

1730

23.1

Tota

l6

46

46

56

56

76

436

2965

64

64

65

65

67

64

3629

6513

010

0.0

Table 2. Interpersonal situation (advantageous and disadvantageous) of female basketball players

from core (CT) and reserve (RT) teamTeam

Inter-personal situation

CT RT Totaln %

Advantageous 60 16 76 58.5BSA 4 4 8 6.2Disadvantageous 8 38 46 35.4Total 72 58 130 100.0df = 1; �2 = 44.01; p = 0.0000

*** VH – very high, H – high, +X – above average, X – average, –X – below average, L – low, VL – very low.

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individuals dominate in the RTs. Highly skilled players (CT) are in a much more favourable interpersonal situa-tion than their colleagues from the RT. The differences revealed in the interpersonal position of the individual players in relation to their basketball skills are statisti-cally significant (see Tab. 2 and Fig. 1).

On the other hand, the results presented in Tab. 3 show that the atmosphere of interpersonal relations de-

termined by using IRI, was above average (sten 7). This is quite an optimistic statement, bearing in mind that the researchers dealt with the teams of Polish first league. A team that in 2002/2003 season participated in the play-offs and was fourth in the final rankings was the only one that had a good interpersonal atmos-phere regardless of the kind of bond (sten 8 – personal bond; sten 9 – material bond). In the other teams, IRI

Table 3. Interpersonal atmosphere in women basketball teams (I–VI) vs. kind of interpersonal bondsInterpersonal

bondTeam

Personal MaterialIRI Sten Mark IRI Sten Mark

I 0.67 8 Good 0.63 7 Above averageII 0.60 7 Above average 0.59 6 AverageIII 0.53 5 Average 0.57 6 AverageIV 0.62 7 Above average 0.65 8 GoodV 0.60 7 Above average 0.57 6 AverageVI 0.64 8 Good 0.71 9 Goodx– 0.61 7 Above average 0.62 7 Above average

A0

A1

A2

MC1

P0

P1

P2

BSAI2I1I0

MC2

R2

R1

R0

Sociom. category

E.P.

E.Ś. Consecutive measurement

1 2 3 4

A

Figure 2. Interpersonal situation of women basketball players during successive years of study and against personal changes

A0

A1

A2

MC1

P0

P1

P2

BSAI2I1I0

MC2

R2

R1

R0

1 2 3 4

D

O.Ż.

A.M.

Consecutive measurement

I.K.A0

A1

A2

MC1

P0

P1

P2

BSAI2I1I0

MC2

R2

R1

R0

Sociom. category


L.M.

1 2 3 4

C

Legend:

Personal bonds Material bonds

A0

A1

A2

MC1

P0

P1

P2

BSAI2I1I0

MC2

R2

R1

R0

1 2 3 4

B

A.Sz.

E.Ł.

M.K.

Sociom. category


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ranged from sten 5 to 8 for personal bond and from sten 6 to 7 for the material bond. Therefore, the data in Tab. 3 is only in partial accordance with the assump-tions which had been made before the research began. The researchers assumed that due to high sport skills and achievements the interpersonal atmosphere in the teams under study would be good and very good (sten 8–10). In practice, it turned out that sten 10 was not observed in any of the teams studied (very high level of the interpersonal atmosphere).

Fig. 2 (A, B, C, D) shows that the interpersonal posi-tion of the players, who were studied many times, was very stable. Additionally, all of the CT players (E.P., A.Sz, L.M. and A.M.) have a various degree of accept-ance (A0, A1, A2). The players who played in the CT in one season and in the RT in the other (L.K., O.Ż. and E.Ł.), had a varied interpersonal situation – better if they were in the CT and worse if they were in the RT. Finally, the players (E.Ś. and M.K.) who spent couple of years in the RT only were subjected to rejection of vari-ous intensity regardless of the duration of studies and personal structure of the team.

Moreover, all of the CT players under study (Fig. 2) were more valued for their skills (material bond) than for their contact with the other members of the team (personal bond). Similar tendency can be observed in players who played in the CT in one season and in the RT in the other (I.K. and O.Ż.). Those players (E.Ś. and M.K.), on the other hand, have never been awarded with permission to play in the CT. They were subjected to rejection (R1, R2) regardless of the kind of interpersonal bond and the study’s duration.

Discussion

The results obtained with the use of SIR in the fe-male basketball teams coincide only with the results of some of the studies conducted in other sport disciplines [2–4, 10–13, 16]. They are not in agreement with the views of the most renowned researchers in this field [17–20]. Moreno himself – the creator of methodology of sociometric research – believed that only a small per-centage of a team are “sociometrically rich” and the re-maining majority are “sociometric paupers” ([20], p. 121). However, most of the female basketball players investigated in this study were in a favourable interper-sonal situation.

The researchers using sociometric techniques other than SIR obtained contradictory results [5, 21–23]. On

the other hand, the analysis of informal group structures of 40 teams of various professional levels – from the first league to junior teams – showed that positive and negative interpersonal relations balance out [4]. This balance was largely disturbed only in the case of “suc-cess” and “failure” teams. The “success” team players were in a favourable interpersonal situation and repre-sented the following sociometric categories: acceptance, MC1 and polarization, while the “failure” team players were in a negative interpersonal situation because they were either isolated and rejected or represented the so-ciometric category MC2.

Predominance of positive over negative interperson-al relations was strongly related to the general interper-sonal atmosphere inside the team. This atmosphere, rated by means of IRI (Interpersonal Relations Index), was higher than average (sten 7), and only one basket-ball team had a good interpersonal atmosphere regard-less of the type of relationship (personal – sten 8; mate-rial – sten 9). Therefore, the obtained results are only in partial agreement with the assumptions and research data found in literature on team sports and psychology [5, 24–27]. Before the research we assumed that due to expert skills and excellent performance of the players, the interpersonal relations in the teams under study were good or very good (sten 8–10). In practice, it turned out that none of the teams had excellent interper-sonal relations (sten 10).

The innovation brought by this study concerns com-parison and analysis of the interpersonal position of players with various level of basketball skills. It was found out that not all of the players had equal rights in their teams, as it should be according to the theory of sport team functioning. It may be said that players with lower skills and achievements (RT) are usually rejected and isolated by their fellow players (CT) and thus dis-criminated as co-players (material bond), yet not as team mates (interpersonal bond). A reverse situation was observed in the core team players. Having higher skills and achievements, core team players were usually better accepted as co-players (favourable situation) than as team mates (interpersonal bond).

Out of nine female basketball players, who took part in the studies several times (4, 3 or 2 times), seven re-tained their interpersonal position despite the time pass-ing and numerous personal changes in their teams (Fig. 2 A, B, C, D). Therefore, referring to Moreno’s nomen-clature, only the reserve players (RT) can be rated as sociometric “paupers”.

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The research results referred to in the paragraphs above could be explained by the specificity of the team and personal traits (attitudes, beliefs, competences). However, it seems that the core team players perceive their fellow players from the reserve team as less com-petent in their profession and that is why they have low-er interpersonal position in the informal team structures (see material bond). According to the theory of personal attractiveness, this situation lacks mutual rewarding of individuals who cooperate (common goal) and compete at the same time (for a place in the core team).

The teams with majority of highly skilled players have a better cost vs. benefit (victory vs. loss) ratio. However, in the situation when a coach decides to let in some of the reserve team players (lower skills) to play an important match, costs outbalance benefits (more losses, fewer victories). Worse performance of the team with reserve players in only confirms the core team players in their belief that the reserve team is not relia-ble. Consequently, their attitude toward the reserve team constantly deteriorates.

Differences in results of the studies on interpersonal relations (see [4, 28–30]) also arise from methodologi-cal errors (restricting the study only to friendly attitudes and omitting antipathic attitudes; putting equality sign between sociometric status (quantitative category) and sociometric position (qualitative category), using the standard instead of quartile deviation for statistical cal-culations, etc.****).

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the research re-sults referred to should not be generalized too much (yet they correspond well with results of other researchers who used the SIR) due to the low number of the investi-gated teams.

From a pedagogical point of view, however, the pre-sented research results should not be ignored. The au-thor refers here to the quite uncomfortable interpersonal situation of the reserve players. They have fewer chanc-es to fulfil their professional and sport ambitions, they are not in the center of interest of coaches and team managers, they are less paid and additionally they are not fully accepted or even rejected by their fellow play-ers from the core team.

Conclusions

The obtained research results concerning interper-sonal relations in the top female basketball teams, al-lowed the author to reach the following conclusions:

1. The female players from the core team (CT) often find themselves in a better interpersonal position than their fellow players from the reserve team (RT).

2. The interpersonal attitudes level in the basketball teams under study was neither good nor very good (sten 8–9) or excellent. Instead, it was only slightly above av-erage (sten 7) regardless of the kind of interpersonal bond (material or personal).

3. Regardless of basketball skills level, kind of inter-personal bond (material or personal), the interpersonal positions of the studied players were fairly stable despite passage of time and numerous personal changes in their teams.

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30. Brzezińska A., Sociometry. In: J. Brzeziński (ed.), Methodolo-gy of psychological investigation [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 2004, 192–231.

Paper received by the Editors: March 20, 2006Paper accepted for publication: November 21, 2006


Edward Wlazło

Zakład Psychologii


al. I.J. Paderewskiego 35

51-612 Wrocław, Poland


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2007, vol. 8 (1), 39–45

Introduction

Assessment is an integral component of the educa-tional process, concerned, first of all, with relations be-tween the aims and results of education. The gap be-tween the achieved educational level and the assumed educational objective reflects the effectiveness of the educational process [1]. Assessment is used to control the quality of education. The quality of assessment de-termines the quality of the learner’s achievements [2, 3]. In modern teaching assessment should fulfil the well-established criteria of objectivity, accuracy and relia-bility. Objective assessment relies on separation of the assessing teacher from the assessment procedure [4]. Accurate assessment is an assessment which is appro-priate for the assumed objective. It must fulfil the prog-nostic, diagnostic, internal and theoretical functions [5]. Reliable assessment is assessment which yields the same results after repeating the assessment procedures in the same conditions [6].

Assessment in learning and teaching motor activi-ties is a crucial factor which motivates and controls the learner’s attitude towards the subject. Proper, objective and accurate assessment allows each learner to answer the following questions: How much do I know? Where am I in the process of learning and teaching? What progress have I made? What should I improve? What should I do to bridge the gap between the assumed ob-jective and the achieved result?

Assessment is closely linked to self-assessment. In the didactic process self-assessment has a control function (in particular, in the final stage of learning) which in-volves the learner’s comparative analysis of situations and motor tasks, i.e. comparison of the educational ef-fects against the anticipated objective. According to Strzyżewski, the teacher’s assessment should serve as a point of reference for self-assessment and it should be explicit and thoroughly analyzed [7]. In modern didactics a significant role is assigned to the learner’s readiness to assess his or her own successes and deficiencies [8]. It is closely linked with the conviction about making the learner responsible for his or her own progress in learn-ing and active participation in the educational process. * Corresponding author.

Ewa Dybińska*, Marcin Kaca

Chair of the Theory and Methodology of Sport, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. Assessment in learning and teaching motor activities is a crucial factor which motivates and controls the learner’s attitude

towards the subject. The paper attempts to evaluate the level of mastery of swimming techniques in relation to self-assessment,

which is claimed to have a control function in the process of learning and teaching motor abilities, as well as to self-esteem. Basic procedures. The research was performed among second-year students of the University School of Physical Education in Kraków. 223

students, including 78 women and 145 men, were examined. The “Criteria Skill Test” was used as an examination method.

Assessment of the swimming technique was made both by the examiner and the student. In the analysis, the students’ assessment of

swimming abilities was related to the level of their self-esteem, according to W.H. Fitts’s Self-Concept Scale. In the statistical analysis,

Student’s t-test, Snedecor’s F-distribution, Fisher’s variance analysis and the Pearson coefficient of correlation were used. Main findings. On the basis of the obtained results it can be concluded that the subjects were aware of the technique errors made during

the teaching process; but in their self-assessment they mostly overestimated their abilities. This is not a result of their positive self-

perception (Physical Self), but it is rather due to the lack of a proper model of swimming technique that can be related to their self-

image. Conclusions. The detailed knowledge of teaching results is related to the learner’s changes of behaviour, not only in the

psychomotor sphere but also in the cognitive and emotional spheres.

Key words: learning and teaching swimming, technique assessment, self-assessment

SELF-ASSESSMENT AS A CRITERION OF EFFICIENCY IN LEARNING AND TEACHING SWIMMING

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E. Dybińska, M. Kaca, Self-assessment in learning and teaching swimming

“Self-assessment is, on the one hand, connected with identification, implementation and awareness of educa-tional objectives; and on the other hand, with the learn-er’s aspirations” [9]. Low aspirations make it impossible to effectively utilize the learner’s potential capabilities. Excessive aspirations may lead to the learner’s unwill-ingness to face new challenges and his or her general disappointment at the learning process.

Aim

We have concentrated in our research on seeking new methods of control and assessment of the effective-ness of the learning and teaching process of motor tasks. The study aimed at assessment of the level of swimming skills in relation to the level of swimmers’ self-assessment and self-esteem. The following research questions were formulated:

1. What is the level of the subjects’ self-assessment of their swimming skills with reference to the expert’s assessment?

2. In which skills and technique “foundations” (cru-cial components of the technique) the subjects’ self-as-sessment was similar to or different from the expert’s assessment?

3. Do subjects with high self-esteem (self-regard) – “Total Self” and “Physical Self” tend to assess the swimming technique higher than subjects with low self-esteem?

The following research hypothesis was formulated:There are discrepancies between the subjects’ self-

assessment of swimming technique and expert’s assess-ment. The former is, however, correlated with the sub-jects’ self-esteem.


The study was carried out among first-year male and female students of the University School of Physical Education in Kraków in the academic year of 2005/2006. In total 223 students (78 women and 145 men) took part in the study. The basic research method was analysis of effects of teaching and learning swimming skills. The teaching program assumed gaining mastery of the back crawl and the front crawl technique at the standard level. The standard level is defined as “… a commonly taught model of the front crawl or the back crawl ensuring the effectiveness of motor action. The aim of the teaching process is to gain mastery, as thor-

oughly as possible, of constituent parts of swimming strokes according to the commonly accepted standards [9, p. 57]”. In this way the learner adapts his or her movements to the imagined model by learning the swimming technique.

In teaching swimming techniques a complex motor activity is acquired using the partial-total method, i.e. identifying individual movements or motor sequences and learning them first separately in set order and then as a whole. The learners create their own motor images of the learning aim thanks to verbal and pictorial sourc-es of information as well as practical exercises. The verbal information (descriptions, explanations, instruc-tions) was accompanied with visual information (pres-entations, demonstrations, educational films about swimming techniques, charts, video recordings). The information through practical exercises reached the subjects via deep receptors and the kinesthetic analyzer. In teaching swimming techniques the educational input was based on a word-image-exercise model, consisting of the following sequence [10, p. 118]: 1) motivational presentation, 2) verbal description of the aim of action, 3) presentation of basic sequences [11], i.e. “founda-

tions” of the technique (crucial elements of the se-quence),

4) practical attempt to perform the entire action, 5) verbal explanation of the rules of action, 6) presentation of the following senso-motor sequences, 7) exercises aimed at gathering kinesthetic data, 8) verbal explanation of the constituent parts of ac-

tion, 9) presentation of the rhythm and rate of movements,10) attempt to perform the entire action.

The above actions are not separate entities. In the didactic process they are interconnected or overlap, e.g. presentation and explanation. The study was based on an analysis of effects of teaching and learning motor tasks. In order to evaluate the level of subjects’ swim-ming skills, following the completion of the swimming course, a test was carried out consisting in swimming a 50m front crawl and a 50m back crawl race. Each sub-ject swam the distance individually and the race was recorded on film. The footage made it possible to ana-lyze the motor task execution multiple times, stop or re-wind it at will. The assessment in swimming skills was carried out using a scoring system based on the so-called Criteria Skill Test. The test was developed fol-lowing the guidelines of Arends [12] and Czabański et

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al. [9]. In the structure of the taught (complex) motor task, senso-motor sequences which significantly affect-ed the execution of the task were identified [13]. The model of a standard motor task included senso-motor sequences in defined order, which allowed identifica-tion of the task. The identification was made on the ba-sis of sequential analysis [9]. The algorithm of senso-motor sequences used in the study was established on the basis of the footage showing the swimming tech-nique performed by elite swimmers. Twenty-two ele-ments of the back crawl and twenty-five elements of the front crawl were identified for the purpose of assess-ment. Correct execution of each element was scored 1 point; incorrect execution 0 points. Correct (error-free) execution of the entire motor task was scored the total number of points corresponding to the number of identified constituent elements, i.e. 22 for the back crawl; 25 for the front crawl. The expert’s assessment and students’ self-assessment of the swimming tech-nique were made following the analysis of the footage (according to the same criteria). The expert assessed the motor tasks (the front crawl and the back crawl) accord-ing to the sequential model of the given technique, as-suming that the expert’s knowledge (as a competent referee’s) of the technique was on a high level. The stu-dents in their self-assessment compared their skills with the image of the motor task (stored in their motor me-mory) formed in the course of the learning process. Each subject acquired the model of motor sequences used for assessment of the swimming technique at the beginning of the learning process. Before self-assess-ment the subjects were instructed about the assessment rules and criteria.

In the analysis, self-esteem, i.e. one’s self-regard, was also taken into consideration. In order to measure the level of self-esteem (independent variable) W.H. Fitts’s Self-Concept Scale developed by American psy-chologists A. and B. English was used [14]. The scale includes 90 items. A subject can describe his or her self-perception in the categories of Moral-Ethical Self, Per-

sonal Self, Family Self and Social Self. The total self-esteem score, i.e. Total Self, reflects the general level of one’s self-esteem. In the analysis the expert’s assess-ment of swimming skills was compared with the sub-jects’ self-assessment of swimming skills and level of self-esteem: Physical Self and Total Self. The gathered data were processed with the use of Student’s t-test, Snedecor-Fisher analysis of variance and Pearson coef-ficient of correlation in the Department of Psychology of the University School of Physical Education in Kraków [15].

Results

The obtained results of the analysis of swimming skills of female and male swimmers (Tab. 1) show that the subjects’ criterion-based self-assessment of swimming skills is statistically significantly different (p < 0.001) from the expert’s assessment. The students’ self-assessment was generally higher than the expert’s assessment, and significantly higher in the back crawl than in the front crawl. These differences concern gen-eral assessment of the swimming technique on a point scale – being a total of identified (by the authors) senso-motor sequences – 22 points for the back crawl and 25 points for the front crawl.

In terms of correlations between the subjects’ self-assessment and the expert’s assessment of the swim-ming technique (Tab. 2) expressed by the Pearson coef-

Table 1. Differences between subjects’ self-assessment and expert’s assessment

Variable Mean SD N Difference t df p

Back crawl self-assessment 14.41 3.59223 3.23 13.94 222 < 0.001

Back crawl expert’s assessment 11.18 3.33

Front crawl self-assessment 16.48 4.26223 1.39 6.29 222 < 0.001

Front crawl expert’s assessment 15.09 3.63

Table 2. Pearson coefficient of correlation – r between self-assessment and expert’s assessment

VariableBack crawl

self-assessment Front crawl

self-assessment

Back crawl expert’s assessment

0.5005 0.4227

p < 0.001 p < 0.001

Front crawl expert’s assessment

0.4508 0.6609

p < 0.001 p < 0.001

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ficient of correlation, a positive correlation (p < 0.001) can be observed in the back crawl and the front crawl between the studied variables. This correlation points to an interdependence between the self-assessment and the expert’s assessment.

The variance analysis of the subjects’ self-assess-ment and the expert’s assessment of the studied swim-ming technique revealed statistically significant differ-ences (p < 0.001) (Fig. 1) in the back crawl. The male students assessed their swimming skills higher than the female students and the expert. No differences between the male and female swimmers’ assessment of the front crawl skills were observed (Tab. 2).

The following foundations of the swimming tech-nique [13], i.e. crucial elements of the technique consist-ing of characteristic senso-motor sequences were iden-tified in the course of the study: body position, arm movements, leg movements and coordination of arms, legs and breathing (motor coordination). The differ-ences between the subjects’ self-assessment and ex-pert’s assessment of individual elements in the front crawl and the back crawl were analyzed.

The analysis (Tab. 3) revealed statistically signifi-cant differences (p < 0.001) between the front crawl and back crawl skills assessment in arm movements and motor coordination. No statistically significant differ-ences between students’ self-assessment and the ex-pert’s assessment of the swimming technique were not-ed in body position and leg movements.

Then differences between the subjects’ self-assess-ment and expert’s assessment in the identified “founda-tions” of the swimming technique were analyzed in the back crawl and the front crawl.

The collected data (Tab. 4 and 5) reveals statistically significant differences at the same level (p < 0.001) be-tween the students’ self-assessment and expert’s assess-ment in all identified crucial components of the swim-ming technique, i.e. body position, arm and leg move-ments and motor coordination. These differences were noted both in the front crawl and the back crawl.

In the analysis of the subjects’ self-assessment of iden-ti fied crucial elements of the motor sequence (Tab. 6) no statistically significant differences in the front and back crawl were noted between the male and female swimmers.

Figure 1. Differences between men’s and women’s self-assessment and expert’s assessment in the back crawl

(F (1.221) = 14.49, p < 0.001 )

Self-assessment Expert’s assessment

15.0

14.5

14.0

13.5

13.0

12.5

12.0

11.5

11.0

10.5

10.0

Women

Men

Figure 2. Differences between men’s and women’s self-assessment and expert’s assessment in the front crawl

(F (1.221) = 1.37, p = 0.244)

Self-assessment Expert’s assessment

17.0

16.8

16.6

16.4

16.2

16.0

15.8

15.6

15.4

15.2

15.0

Women

Men

Table 3. Differences in self-assessment and expert’s assessment between the back crawl and the front crawl


Back crawl body position 0.95 0.86223 –0.08 –1.01 221 0.315

Front crawl body position 1.03 0.80

Back crawl arm movement 3.52 1.47223 –0.70 –4.59 221 < 0.001

Front crawl arm movement 4.22 1.93

Back crawl leg movement 2.74 1.52223 0.27 2.24 221 0.026

Front crawl leg movement 2.47 1.42

Back crawl motor coordination 0.93 1.06223 0.41 5.14 221 < 0.001

Front crawl motor coordination 0.52 0.62

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Self-esteem

Self-esteem, or self-regard as Carl Rogers put it [16], is one’s attitude towards oneself. It is concerned with the value attributed to an individual. Self-esteem greatly affects the behaviour of an individual. Depending on the level of self-esteem (high, medium, low) different persons use different strategies of conduct. However,

Table 4. Differences in studied variables between self-assessment and expert’s assessment

Mean SD N Difference t df p

Bac

k cr

awl

Body position self-assessment 2.04 0.86223 1.08 9.38 222 < 0.001

Body position expert’s assessment 0.96 0.86

Arm movement self-assessment 5.49 1.45223 1.97 10.16 222 < 0.001

Arm movement expert’s assessment 3.52 1.47

Leg movement self-assessment 4.27 1.53223 1.54 7.54 222 <0.001

Leg movement expert’s assessment 2.73 1.53

Motor coordination self-assessment 2.08 1.06223 1.15 8.13 222 < 0.001

Motor coordination expert’s assessment 0.93 1.05

Table 5. Differences in studied variables between self-assessment and expert’s assessment


Fron

t cra

wl

Body position self-assessment 1.98 0.81222 0.95 8.86 221 < 0.001

Body position expert’s assessment 1.03 0.80

Arm movement self-assessment 8.77 1.92222 4.55 17.62 221 < 0.001

Arm movement expert’s assessment 4.22 1.93

Leg movement self-assessment 4.54 1.41222 2.07 10.88 221 < 0.001

Leg movement expert’s assessment 2.47 1.42

Motor coordination self-assessment 1.49 0.61222 0.97 11.76 221 < 0.001

Motor coordination expert’s assessment 0.52 0.62

Table 6. Differences in men’s and women’s self-assessment of identified elements of the swimming technique

Variable Mean

t df pSD

Women Men Women Men

Back crawl body position 0.97 0.94 0.24 221 0.808 0.90 0.85

Front crawl body position 3.45 3.56 –0.53 221 0.595 1.66 1.35

Back crawl arm movement 2.94 2.62 1.47 221 0.142 1.67 1.44

Front crawl arm movement 0.78 1.01 –1.52 221 0.129 0.91 1.12

Back crawl leg movement 1.13 0.97 1.39 220 0.167 0.76 0.82

Front crawl leg movement 4.31 4.17 0.52 220 0.604 2.01 1.88

Back crawl motor coordination 2.62 2.39 1.14 220 0.257 1.44 1.40

Front crawl motor coordination 0.59 0.49 1.19 220 0.237 0.65 0.60

Table 7. Correlations (r Pearson) between Total Self and self-assessment of swimming skills

Variable Total Self

Back crawl self-assessment 0.1199

p = 0.074

Front crawl self-assessment0.1201

p = 0.073

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each individual tends to attain a positive self-image. Therefore one tends to follow strategies that bring about and support one’s positive self-image [17].

Another research question was whether a high level of self-assessment of swimming skills, in reference to the expert’s assessment, could be related to one’s self-esteem. The level of self-esteem, i.e. Total Self, reflect-ing a general sense of one’s value was then compared with the subjects’ self-assessment of the swimming skills.

The data from Tab. 7 failed to reveal correlations between Total Self and self-assessment of the front crawl and the back crawl skills.

Next, the percentage of Physical Self in Total Self was analyzed to see whether the perception of one’s “physicality” might have an effect on one’s self-assess-ment of swimming skills.

The mean contribution of Physical Self in Total Self for both men and women amounted to merely 20.79%, thus Physical Self was not a dominant constituent of the subjects’ self-esteem.

In terms of correlations between Physical Self and the subjects’ self-assessment of swimming skills it can be observed (Tab. 9) that Physical Self is positively cor-related with self-assessment of the back crawl skills, but it is not statistically significantly correlated with self-as-sessment of the front crawl skills.

bility of self-assessment of the performed tasks. The more accurate and reliable self-assessment is – in ac-cordance with the teacher’s assessment – the more the learner experiences the effects of the teaching process. For the learner self-assessment is a positive reinforce-ment and encouragement to make further efforts. Dur-ing learning a motor task the control of one’s behavior through reinforcement is of particular significance. The regulatory effect of reinforcement on the character of a motor task consists in identifying initially chaotic re-actions” [18]. The learner should be aware not only of his or her achievements but also shortcomings in fulfil-ment of the assumed educational objectives.

The study results show that the subjects’ self-assess-ment (men and women) of the back crawl and the front crawl skills was higher than the expert’s assessment. The male subjects assessed their back crawl skills much higher than the female subjects. Moreover, in the gene-ral assessment of both swimming strokes more statisti-cally significant differences were observed in the back stroke, i.e. a swimming skill assessed by the students one month earlier than the front crawl. This can be an indication of the subjects’ insufficient knowledge and understanding of the educational objective, i.e. the structure of the task, its constituent parts – senso-motor sequences – their order and space–time relations, in particular, trajectories of the propulsive movements of arms and legs. On the other hand, it can also point to the subjects’ inability to make self-assessment. The first swimming technique (back crawl) followed the model inaccurately, which can be indicative of the lack of proper motor image of the learnt motor task. The other swimming technique (front crawl) was perceived by the subjects more critically, thus the difference between the subjects’ self-assessment and expert’s assessment was smaller. In terms of the identified crucial components (foundations) of the studied swimming techniques, such as body position, arm and leg movements and motor coordination, there were statistically significant differ-ences between the subjects’ self-assessment and the ex-pert’s assessment in the front crawl and the back crawl.

Table 8. Percentage of Physical Self in subjects’ self-esteem (Total Self) in men and women

Variable Mean

t df pSD

Women Men Women Men

Physical Self 73.86 72.79 1.152 221 0.250 6.59 6.65

Percentage of Physical Self 20.95 20.70 1.388 221 0.167 1.35 1.24

Table 9. Pearson correlations between Physical Self and self-assessment of swimming skills

Variable Physical Self

Back crawl self-assessment0.1340

p = 0.046

Front crawl self-assessment0.0862

p = 0.200

Discussion

One of the most important aspects of assessment of motor task learners (in physical education) is their capa-

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No significant differences in self-assessment appeared between men and women.

Following the hypothesis that one’s level of self-as-sessment of swimming skills might be correlated with one’s self-esteem (Total Self) the two variables were then compared. No correlations were noted between Total Self and self-assessment of the swimming skills; however, there was a correlation (p < 0.05) between Physical Self and self-assessment of the back crawl.

It can be concluded that the study showed the validi-ty of assessment in the teaching and learning process. The knowledge of results at every stage of education is, according to Tomaszewski [19], the awareness of the difference between the ideal aim and the real way to reach it. Thanks to the expert’s assessment and their self-assessment the subjects were able to control their learning progress. The difference between the achieved results and the assumed objective allows one to spot er-rors, deviations and shortcomings of the motor tech-nique, and to make necessary corrections in the per-formance of the task. Thus, the learner’s self-assessment of his or her own skills is a motivating factor in the edu-cational process.

Conclusions

1. The subjects, both male and female, are aware of errors they make during learning a motor task, but in the majority of cases they overestimate their skills in their self-assessment. It is only partly related to their positive self-perception (Total Self). It mainly indicates the subjects’ insufficient knowledge of the model swim-ming technique pursued during learning.

2. The subjects’ self-assessment differed from the expert’s assessment in the general analysis of the stud-ied swimming techniques and in all identified crucial elements (“foundations”) of their motor structure.

3. Inaccurate self-assessment of the technique made by the students may point to the fact that a motor skill should be learnt and perfected successively. Self-control over the performed motor tasks is a crucial link in the control system of effects and correlations of actions at any stage of motor task teaching.

4. Good knowledge of educational results relates to the learner’s improvements in his or her psychomotor, cognitive and emotional behaviour. Self-assessment, therefore, remains in accordance with W. Okoń’s con-cept of versatile education [2].

References

1. Czabański B., Psychomotor education [in Polish]. AWF, Wrocław 2000.

2. Okoń W., Introduction to general didactics [in Polish]. Wydawnictwo Akademickie Żak, Warszawa 1998.

3. Palka S., Qualitative approach to the didactic cognitive process, In: Denek K., Bereźnicki F. (ed.), Trends in contemporary di-dactics [in Polish]. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 1999.

4. Kruszewski K., Art of teaching. Teacher’s activities [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1998.

5. Magnusson D., Introduction to testing theory [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1981.

6. Gagne R.M., Briggs L.J., Wager W.W., Principles of didactic design [in Polish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1992.

7. Strzyżewski S., The educational process in physical culture [in Polish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1996.

8. Parnicki F., Self-assessment as an element in schooling ski teacher trainees. In: Bartoszewicz R., Koszczyc T., Nowak A., Supervision and assessment in physical education [in Polish]. AWF, Wrocław 2003.

9. Czabański B., Fiłon M., Zatoń K., Introduction to the theory of swimming [in Polish]. AWF, Wrocław 2003.

10. Czabański B., Motor images vs. motor abilities. Learning sports technique [in Polish]. AWF, Wrocław 1998.

11. Bogen M.M., Teaching of motor activities [in Russian]. FiS, Moskwa 1985.

12. Arends R.I., Let’s learn teaching [in Polish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1995.

13. Ungerer D., Theory of sensomotor teaching [in German]. Schorndorf 1977.

14. Brzezińska A., Personal structure and its influence on behav-iour [in Polish]. Kwartalnik Pedagogiczny, 1973, 3, 56–70.

15. Ferguson G.A., Takane Y., Statistical analysis in psychology and pedagogy [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1997.

16. Rogers C.R., Carl Rogers on Personal Power. Delacorte Press, New York 1977.

17. Kenrick D.T., Neuberg S.L., Cialdini R.B., Social psychology [in Polish]. GWP, Gdańsk 2002.

18. Tomaszewski T. (ed.), Psychology [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1992.

19. Tomaszewski T., At the meeting point of psychology and peda-gogy [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1970.

Paper received by the Editors: July 8, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: November 14, 2006.


Ewa Dybińska

Katedra Teorii i Metodyki Sportu,


ul. Rogozińskiego 12



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2007, vol. 8 (1), 46–56

What do you expect of your PE teacher?

– Interesting and exciting classes, so that I don’t get bored.

– To be helpful and caring.

– Cool exercises and activities. No boredom.

What should the PE teacher be like?

– He should be patient, like children, smiling and under-

standing.

Opinions of girls from grades 4 to 6 [1]

Introduction

For years, teachers, as a professional group, have been expected to meet particular requirements1. Besides the skills they might learn during the studies, personal traits that favour pedagogical success of the PE teachers are in the very center of the interest of pedeutologists.

Although all teaching specializations share some common problems, each one of them is quite specific.

According to humanistic approach, the specific charac-ter of a PE teacher’s work arises from the fact that physical education has two roles – training and educat-ing – which involves the necessity of actions shaping body as well as personality of the students [2]. Specia-lists have established an array of desirable skills and personal characteristics that an ideal PE teacher should possess2,3,4,5,6, however, so far no one has developed the

Maria Brudnik

Chair of Theory and Methodology of Physical Education, University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The aim of this study is to define the profile of vocational personality of physical education teachers. Basic procedures. The

study lasted from October 2003 to January 2004 and covered PE teachers of the state and private schools (II–IV stage of education)

from the Dolnośląskie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie provinces. The research group consisted of 160 individuals (females: N = 83;

males: N = 77). The results of the SDS test (Self-Directed Search) developed by J. Holland were used to determine the vocational

personality profile of the PE teachers under study. Main findings. The vocational personality codes (three-letter summary code) for

the PE teachers – females: SIA; males: SRE. Conclusions. Determining the vocational personality code and the work environments

requirements for the PE teachers is vital for corrections of the curriculum for the PE studies in order to prepare the graduates to cope

with their prospective professional roles, for developing the professional qualifications upgrade courses as well as counseling for

individuals wishing to change their profession or seeking employment.

Key words: physical education teacher, vocational personality

VOCATIONAL PERSONALITY OF A PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER

2 Specific roles of a pedagogue derived from the humanistic orien-tation of physical education: a live model of physical culture, tutor-carer, innovative educator, community worker-proponent of physi-cal culture – are defined and discussed by Strzyżewski S. in his publication (The process of educating in physical culture [in Po-lish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1996, 34–36).3 Proposing a model for educating teachers Pawłucki A. defines professional roles, which prospective PE teachers should be prepa-red to take on (Pedagogics of the body values [in Polish]. AWF, Gdańsk 1996, 86).4 Jaworski Z. referring to standpoints of various authors, discusses the issue of the skills that are specific for the PE teachers (Desirable personal traits and qualifications for PE teaching. In: Directions of modernizing of PE teachers training system [in Polish]. CDN, War-szawa 1989, 7–21).5 Bielski J. provides a list of the PE teachers competences, which have been established according to the standards accepted at the meeting of the Pedagogic Sciences Committee of the Polish Acade-my of Science (1997), which was dedicated to discussing the issues of training the teachers to perform the educational and tutelary functions (Theoretical and methodological foundations of effecti-veness of the PE teacher’s work [in Polish]. Piotrków Trybunalski 2000, 117–121).

1 It becomes evident even after a superficial review of the literature on the subject-matter: Okoń W. (ed.), Personality of a teacher [in Polish]. Państwowe Zakłady Wydawnictw Szkolnych, Warszawa 1962, which presents the standpoint of Dawid (1912), Baley (1958), Kreutz, Szuman, Mysłakowski; also check: Żechowska B., Tea-cher’s work’s effectiveness [in Polish]. UŚ, Katowice 1982 and Grzegorzewska M., Letters to a young teacher [in Polish]. Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiki Specjalnej, Warszawa 1988, and Kwiatkowska H., A new orientation in the education of teachers [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1988.

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M. Brudnik, Vocational personality of a PE teacher

personality and skill based tools for selection of pro-spective candidates for PE studies or applicants for PE teaching posts.

Professional requirements to be met by an employee holding a given position should be compatible with abilities, interests and aspirations of that person. A pro-fession which does not suit the individual predisposi-tions of an employee may become a source of chronic stress and result in the feeling of failure and one’s low self-esteem. A job that is too easy will be dull and un-satisfactory for the employee. Therefore, it is not sur-prising that a lack of the employee–work environment compatibility often results in burning out of the em-ployee [3, 4].

There are three strata in the professional develop-ment of an individual: material, which refers to the es-sence of work and to all of the tools used for performing it; social, which refers to social environment; personal, which is related to self-perception, self-esteem and meaning of life [5]. These three layers merge to create a harmonic entity defined as the vocational personality [6]. The typological theory of John Holland (1995), which is used at present in personnel consultancy, de-fines professional development as a gradual shaping of personal preferences in relation to various work envi-ronments [7]; it has been assumed that vocational per-sonality develops and changes throughout the period of professional activity of an individual [6].

The type of vocational personality (modal style of professional preferences) is shaped under the influence of inborn predispositions as well as by personal expe-rience of an individual. The direction of individual de-velopment is affected by the cultural and individual-re-lated factors (family, social class, culture, physical envi-ronment) determining the preferred kinds of activity, which facilitate gaining particular competences. Inter-ests and competences determine one’s inclination to think, perceive reality and act in a specific way [8, 9].

Given personality types correspond with specific personal orientation and professional environment and the choice of profession is treated as a process of adjust-

ing one’s professional interests to given environments and vice versa. According to Holland, crystallization of professional interests is an important criterion of intelli-gence and psychological maturity [7].

Holland’s typology of vocational personalities is based on seven assumptions, which constitute the basis for categorization of persons and work environments and explain the specificity of interactions between a hu-man and environment. For the parallel defining of the vocational personality types and environments corre-sponding with them, Holland applied a hexagonal model (Fig. 1) [8].

6 Grabowski H. comments that so far a detailed list of these compe-tences as well as the ways of teaching them have not been created; according to the author it is so because of the multidimesional cha-racter of the individual traits that determine the effectiveness of te-aching (Theory of physical education [in Polish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1997, 109–116; also see Mialaret G., Profile of a teacher-carer. In: Debesse M. and Mialaret G. (ed.) Debates on education [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1988, 45–79).

Assumptions of Holland’s typological theory:I. Majority of people can be assigned to one of the six

types of vocational personality defined on the basis of knowledge about representatives of a given group of professions. The individuals who are as-signed to the following types of personality: R – re-alistic, I – investigative, A – artistic, S – social, E – enterprising, C – conventional, perceive them-selves in a different way. They have various inter-ests, views and competences [8].

II. There are six types of work environments parallel to the six types of vocational personality. Work environment is created by individuals of a given type of personality and physical conditions, which determine the specific character of professional requirements. People belonging to given groups of professions (see [10] p. 7–9) create a characteris-tic, interpersonal environment and have similar

Figure 1. Codes (three-letter summary code) of vocational personality of the female (N = 83) and male (N = 77) PE

teachers presented on a hexagonal model (see [6])

INVESTIGATIVE

SOCIAL

ARTISTIC

REALISTIC

ENTERPRISING

CONVENTIONAL

female PE teachers SIA

male PE teachers SRE

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personality types [8]. Example: realistic environ-ment is dominated by people of realistic personal-ity type, which means that a larger percent of population of that group shows characteristics of a realistic personality type and the environment often requires operation of mechanical devices. Social environment, dominated by the social per-sonality type, often requires contact with people and interactions connected with teaching or help-ing. Types of vocational personality and correspond-ing work environments according to J. Holland [6, 8, 9]:

realistic (R) prefers activities and professions that require working with machines, tools, materials, crops or animals; values material rewards for measurable achievements and perceives themselves as practical and conservative;

traits: practical thinker, modest, dogmatic, natural and has no intuition;

skills&competences: technical, often lacks social skill;

realistic environment: technical skills, physical strength, competence in operating machines, tools and manipulating objects; practical and material values and strong, risky and bold style of living are preferred; practical, mechanical, technical skills and physical ability are rewarded;

realistic professions (R): crafts, technical profes-sions and some services;

investigative (I) prefers activities and professions requiring exploration, understanding, predicting or controlling of natural or social phenomena rely-ing on scientific and research methods, appreciates advancement and application of knowledge;

traits: ambitious, intelligent, curious, educated, open, has broad interests;

skills&competences: scientific and pedagogical, often lacks leadership skills;

investigative environment: requires analytic, tech-nical, scientific and verbal competences; rewards skepticism, perseverance, problem solving skills and ability to acquire and document scientific data and knowledge;

investigative professions (I): scientific professions and some technical professions;

artistic (A) prefers artistic, literary or musical ac-tivities and professions; values creative expression of ideas, emotions, and sentiments;

traits: open, non-conformist, imaginative, intuitive, sensitive, creative;

skills&competences: artistic, often lacks leadership skills;

artistic environment: requires creative and expres-sive skills, ability to convey feelings and esthetic visions in the form of words, motion, colors, sounds and shapes; rewards vivid imagination, accepts and values unconventional ideas and ways of living;

artistic professions (A): professions connected with arts, music, literature, sculpture, functional art or with other relatively unstructured and intellectual fields;

social (S) prefers activities and professions which consist in helping, teaching, counseling and provid-ing services to others through social interactions; values helping others directly or through social welfare system;

traits: agreeable, friendly, empathic, sociable, con-vincing, tactful;

skills&competences: social, interpersonal, mana-gerial, commercial and trade, often lacks technical and scientific skills;

social environment: requires interpersonal skills, competence in clarifying and handling problem situations, helping, training and developing; re-wards interest in other people’s needs;

social professions (S): professions connected with education and social welfare services;

enterprising (E) prefers activities and professions that require reasoning with people, persuading and controlling others; values material success and high social status;

traits: extrovert, dominating, unafraid of taking risk, seeking thrills/adventurous, energetic;

skills&competences: leadership, interpersonal, managerial and commercial, administrative, social and pedagogical, fluency in speech, often lacks scientific skills;

enterprising environment (E): requires persuasion, managerial and leadership skills for achieving in-stitutional, social, economical and political goals; rewards financial achievements;

enterprising professions (E): managerial and com-mercial professions;

conventional (C) prefers activities requiring a set routine, application of standards and regulations; values material success and efficiency in social, political fields or in business;

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traits: conformist, conservative, unimaginative, self-controlled, practical, methodical;

skills&competences: office, clerical, computational and book-keeping skills, often lacks artistic talents;

conventional environment: requires skills of de-tailed and precise gathering and organizing of data on the basis of established instructions and proce-dures; rewards organizational skills, conformism, subordination;

conventional professions (C): clerical professions.III. People search for an environment that will allow

them to develop their skills and competences and take roles that are compatible with their vocational personality type. The choice of profession is a way of expressing an individual’s personal traits. For instance, the social type person will look for social environment, the artistic type person for artistic environment. Each type of environment, due to its specific character, is attractive only to people whose personal traits and interests refer directly to it. Similarly, however to a lesser extent, the envi-ronment seeks, retains and rewards suitable, expe-rienced professionals [8, 9].

IV. An individual’s behaviour is determined by inter-actions between their personality and the environ-ment they live in.

Resulting from a specific interaction are the prefer-e nces concerning the education profile, acquired profession, changes of employment, professional achievements, competences and social attitudes. Using the knowledge of the vocational personality types and the established work environments mod-els, one can, with high accuracy, predict beha-viour of a given individual [8, 9].

The remaining three assumptions of J. Holland’s theory – the rule of agreement (V), the rule of cohesion

and diversity (VI) and the rule of identity (VII) – are of supplementary nature. They are helpful in substantiat-ing conclusions and formulating prognoses on the basis of the main assumptions (I–IV) [8].V. There is agreement (compatibility) between the

type of personality and work environment. The de-gree of similarity between the traits of an individu-al and their acquired profession (work environment) may be assessed by means of the hexagonal model (Fig. 1). There are four degrees of person–environ-ment agreement: from high (e.g. S-person and S-profession) to no agreement (e.g. S-person and R-profession). The degree of agreement is reflected

by the distances on the circumference of the hexa-gon in Fig. 1; the lower the distance between the personality type and work environment, the better the agreement.

The agreement between an individual and their work environment results in satisfaction and pro-fessional stabilization. Based on comparison of the individual vocational personality type with the work environments model, one can predict the course of career7 and social behaviour of an indi-vidual [8, 9].

VI. The defined types of vocational personality (work environments) create a coherent, hexagonal struc-ture – rule of cohesion.

The model (Fig. 1) shows neighbouring pairs (e.g. SA, SE) which complement (e.g. SI, SC) or oppose (e.g. SR, EI) each other (Fig. 1). The neighbouring types of the vocational personality (neighbouring pairs) are most coherent, which indicates similar interests of people in this category or – in the case of work environments – similar requirements. This means that the S-person shows artistic and leader-ship talents.

Adjacent types: S-person and I-environment and S-person and C-environment (complementary pairs) show an intermediate degree of cohesion. The opposing types, S-person and C-environment, least similar, are not coherent – they combine vari-ous contradictions. In this case, the preferences for given activities, competences and professions are accompanied by an opposing tendency; a liking for other, much different activities, competences and professions.

The ability to predict professional behaviour of an individual is determined by invariability of the in-dividual profile or code of profession; it depends on the degree of personality or environment diversity. Persons showing a strong similarity to a given vo-cational personality type or typologically explicit environments (dominated by one type) are much easier to characterize using vocational personality codes. In the case of poorly defined types of per-sonality (environments) characterizing as well as determining their influence on the direction of pro-fessional development of an individual are slightly more difficult [8, 9].

7 See [9], p. 323–324.

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VII. The notion of identity can be perceived in two ways. Individual identity is defined on the basis of an individual’s interests and talents. The identity of work environment means clear, integrated tasks and a stable system of rewarding.

A coherent and well diversified profile, strong feel-ing of identity, allow one to predict, with high ac-curacy, the behaviour and the course of career of a given individual [8].

Holland’s scientific achievements and the Self-Di-rected Search tools created on the basis of theoretical assumption, allowed the author to attempt to define the profile of the vocational personality of the PE teachers and thus define the requirements of the working envi-ronment of this group of teachers.


The research on the vocational personality profile of PE teachers was carried out from October 2003 to Janu-

ary 2004 by means of diagnostic survey. The research group consisted of 160 teachers (83 women, 77 men) employed in public and private schools of various type (primary school, secondary school, post-seconda ry school) in the area of three randomly chosen provin ces: Dolnośląskie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie – cities of Wrocław, Kraków, Lublin; county towns of Świdnica, Myślenice and Lubartów as well as the districts of the chosen counties (Tab. 1 and 2).

Mean age of the teachers surveyed was 37.1 years (women: x = 38.1, min = 22, max = 57, men: x = 36.1, min = 23, max = 53). Over 40% of the male teachers and almost 34% of the women teachers had had full training – graduation from University School of Physi-cal Education or other pedagogical university (Tab. 3).

The vocational personality profile of the PE teach-er was determined by means of The Self-Directed Search (SDS) created by John L. Holland in 1971 and Polish version was based on the standard one (1994) [8].

Table 1. Place of employment of the PE teachers

PE teachersCity Town County Total

N % N % N % N %

Female 38 45.8 29 34.9 16 19.3 83 100

Male 24 31.2 31 40.2 22 28.6 77 100

Total 62 38.8 60 37.5 38 23.7 160 100

Table 2. Employment of the PE teachers (stages of education: II – primary school grades 4-6; III – secondary school; IV – high school)

PE teachersEducation

stage IIEducation stage III

Education stage IV

Joint schools* No data Total

N % N % N % N % N % N %

Female 23 14.4 25 15.6 22 13.8 8 5.0 5 3.1 83 100

Male 22 13.8 23 14.4 16 10.0 6 2.8 10 6.3 77 100

Total 45 28.2 48 30.0 38 28.8 14 8.8 15 9.4 160 100

* joining stages II and III, III and IV or employed in a few places

Table 3. Education of PE teachers

PE teachersPostgraduate MA, USPE*

Vocational undergraduate

SecondaryPostgraduate MA, different specialization

Postgraduate MA joint honors

Total

N % N % N % N % N % N %

Female 23 27.7 25 30.1 22 26.5 8 9.7 5 6.0 83 100

Male 22 28.6 23 29.8 16 20.8 6 7.8 10 13.0 77 100

Total 45 28.1 48 30.0 38 23.8 14 8.7 15 9.4 160 100

* University School of Physical Education

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The SDS is a means of examining professional inter-ests and preferences as a personality aspect of a person choosing their future occupation or seeking a working environment matching their interests [8]. It may also be used for determining the professional profile of people having other occupations. It includes testing materials: Evaluation Sheet, A Guide through Professions and vo-cational guidance workbook – You and Your Profession. In this research only the Evaluation Sheet was used – the Five Scales part, without the first and the last part of the sheet [8, p. 7, 10].

The Evaluation Sheet is used to measure chosen vo-cational preferences (personality types): realistic (R), investigative (I), artistic (A), social (S), enterprising (E) and conventional (C). It allows complete information about the diagnosed person to be gathered.

The Evaluation Sheet’s Scales include:• activities – six scales: R, I, A, S, E, C (11 elements in

each) – information about the preferred activities,• skills – six scales: R, I, A, S, E, C (11 elements in

each) – information about the possessed skills,• occupations – six scales: R, I, A, S, E, C (14 ele-

ments in each) – information about the professional preferences,

• double self-evaluation – two scales: skills I and II (6 elements in each) – information about self-evalua-tion of skills and abilities, in all 6 areas R, I, A, S, E, C.The Scales were created on the basis of sets of activi-

ties, skills, occupations and abilities, which represent a particular personality type best. For example, social scale is formed by activities such as: helping others with

their personal problems, learn about interpersonal re-

lations; skills: I easily talk to everybody, I can teach

others well; occupations: sociologist, social sciences

teacher; skills: teaching; abilities: understanding other

people – in all the questionnaire consists of 228 items.

The surveyed person at each item chooses the an-swer yes or no (1 point and 0 points, respectively), whereas during self-evaluation uses a 6-point scale. The sum of points gathered in consecutive categories (R, I, A, S, E, C) is the basis of the 6-variable profile [8].

The vocational personality profile makes it possible to compare the surveyed person to each of the 6 types established by Holland8. The highest result defines the personality type, i.e. S – social. It is assumed that the first three letters of the SDS’s summary code allow full description of vocational personality of the individual under examination [8].

Results

Analysis of the arithmetic means of the 6 factors of the vocational personality of the teachers examined en-abled recording of the codes characterizing those teach-ers: women – SIEA, men – SERI (Tab. 4). It should be indicated that neither the working environment (city, county town, district) nor type of school influence the obtained results.

Due to insignificant differences between the 3rd and 4th factor in female teachers (E x– = 21.92, A x– = 21.87) and the 2nd and 3rd in male teachers (E x– = 28.08, R x– = 27.09) (Tab. 4) in order to get a three-letter summary code of the vocational personality the weight and meas-ure functions technique was used [11]. Depending on

Table 4. Vocational personality types of the female and male PE teachers; women F (N = 83), men M (N = 77) – statistical analysis

Vocational personality type x– SD min max

F M F M F M F M

Realistic (R) 16.17 27.09 6.260 9.061 3 6 29 44

Investigative (I) 24.41 25.23 8.375 7.715 4 11 43 45

Artistic (A) 21.87 19.21 8.831 10.827 6 2 43 47

Social (S) 30.44 29.56 7.258 8.486 15 12 46 47

Enterprising (E) 21.92 28.08 7.953 10.662 5 8 42 52

Conventional (C) 14.75 17.34 8.028 8.849 2 2 34 47

8 According to American scientists, the major weakness of Holland’s method is that it does not provide a complete picture of professional preferences of women – most of the female investigated individuals are defined as artistic, conventional and social personality type (see [6], p. 142).

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the arithmetic mean particular letters were assigned to weight functions 4, 3, 2 or 1. Only the respondents with codes containing S, I, E, A factors (women N = 21) and S, E, R, I (men N = 21) were taken into consideration in the analysis, regardless of the position of the letters in the individual code of each of the respondents.

The obtained results

Women: S = 62 I = 56 A = 51 E = 41,

Men: S = 68 R = 56 E = 51 I = 37,show that the vocational personality three-letter codes of the female and male PE teachers running classes in primary (4th–6th grade), secondary and high schools are diversified. They are as follows:• female PE teachers: SIA

• male PE teachers: SRE

In his theory of vocational personality, Holland did not consider the gender variable9. Creating the voca-tional personality code of the PE teachers showed dis-tinct differences between genders, which resulted in es-tablishing two different codes, one for each gender. This is illustrated in Fig. 1 with Holland’s hexagonal model showing the vocational personality profiles of the fe-male and male PE teachers.

Discussion

Two different codes defining the vocational person-ality of the female and male PE teachers indicate differ-ent expectations of the professional environment to-wards men and women. Organization of work of the school PE teachers is specific. PE classes, except for primary schools where coeducational groups are ac-ceptable, are run separately for boys and girls10. Follow-ing the curriculum, the PE teachers (both male and fe-male) work in a slightly different way, which is deter-mined by the interests and physical abilities of boys and girls.

The SIA11 vocational personality code of the female PE teachers is generally coherent, which can be seen in

Fig. 1 – SI pair (social type, investigative type) – inter-mediate degree of coherence; IA (investigative type, artistic type) and AS (artistic type, social type) – neigh-bouring pairs, strong coherence.

The SRE12 vocational personality code of the male PE teachers indicates incoherent requirements of the working environment in reference to professional activi-ties and competence of the male teacher. The personali-ty types range as follows: SR (social type, realistic type) – an opposing pair; RE (realistic type, enterprising type) – intermediate degree of coherence; ES (enter-prising type, social type) – neighbouring pair (Fig. 1).

The degree of diversification of the vocational personality profiles of the female (N = 83) and male (N = 77) PE teachers was determined by means of Iach-an’s diversification index [8]. Statistical analysis cov-ered weights of every vocational personality factor. Values of the Iachan’s index show good (L1 = 6.75, 75 centile), in women, and very good (L1 = 10.75, 96 cen-tile), in men, diversification of the vocational personali-ty profiles13 [8]. This is illustrated in Fig. 2 and 3, where the solid part of the curve on the charts shows charac-teristics of vocational personality profiles of the PE teachers based on the data acquired by means of the weight and measure functions. The dotted part of the curve is based on the mean arithmetic values of the re-maining factors – vocational personality types (Tab. 4).

Data in Tab. 5 and 6 enable a detailed interpretation of the vocational personality profile of the female (SIA) and male (SRE) PE teachers.

PE teaching represents the group of social profes-sions. Type S has social talents, yet often lacks technical and scientific skills [12]. An interesting phenomenon can be observed as far as the vocational personality of the PE teachers is concerned. The second letter of the vocational personality code of the female (I) and male (R) indicates scientific (women) and realistic (men) skills and competences – which complement the field of skills and competences of social professions in different ways. The requirements of the working environment towards the PE teachers are presented in Tab. 7.9 In the Professional Assessment Manual for teachers, there is one

code that describes both female and male teachers of a given sub-ject (see [10], p. 24).10 Ministry’s of National Education and Sports directive dated Fe-bruary 26, 2004 issued to change a previous directive concerning outline/general teaching programs for public schools (2004 Law Diary, No 43, position 393, item 6, article 5).11 A typical characteristic of a female PE teacher with SIA code: age 47, graduate from a University School of Physical Education, employed at a primary school in Kraków.

12 A typical characteristic of a male PE teacher with SRE code: age 48, graduate from a University School of Physical Education, em-ployed at a secondary school in Kraków;13 A 5-grade profile diversification scale based on centile norms was used for employed persons (see [8], appendix: Tab. 30, p. 106): barely diversified, slightly diversified, moderately diversified, strongly diversified, very strongly diversified.

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Figure 2. Vocational personality profile of the female PE teachers (N = 83); solid part of the curve on the charts shows characteristics of vocational personality profile based on the

data acquired by means of the weight and measure func-tions. The dotted part of the curve is based on the mean arithmetic values of the individual factors (see Tab. 4)

(S – social, I – investigative, A – artistic, E – enterprising, R – realistic, C – conventional)

60

40

20

0Vocational personality types

Women

62

56

51

41

16.17 14.75

Figure 3. Vocational personality profile of the male PE teachers (N = 77); solid part of the curve on the charts shows characteristics of vocational personality profile based on the

data acquired by means of the weight and measure func-tions. The dotted part of the curve is based on the mean arithmetic values of the individual factors (see Tab. 4)

(S – social, R – realistic, E – enterprising, I – investigative, A – artistic, C – conventional)

60

40

20

0

Vocational personality types

Men

68

56

51

37

19.2117.34

Table 5. Characteristics of vocational personality types: S – social, I – investigative, A – artistic (see [3], p. 14, Tab. 1.3.1 and p. 38, Tab. 2.3.1)

Type Social Investigative Artistic

Traits

Has influence on other people Analytic Cautious Complicated Careless

Compassionate Empathic Critical Complex Emotional Expressive

Friendly Generous Extraordinary Independent Idealistic Imaginative

Helpful Idealistic Intellectual Pessimistic Impractical Impulsive

Polite Patient Precise Rational Independent Intuitive

Convincing Responsible Reserved Open Nonconformist

Socialized TactfulIncomprehen-sible

Unpopular Original Sensitive

Warm Understanding Introspective Focused on one’s own feelings

Goals in life

Helping other people Seeking for valuable products Becoming a famous artist

Suffering for other people

Theoretical input to science

Musical compositions

Becoming competent teacher or therapist

Getting one’s novels published

Original painting

Values

Equality Intelligence Equality

Sense of dignity Logic Imagination

Helpfulness Ambition Courage

Understanding Wisdom Beauty

Talents and skills

Social

Scientific and pedagogical ArtisticManagerial and commercial

Interpersonal

Self-evaluation Interpersonal relations Mathematical skills Artistic skills

Mostly skilled at: Interpersonal relations Science Art

S I A E R C S R E I A C

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Table 6. Characteristics of vocational personality types: S – social, R – realistic, E – enterprising (see [3], p. 14 , Tab. 1.3.1 and p. 38, Tab. 2.3.1)

Type Social Realistic Enterprising

Traits

Has influence on other people Asocial ConformistCares about profit

Unafraid of risk

Compassionate Empathic Straightforward Frank Conciliatory Ambitious

Friendly GenerousUses common sense

Inflexible Bossy Energetic

Helpful Idealistic Materialistic Natural Thrill seekingShowing oneself off

Polite Patient Principled Persistent Extrovert Forthcoming

Convincing Responsible PracticalDoes not care for publicity

Flirtatious Optimistic

Socialized Tactful Thrifty Not meticulousSelf-confident Sociable

Warm Understanding Uncomplicated

Goals in life

Helping other peopleInventing or devising tools or equipment

Becoming a social leader

Suffering for other peopleBecoming an outstanding sports player

Becoming a financial expert

Becoming competent teacher or therapist

Care about appearance and clothing

Values

Equality Freedom AmbitionFreedom Understanding

Sense of dignity Independence Composure

HelpfulnessIntelligence Submissiveness Ambition Helpfulness

Understanding

Talents and skills

Social

Technical

Commercial

Managerial and commercial Social and pedagogical

InterpersonalManagerial and administrative

Interpersonal

Self-evaluation Mechanical skills

Mostly skilled at: Interpersonal relations Mechanics Management

Table 7. Requirements of the work environment for the PE teachers (see [6], p. 140, Fig. 14, [7])

WORK ENVIRONMENT’S CODE – PHYSICAL EDUCATION

WOMEN (PE teachers) – code: SIA MEN (PE teachers) – code: SRE

SOCIAL Ssocial services

INVESTIGATIVE Iscience

ARTISTIC Aarts

SOCIAL Ssocial services

REALISTIC Rtechnology

ENTERPRISING Ebusiness-contact

requires interper-sonal skills for

instructing, helping, training and development

of people

requires intellectual and analytic skills for observation,

evaluation or creating theories in

order to solve problems

requires artistic, creative and expres-

sive skills for conveying feelings and esthetic visions via motion, sounds

and objects

requires interper-sonal skills for

instructing, helping, training

and development of people

requires mechani-cal skills, physical strength or opera-

tion of objects, tools, machines,

heavy gear, growing crops and breeding animals

requires persuasive, supervising,

managerial and leadership skills for achieving institu-

tional, social, economic and

political results

professions featuring SIA code:

speech therapist, nurse, psychologist (clinical psychology)professions featuring SRE code:

physiotherapist, massage therapist, midwife, balneological nurse

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The female PE teachers are required to teach, help and take care of their students (S). The I abbreviation holds a high position in the vocational personality code of the female teachers, which refers rather to pedagogi-cal talents than scientific skills as such (see Tab. 5). It signalizes the necessity for analytic thinking in the as-sessment of social phenomena and the ability to predict and respond swiftly during the PE classes. It should be stresses that nowadays the teachers climbing up the ca-reer ladder are expected to, apart from achieving peda-gogical successes, be able to create syllabuses and cur-ricula for their subject, publish their research papers and to be innovative about their work and document their professional achievements.

Artistic talents (A) – sensivity to beauty, elegance of motion and the ability to join motion and music are the assets that are indispensable for working with groups of girls, who, along with age, tend to manifest increased expectations of the classes. Creative skills, ability to adapt to difficult working conditions and unconven-tional approach to carrying out of curriculum are very helpful while working with groups of varied age (see Tab. 5 and 7).

A male PE teacher, regardless of pedagogical talents (S), should have the skills and abilities to handle techni-cal objects (R) (Tab. 7). Normally, apart from carrying out educational and pedagogic tasks, the PE teachers are expected to look after the sports facilities of the school. Initiative, resourcefulness and efficiency are welcome (E). The ability to raise funds for equipment, maintenance and development of the sports facilities are conditioned by good cooperation with the environment (see Tab. 5 and 6). Due to the change in the system of funding the extracurricular classes, the PE teachers are encouraged to establish and run students’ sports club, which are legal entities.

Conclusions

1. The SDS (Self-Directed Search) developed by J. Holland enables defining the vocational personality profile of a PE teacher and the requirements of work environment for this particular profession by means of a three-letter summary code.

2. The vocational personality profiles of the female and male PE teachers as well as the requirements of work environment are diversified:• Women: SIA;• Men: SRE.

3. The established profiles of vocational personality may be applied in personal counseling for young people seeking the best profession compatible with their pre-dispositions.

4. Defined requirements of the work environments of a PE teacher are additional information that is useful while establishing programs of studies and planning professional training courses.

An employee will perform well on a given position, provided they have professional, psychological and physical qualifications to carry out tasks they have been entrusted with. The level of achievements, professional stability and job satisfaction are the criteria allowing one to assess the compatibility of the individual’s per-sonal traits with the requirements of work environments [13].

References

1. Jankowska K., Role of a PE teacher in shaping students’ per-sonality [in Polish]. Wychowanie Fizyczne i Zdrowotne, 2001, 4, 29–30.

2. Grabowski H., Theory of physical education [in Polish]. WSiP, Warszawa 1997.

3. Bańka A., Quality of life in psychological experience of every-day life connected with professional development, work and unemployment. In: Bańka A., Derbis R. (ed.), Measuring and sense of the quality of life in the professionally active and the unemployed [in Polish]. Środkowoeuropejskie Centrum Ekonomii Działania Społecznego, Poznań Lublin 1995, 9–26.

4. Noworol Cz., Managing burnout or burning out management. Professional Burnout Syndrome. In: Borkowski T., Marcinkowski A., Oherow-Urbaniec A. (ed.), Around manage-ment. A multidisciplinary insight [in Polish]. Księgarnia Aka-demicka, Kraków 2000, 47–62.

5. Nuttin J., Structure of personality [in Polish]. PWN, Warszawa 1968.

6. Bańka A., Career counseling. Employment exchange. Psycho-logical methods and strategies of helping the unemployed [in Polish]. Wydawnictwo PRINT-B, Poznań 1995.

7. Bańka A., Professional development and career consultancy. In: Psychology. Academic textbook [in Polish]. Vol. 3. Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk 2000, 311–318.

8. Łącała Z., Noworol C., Beauvale A., Self-directed Search kit – version S. A textbook for career advisor. A Polish adaptation of S-1994 version of SDS [in Polish]. Ministerstwo Pracy i Poli-tyki Społecznej, Warszawa 2002.

9. Dworzańska M., Majewska-Madura M., Working environment and vocational personality in Holland’s theory. Specificity of professional environment and teacher profession adjustment to the teacher profession. In: Child–Society–Education. Psycho-logical dilemma [in Polish]. Proceedings of the Anniversary Scientific Congress. April 23–25 1996, 316–330.

10. Lamb R., Hurst P., Noworol Cz., Łącała Z., Beauvale A., Dworzańska M. et al., Professional assessment manual. Infor-mational and methodological guide for career advisors No 8 [in Polish]. Centrum Metodyczne Informacji i Poradnictwa Zawo-dowego. Krajowy Urząd Pracy, Warszawa 1998.

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11. Hays W.L., Weight functions and measure functions on sets. In: Statistics for the social science. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. New York 1973, 27–29.

12. Noworol C., Łącała Z. Beauvale A., Żarczyński Z., SDS – ver-sion S. Self-assessment kit. You and your profession – ZdS [in Polish]. Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Socjalnej. Krajowy Urząd Pracy. Warszawa 1998.

13. Łącała Z., Planning of professional careers – Holland’s theory. In: Borkowski T., Marcinkowski A., Oherow-Urbaniec A. (ed.), Around management. A multidisciplinary insight [in Polish]. Księgarnia Akademicka, Kraków 2000.

Paper received by the Editors: March 30, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: December 12, 2006.


Maria Brudnik

Katedra Teorii i Metodyki WF


al. Jana Pawła II 78



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2007, vol. 8 (1), 57–64

Introduction

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is an old but still meaningful saying in the context of health care. It is also equally well-grounded in the con-text of the “doping disease” which has been consuming modern sport since its very onset. In the fight against doping a significant role has been played by the doping control systems and legal sanctions. The system of dop-ing control has been constantly improved in the areas of legislation, organization and laboratory research. With-out underestimating the significance of the existing doping control system, it must be noted that doping con-trol is mostly reactive and it suppresses the symptoms rather than the causes of the disease. The latter are manifold and inherent in individual athletes (lack of satisfaction about sports results, psychical and physical dependence, lack of self-confidence, perception of dop-

ing as not necessarily unethical behaviour, etc.) and in society at large (on a microsocial scale, i.e. the athlete’s immediate surroundings exerting, more or less openly, pressure on him or her to reach for prohibited substanc-es; and on a macrosocial scale, e.g. outrageous cases of state-run organized doping in former East Germany).

The diversification of the sources of the doping in sport undoubtedly reduces the possibilities of preven-tive measures. Even though it can be concluded that doping control will only be successful if reactive meas-ures are matched with proactive ones, in particular, with proper education. The significance of proper anti-dop-ing education was noticed as early as 1966 by the then Chairman of Medical Committee of the IOC (predeces-sor of the later Medical Commission) Sir Arthur Porritt, who stated that prevention of escalation of doping in sport can only be effectively implemented through a long-term educational policy concentrated on physical and moral aspects of doping [1, p. 67]. Even if his opti-mism was a bit detached from reality, it can be stated * Corresponding author.

Krzysztof Sas-Nowosielski1*, Longina Świątkowska2

1 Department of Pedagogy, Chair of Humanistic Bases of Physical Culture, University School of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland2 Department of Statistics, Faculty of Pharmacology, Silesian Medical Academy, Katowice, Poland

ABSTRACT

Purpose. The study aims to answer three questions: (1) What do Polish athletes know about doping control and the World Anti-Doping

Code? (2) What are their attitudes toward doping and anti-doping policies? (3) How are the athletes’ knowledge and attitudes related to

selected socio-demographic variables – age, sex, duration of sports career, type of sport (team, individual). Basic procedures. 830

athletes (including 263 females) filled in an anonymous questionnaire to assess their knowledge about and attitudes toward doping and

anti-doping policy. Main findings. The subjects provided merely 45.22% of positive answers to questionnaire items assessing

knowledge. The highest percentage of correct responses was observed in items related to the knowledge of athlete’ rights and

responsibilities (50.75%), while the lowest in items about anti-doping principles and procedures (41.77%). The respondents’ attitudes

were diagnosed as moderately positive (M 3.90, SD 0.07). The most positive was their attitude toward doping control (M 4.12, SD 0.82),

while the least positive was their attitude toward sanctions (M 3.68, SD 0.79). Some differences in attitudes and knowledge were

observed. In relation to attitudes significant differences were noted between female and male athletes (Wilks’ � 0.96; F(4, 780)

= 8.55;

p = 0.000), with higher results achieved by female athletes; and between age groups (Wilks’ � 0.95; F(8, 1558)

= 4.63; p = 0.000) from

which the group of 18–24-year-olds achieved higher results than the remaining two age groups. Differences in the knowledge were

observed in relation to subjects’ sex, age, type of sport and duration of sport career. Conclusions. Athletes’ knowledge of doping

control is far from satisfactory. The subjects’ attitudes are positive; however, their strength is moderate. The results of the study

suggest that campaigns aimed at anti-doping education among Polish athletes should be intensified in relation to their knowledge of

the problem and attitudes toward it.

Key words: doping, knowledge, attitudes

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD ANTI-DOPING CODE AMONG POLISH ATHLETES AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD DOPING AND ANTI-DOPING POLICY

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K. Sas-Nowosielski, L. Świątkowska, Knowledge about and attitudes toward doping

that the subsequent escalation of doping in sport was partially a consequence of negligence of effective pre-vention. Still, contemporary educational programs can play an invaluable role in fighting the use of prohibited substances in sport.

An important aspect of doping prevention is assess-ment of athletes’ knowledge of and attitudes toward do-ping, which would allow identification of areas at which particular programs should be aimed. Studies on deter-minants of health-oriented behaviour show that even the most comprehensive knowledge and most positive atti-tudes do not guarantee proper behaviour [2]. The know-ledge of and the attitudes toward doping remain, how-ever, significant components of behavioural intentions.

Studies on the knowledge of and attitudes towards doping among different social groups (university stu-dents, athletes, doctors, etc.) have been carried out by a number of researchers in Poland and other countries [3–6]. In Poland such research was conducted by T. Rych ta, M. Mikołajczyk and M. Guszkowska [7], M. Mikołajczyk [8], M. Taniewski, B. Wilk and A. Walentukiewicz [9], M. Taniewski, A. Treder-Men-tuch and K. Szewczyk [10], W. Gawroński, R. Smoleń and Z. Szyguła [11], and G. Bielec [12]. These studies revealed a diverse state of knowledge of and attitudes toward doping. M. Taniewski, B. Wilk and A. Walen-tukiewicz [9] in their studies of sailors, basketball play-ers and judokas noted that their subjects had a good knowledge of doping control, prohibited substances and methods and their adverse effects. On the other hand, studies by G. Bielec [12] or W. Gawroński, R. Smoleń and Z. Szyguła [11] showed a rather low awareness of these issues. In the latter merely 25% of respondents were able to enumerate categories and methods of dop-ing in sport, and 50% were able to do it only selectively. The results of studies on attitudes were much better but hardly consistent. In G. Bielec’s [12] studies most sub-jects considered doping to be a serious violation of moral principles of sport rivalry. The studies by M. Taniewski, B. Wilk and A. Walentukiewicz [9] showed that 15% of respondents supported legalization of doping in sport. It should also be noted that a similar polarization of attitudes toward doping can be observed among scientists, who would seem to be unanimous in their judgment of the problem. Meanwhile professional literature abounds in lively debates and argumentation for and against banning of doping in sport [13–18].

The present study was conducted as a part of Social Science Research sponsored by the World Anti-Doping

Tabl

e 1.

Sta

tist

ical

ana

lysi

s of

var

ianc

e an

d po

st h

oc te

st r

esul

ts in

ref

eren

ce to

att

itud

es to

war

d do

ping

con

trol

Sex

A

ge

Ty

pe

of

sport

Com

pet

itiv

e ex

per

ien

ce

MF

AN

OV

A**

F (1, 7

83)

≤ 17

18

–24

≥ 25

AN

OV

A**

F (2, 7

82)

Team

Indi

-vi

dual

AN

OV

A**

F (1, 7

83)

≤ 5

5–10

≥ 10

AN

OV

A**

F (2, 7

30)

AN

OV

A*

F (4, 7

80) =

8.55

p =

0.00

00

AN

OV

A*

F (8, 1

558)

= 4

.63

p =

0.00

00

AN

OV

A*

F (4, 7

80) =

1.68

p =

0.15

16

AN

OV

A*

F (8, 1

554)

= 1

.41

p =

0.18

70

Test

sM SD

4.05

0.

854.

26

0.72

F =

10.

54 p

= 0

.001

24.

03a

0.78

4.21

ab

0.79

3.86

b

0.96

F =

8.3

7 p

= 0

.000

34.

12

0.82

4.12

0.

81 F

= 0

.00

p =

0.9

609

4.15

0.

784.

17

0.78

4.00

0.

91 F

= 2

.54

p =

0.0

796

San

cti

on

sM SD

3.61

0.

833.

85

0.64

F =

14.

99 p

= 0

.000

13.

59 a

0.77

3.77

a

0.77

3.53

0.

84 F

= 5

.77

p =

0.0

032

3.66

0.

793.

74

0.79

F =

2.2

2 p

= 0

.137

13.

73

0.77

3.72

0.

773.

58

0.84

F =

1.9

1 p

= 0

.149

2

Eth

ics

M SD3.

76

0.76

3.96

0.

71 F

= 1

2.49

p =

0.0

004

3.74

a

0.71

3.91

ab

0.75

3.61

b

0.80

F =

7.6

6 p

= 0

.000

53.

80

0.73

3.87

0.

78 F

= 1

.95

p =

0.1

626

3.82

0.

753.

85

0.76

3.78

0.

76 F

= 0

.43

p =

0.6

499

Beh

av

iou

rM SD

3.85

0.

934.

24

0.81

F =

32.

02 p

= 0

.000

04.

04 a

0.87

4.00

b

0.92

3.63

ab

0.87

F =

7.2

2 p

= 0

.000

83.

99

0.88

3.95

0.

96 F

= 0

.36

p =

0.5

478

4.05

a

0.86

4.00

0.

943.

79 a

0.88

F =

3.7

4 p

= 0

.024

2

* A

NO

VA

for

four

dep

ende

nt v

aria

bles

**

AN

OV

A fo

r ea

ch o

f th

e fo

ur d

epen

dent

var

iabl

es

a, b m

ean

valu

es w

ith th

e sa

me

inde

x w

ere

stat

istic

ally

sig

nifi

cant

in p

ost h

oc te

st (

p <

0.05

)

HM_07_1_057_064d.indd 58 06/18/2007, 12:43:39 PM

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Agency (WADA) with three objectives: 1. to assess the knowledge of provisions of the World

Anti-Doping Code among athletes;2. to assess athletes’ attitudes toward anti-doping policy;3. to examine whether or not and to what extent select-

ed socio-demographic variables affect the subjects’ knowledge of and attitudes toward doping.


The study was conducted using the method of diag-nostic survey (questionnaire), between March and May 2006, among athletes from sports clubs from Upper Si-lesia and from the AZS club of the University School of Physical Education in Katowice. The subjects were in-structed about the aim of the study and expressed their consent to participate in the questionnaire survey. They were also informed that the study results would be used for scientific purposes only. One thousand question-naire forms were distributed among the respondents. 830 forms were returned, including 567 (68.31%) from men and 263 (31.69%) from women. The subjects were athletes practicing winter sports (biathlon, cross-coun-try skiing, downhill skiing, ski jumping, snowboarding, ice hockey), team sports (football, handball, volleyball and basketball), swimming, track and field, strength sports (weight lifting, Olympic triathlon), combat sports (boxing, karate, judo, taekwondo), archery, gymnastics, water sports (kayaking, windsurfing), cycling, fencing and lawn tennis. The subjects’ age ranged from 14 to 40 years (M 20.02, SD 3.96), and their length of competi-tive experience from 0.5 to 29 years (M 7.82, SD 4.04).

The athletes’ knowledge was assessed using a ques-tionnaire form designed by the authors for the purpose of the study. The subjects assessed the authenticity of 45 questionnaire items by answering TRUE, FALSE or I DON’T KNOW. About one half of the items required the answer TRUE. The questionnaire items were aimed to assess the athletes’ knowledge in three areas:1. athlete’s rights and responsibilities related to doping

control (11 items, e.g. “If a prohibited substance was detected in an athlete’s blood sample specimen A, this athlete has the right to be present at the analysis of blood sample specimen B”; “The tested athlete must be alone at the testing station”; “An athlete can refuse to be tested for prohibited substances”).

2. principles and procedures of doping control (17 items related to testing procedures, sanctions, anti-doping institutions, etc., e.g. “Tests can only be car-

ried out in-competition”; “If one test reveals the presence of two prohibited substances in one athlete, the athlete will be penalized more severely”; “The list of prohibited substances and methods should be published at least two times a year”).

3. prohibited substances and methods and their effects on the athlete’s body (16 items, e.g. “The use of ster-oids leads to depression and frequent mood swings”; “One of the results of using ephedrine is an increase in muscle mass”; “Caffeine is considered to be a pro-hibited stimulant”).The result achieved by each respondent was the per-

centage of correct answers, incorrect answers and “I DON’T KNOW” answers. These percentages were calculated for each question and each area of knowledge.

Athletes’ attitudes were assessed using the author’s 20-item questionnaire, on a five-point Likert scale (1 – I to tally agree, 5 – I totally disagree; or in some items, 1 – I totally disagree, 5 – I totally agree). The attitude questionnaire consisted of four sections:1. attitude toward doping control, e.g. “Tests are a hy-

pocrisy and should be abolished,” “Tests are neces-sary in the struggle for purity in sport.”

2. attitude toward sanctions for violation of anti-doping rules, e.g. “Penalization of drug-taking athletes is fair as it protects the interests of ‘clean’ athletes”; “Penalization of athletes for taking prohibited sub-stances is wrong since it can ruin their careers;”

3. attitude toward the ethical foundations of anti-dop-ing policy, e.g. “Doping violates the rules of fair play”; “Banning doping in sport violates one’s right of self-determination;”

4. athlete’s behavioural disposition to the use of dop-ing, e.g. “I would be ready to use doping knowing it will be a guarantee of victory”; “I would never use doping, even though my chances for victory would be smaller.” The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed us-

ing the Cronbach alpha coefficient adopting the value of α = 0.60 as the threshold of reliability of the research instrument [19]. The alpha coefficients for individual sections amounted to 0.63, 0.66, 0.64 and 0.77, respec-tively. The result achieved by each respondent was the mean value of correct answers to all questionnaire items.

In order to examine whether or not and to what ex-tent the knowledge of and attitudes toward doping con-trol depend on selected socio-demographic variables, particular groups of subjects were compared (as follow-

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ing [20]): men, women, “adolescents” (13–17 years), “young adults” (18–24 years) and “adults” (25–44 years), team players, individual athletes and athletes with differ-ent lengths of sports experience (> 5 years, 5–10 years, < 10 years). Within each group of subjects their knowledge was assessed by analyzing the distribution of correct, incorrect and “I don’t know” answers using χ2. For cal-culation of differences between the attitudes ANOVA tests for four dependent variables were carried out. Then ANOVA was taken for each variable separately, with Tukey’s post hoc test when the differences between the variables under study were statistically significant. Most calculations were made with the use of STATISTICA 5.0, with the exception of the significance of differences in the area of knowledge made in SPSS.

Results

Knowledge of doping control and anti-doping rules

The general index of correct answers (for all ques-tionnaire items) amounted to 45.22%, which indicates a rather moderate level of knowledge of the issues under study. The comparison of results within the distin-guished groups of subjects shows that distributions of answers within each group differ significantly. The sta-tistical results of χ2 amounted to χ2

df=2 = 50.70, p = 0.000 for gender, χ2

df=2 = 27.49, p = 0.000 for type of sport, χ2

df=4 = 32.78, p = 0.000 for age and χ2df=4 = 126.66,

p = 0.000 for sports experience, respectively. In com-parison with women, men provided more correct and fewer incorrect answers (46.42% and 42.63%; and 30.40% and 33.38%, respectively). In the case of type of sport the percentage of correct answers was similar (45.27% among team players; 45.12% among individual athletes) and the difference between them measured with the test of difference between two structural indi-ces and the χ2 test was non-significant. There were dif-ferences in incorrect answers (24.16% and 22.16%) and “I don’t know” answers. The comparison of results achieved by athletes from different age groups showed that the young adults (18–24 years) provided the rela-tively highest percentage of correct answers (47.48% vs. 43.12% in adults and 41.92% in adolescents). In terms of competitive experience, subjects with the experience ≤ 5 years provided the lowest percentage of correct an-swers (41.09% vs. 46.02% in the 5–10 years and 46.59% in > 10 years categories) as well as the highest number of “I don’t know” answers.

In terms of areas of knowledge, the highest results were achieved by the respondents in the area of athletes’ rights and responsibilities (50.75%), and the lowest in the area of knowledge of general principles and proce-dures of doping control (41.77%). The differences in distributions of answers between the three areas of knowledge were statistically significant (χ2

df=4 = 579.61, p = 0.000). In the area of athletes’ rights and responsi-bilities the highest percentage of correct answers re-ferred to the assessment of the athlete’s awareness of his responsibility for substances detected in his body, even if the prohibited substance was taken accidentally (75.30%), and the lowest to the athlete’s right to be as-sisted in placing a urine sample specimen in a container to be sent to the laboratory (10.72%). In this area no dif-ferences between men and women were observed (χ2

df=2

= 2.62, p = 0.271), or between individual athletes and team players (χ2

df=2 = 3.07, p = 0.215). The differences were, however, statistically significant between the age groups (χ2

df=4 = 30.23, p = 0.000), with the highest per-centage of correct answers in the group of young adults (51.82%; detailed analysis showed that this result differed significantly in the oldest age group; in the youngest group a tendency towards the significance of differences was merely observed; the subjects from the oldest age group provided “I don’t know” answers more often) and between groups with different lengths of sport expe-rience, with the highest percentage represented by ath-letes with 5–10 years of sports experience, and the low-est by athletes with competitive experience shorter than 5 years (χ2

df=4 = 45.50, p = 0.000).In the area of knowledge of prohibited substances

and methods and their impact on the athlete’s body the highest percentage of correct answers was observed among the answers to the questionnaire item: “Taking anabolic-androgenic steroids causes unwanted mental and psychical effects” (72.62%); and the lowest in the answers to the item “Is creatine a prohibited anabolic substance?” (22.05%). Statistically significant differ-ences were noted between men and women (χ2

df=2 = 52.46, p = 0.000), with men achieving a significantly higher percentage of correct answers; between team players and individual athletes (χ2

df=2 = 26.02, p = 0.000; detailed analysis revealed differences merely in the number of incorrect and “I don’t know” answers); be-tween age groups (χ2

df=4 = 139.27, p = 0.000; the highest percentage of correct answers was achieved by respond-ents from the age group 18–24 years); and between ath-letes with different lengths of competitive experience

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(χ2df=4 = 64.37, p = 0.000; the lowest percentage of cor-

rect answers was noted in athletes with the shortest competitive experience, and the highest in athletes with the longest experience; however, between the oldest group and the age group of 5–10 years merely a tendency toward significance of differences was observed).

In the third area of knowledge, i.e. general principles and procedures of doping control, the highest percent-age of correct answers was observed in answers to the questionnaire item about the awareness of existence of prohibited substances in medicines and nonprescription supplements (84.34%), the lowest in answers to the item about the periodical publication of the prohibited list (7.35%). Statistically significant differences in the dis-tribution of the answers were similar to those discussed above (sex: χ2

df=2 = 9.77, p = 0.008; sport type: χ2df=2 =

18.75, p = 0.000; age: χ2df=4 = 48.17, p = 0.000; competi-

tive experience: χ2df=4 = 43.04, p = 0.000).

The subjects were also asked about their sources of knowledge about doping and doping control. 769 ath-letes provided answers. The most frequently indicated source of knowledge was television (n = 527; 68.53%) followed by the Internet (n = 415, 53.97%), peers (n = 414, 53.84%), coach/instructor (n = 283, 36.80%), sports press (n = 187, 24.32%; especially bodybuilding maga-zines such as Muscle, Flex, Kulturystyka i Fitness

(Bodybuilding and Fitness), Men’s Health; theme perio-dicals such as Pływanie (Swimming), Basketball, Piłka

Nożna (Soccer) and sports newspapers such as Przegląd

Sportowy (Sports Digest) or Bravo Sport) and books (n = 87, 11.31%; monographs such as Doping w sporcie (Doping in sport) as well as investigative journalism, e.g. Co ukrywa Lance Armstrong? (What is Lance Armstrong hiding?). 76 subjects (9.88%) learnt about anti-doping procedures from their own sports experi-ence. 19 subjects (2.47%) indicated their sources of knowledge as “other”, e.g. from physicians, classes, uni-versity lectures, parents, leaflets from sports clinics and their own experience with taking doping.

Attitudes toward doping

The mean value of general attitude index amounted to 3.90 (SD 0.07) indicating a positive direction, but rather moderate strength of the attitudes of the popula-tion under study. The most positive turned out to be the subjects’ attitude toward doping control (M 4.12, SD 0.82), and the least positive the attitude toward sanc-tions for violation of anti-doping rules (M 3.68, SD

0.79). The differences between the means of individual questionnaire sections were statistically significant: Wilks’ λ = 0.74, F(3, 782) = 89.34, p = 0.000. The post hoc analysis revealed that the differences were present in each pair of the variables compared.

Statistically significant differences in the results of the attitude test were observed in sex and age groups: Wilks’ λ = 0.96, F(4, 780) = 8.55, p = 0.000 and Wilks’ λ = 0.95, F(8, 1558) = 4.63, p = 0.000, respectively. In gene-ral, women declared more positive attitudes than men. In the case of age, the young adults expressed the most positive attitudes toward the tests, sanctions and ethical foundations of doping control. In the range of be haviou-ral dispositions the highest results (lowest readiness to use doping) were achieved by adolescents. In all varia-bles the adults demonstrated the least positive attitudes. No differences were noted between individual athletes and team players (Wilks’ λ = 0.99, F(4, 780) = 1.68, p = 0.152), and between groups of athletes with different lengths of competitive experience (Wilks’ λ = 0.98, F(8, 1554) = 1.41, p = 0.187). In the last category, the analy-sis of each of the four variables revealed a statistically significant difference in reference to behavioural dispo-sitions (F(2, 730) = 3.74, p = 0.024), where athletes with the shortest experience gained significantly more posi-tive results (lowest readiness to use doping) than the two remaining groups of subjects. All the results have been presented in Tab. 1.

The quantitative analysis was followed by qualita-tive analysis based on the subjects’ comments written at the bottom of the questionnaire form. Only 52 athletes in-cluded such comments. Almost one half of them (n = 23, 44.23%) expressed opinions classified as declarations of strong support for doping control, e.g. “I think tests are necessary, as it is not good to fight against someone who is not fair to you. I do sports myself and, unfortu-nately, many sports stars who used to be the role models for me used prohibited substances themselves”, “In some sports tests should be conducted more frequently”, “I think doping is needless and the use of prohibited substances should be severely punished”, “I think dop-ing is a plague that kills the true spirit of competition”, “Using doping is not fair and I don’t understand people who use the prohibited substances. If they can’t win without doping, why do they do sports?”, “Doping tests should be more frequent and penalties more strict. More money should be spent on anti-doping research, since it is much easier to produce a new substance than detect it.” Eight respondents (15.38%) opted for legalization of

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doping in sport, e.g. “In my opinion tests should be abolished as all athletes use doping anyway. Only those few unlucky ones are caught who don’t know when to stop or don’t have money and have to use low-quality substances”, “Let’s abolish all tests. Then all athletes can use doping and have equal chances of winning. Now only those use doping who know how to get it”, “An athlete is an ancient gladiator. About 50% of ath-letes (usually world class athletes) use doping; only some of them are caught. I’m for legalization of doping on a high level of competition.” 19 subjects (36.54%) expressed rather pessimistic opinions about the exist-ence of ‘pure sport’, but without demonstrating either definitely positive or negative attitudes toward doping, e.g. “Doping is one of many phenomena that will always be present in sport at an elite level. Some people will keep inventing new detection methods, other will keep inventing more effective substances that will be more and more difficult to detect”, “I think the more sport is about money and publicity, the more athletes will use doping. With advances in medicine, “pure” sport is highly unlikely to exist”, “Let us not be naive. As long as there is money in sport, there will always be doping. Faster–Higher–Stronger is a closed chapter of sport history”, “People taking doping are always one step ahead of medicine. It is after some time that it is dis-closed who took and what. It’s sad but I can’t see any chance of improvement.” Two subjects responded in an ambiguous way: “Tests should be carried out more fre-quently, but the penalties are too severe”, “The range of doping substances should be constantly modified and published in the form of detailed registers for each sport. Every athlete should be able to get acquainted with these lists.”

Discussion

The socio-economic conditions of modern sport make complete elimination of doping very unlikely, es-pecially in view of the ongoing debate of various profes-sional groups on the future of sport, including its ethical dimension [13–18]. It is a hard fact, however, that because doping is against the fundamental values of modern sport, different efforts on different levels have been made to curb its extent. Their effectiveness is of-ten arguable.

The establishment of the World Anti-Doping Code by WADA should be regarded as one of the most sig-nificant initiatives on doping control aimed at improve-

ment of effectiveness of anti-doping policies and their uniformization in all sports. The establishment of the code brought about the necessity to broaden athletes’, coaches’ and sports activists’ knowledge of the issue. As little has been known about the level of athletes’ knowledge of the World Anti-Doping Code, one of our objectives was to update the existing data. In doping prevention also the recognition of athletes’ attitudes toward doping is of crucial importance. Finally, another aim of the study was to determine what socio-demo-graphic variables affect the knowledge of and attitudes toward doping. The variables examined by other authors have most often been the subjects’ age and sex [7, 8], and more seldom, the athletes’ length of competitive experience [8]. In one of the most recent publications on doping in sport A. Alaranta et al. [6] suggested that an important variable influencing the attitudes toward doping is the type of sport. They examined attitudes of 446 athletes who represented four types of sport: team sports, strength and speed sports, endurance sports and sports requiring high-level motor skills (“Do you be-lieve doping positively affects sports results? Do you know anyone who used doping? Will you be willing to reach for prohibited substances if they are legalized? Is it possible to reach the top level in your sport without doping?”). The authors noted that attitudes toward dop-ing differed significantly, depending on the sport prac-ticed by subjects. The strongest inclination to use dop-ing was noted in strength and speed sports; the least in-clined were athletes in sports requiring high-level motor skills. It should be noted that the length of competitive experience and the type of sport are also significant variables in studies on relationships between sport and moral values [21–23]. It was revealed that athletes with a longer competitive experience and team players achieved lower results in questionnaires assessing moral reasoning (for possible explanation of this phenomenon see [24]).

Contrary to the above, in our study the type of sport (team players vs. individual athletes) or the length of competitive experience did not differentiate the athletes’ attitudes toward doping. Only in reference to the length of competitive experience a statistically significant dif-ference was observed in the section of the questionnaire assessing the declared readiness to take up doping. This readiness was greater in athletes who practiced their sport for ten years or longer, which can be explained by the fact that the longer the competitive experience, the more an athlete is inclined to reach for doping facing

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the unavoidable decline in training effects. In relation to attitudes toward doping control a tendency toward sig-nificance of differences was noted in athletes with the longest competitive experience who declared the least positive attitude.

The subjects’ attitudes differed significantly be-tween men and women as well as between the age groups. Overall, women demonstrated more positive at-titudes than men, and respondents aged 18–24 demon-strated more positive attitudes than the two remaining age groups. The subjects aged 18–24 demonstrated the highest level of knowledge about doping control, pro-viding the highest percentage of correct answers in the questionnaire. It was quite opposite in the case of wom-en, although they demonstrated far more positive atti-tudes toward doping control than men. This could be an indirect confirmation of observations of some authors that attitudes toward and knowledge of doping rarely go hand in hand (see, for example, [25]). Some other differ-ences observed seemed to be less consistent and they require further research.

Conclusion

The obtained results point to the need of intensifica-tion of educational activities about doping control among Polish athletes, as most of their knowledge about this issue comes from questionable sources, e.g. TV (sometimes broadcasting more pro- than anti-doping programs, e.g. a documentary broadcast by one of com-mercial stations in Poland in December 2005 suggested possible legalization of doping rather than doping con-trol systems in sport) or the Internet (some anti-doping sites are actually guides for usage of prohibited sub-stances). These educational activities should account for provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code, whose knowledge among the studied population was insuffi-cient and conducive to numerous misunderstandings that may lead to unintentional violation of anti-doping rules, which is not that unlikely (see an interesting study by M. Yonamine, P.R. Garcii and R.L. de Mores Moreau [26]). Certainly, one must remember that these educa-tional activities should not be confined to mere passing on information, as such an approach affects the psycho-logical determinants of behaviour and formation of atti-tudes to a very limited extent. This has been empha-sized by many authors [27–30]. In this context the con-tents of educational programs should be aimed at formation of moral knowledge and processes of moral

reasoning, such as ethical arguments against doping in sport or psychosocial consequences of doping. The ob-tained results show that such activities should be diver-sified in terms of their contents depending on their tar-get audiences.

References

1. Todd J., Todd T., Significant events in the history of drug test-ing and the Olympic Movement: 160-1999. In: Wilson W., Derse E. (eds.), Doping in elite sport. The politics of drugs in the Olympic Movement. Human Kinetics, Champaign 2001, 65–128.

2. Bandura A., Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Educ Behav, 2004, 31, 143–164.

3. Dièye A.M., Ndiaye M., Kane M.O., Diop B.M., Faye B., Retail pharmacists and doping in sport: Survey on knowledge and at-titudes in Dakar in Senegal. Sci Sports, 2003, 18, 104–108.

4. Laure P., Drugs, recreational drug use and attitudes towards doping of high school athletes. Int J Sports Med, 2004, 25, 133–139.

5. Jost K., Attitudes toward doping and recreational drug use among French elite student-athletes. Sociol Sport J, 2004, 21, 1–18.

6. Alaranta A., Alaranta H., Holmila J., Palmu P., Pietila K., Hele-nius I., Self-reported attitudes of elite athletes towards doping: Differences between types of sport. Int J Sports Med, 2006, 27, 842–846.

7. Rychta T., Mikołajczyk M., Guszkowska M., Knowledge and attitudes toward doping among students of schools of sports champions [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 1993, 5–6, 77–87.

8. Mikołajczyk M., Attitudes toward pharmacological doping in sport [in Polish]. Psychol Wych, 1993, 3, 240–253.

9. Taniewski M., Wilk B., Walentukiewicz A., Opinions of ath-letes on pharmacological doping [in Polish]. Med Sport, 1999, 11, 42–46.

10. Taniewski M., Treder-Mentuch A., Szewczyk K., Opinions of youth on doping in sport [in Polish]. Med Sport, 1999, 12, 30–33.

11. Gawroński W., Smoleń R., Szyguła Z., Assessment of know-ledge on performance enhancing drugs and doping in Polish slalom canoeists [in Polish]. Med Sport, 1999, 9, 16–17.

12. Bielec G., Knowledge and attitudes of swimmers toward dop-ing [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 2005, 1–2, 52–59.

13. Vossen D.P., Toward a philosophical justification for the bans against performance-enhancing substances in Olympic sport. Sixth International Symposium for Olympic Research, 2002, 185–192.

14. Miah A., Genetically modified athletes. Biomedical ethics, gene doping and sport. London-New York, Routledge 2004.

15. Koyser S., Mauren A., Miah A., Viewpoint legalization of per-formance-enhancing drugs. Lancet, 2005, 366, 21.

16. Savulescu J., Faddy B., Clayton M., Why we should allow per-formance enhancing drugs in sport. Br J Sports Med, 2004, 38, 666–670.

17. Sas-Nowosielski K., An opinion in discussion on legalization of doping in sport [in Polish]. Sport Wycz, 2006, 3–4, 59–65,

18. Sas-Nowosielski K., Will sanctioned evil not be an evil? Re-flections on legalization of doping in sport [in Polish]. Sport

Wycz, 2002, 5–6, 32–40. 19. Sokołowski, A., Sagan, A., Analysis of data in marketing and

public opinion research. In: Examples of statistical inference

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with the use of Statistica. [in Polish]. Statsoft, Warszawa 1999, 8–12.

20. Spirduso W.W., Physical dimensions of aging. Human Kinetics, Champaign 1995.

21. Lumpkin A., Stoll B.K., Beller J.M., Sport ethics. Mosby Inter-national 1994.

22. Bredemeier B.J.L., Shields D.L.L., Character development and physical activity. Human Kinetics, Champaign 1995.

23. Jones C., McNamee M., Moral reasoning, moral action, and the moral atmosphere of sport. Sport, Ed Soc, 2000, 5, 131–146.

24. Kavusannu M., Ntoumanis N., Participation in sport and moral functioning: Does ego orientation mediate their relationship? J Sport Exerc Psych, 2003, 25, 501–519.

25. Anshel M.H., Russell K.G., Examining athletes’ attitudes to-ward using anabolic steroids and their knowledge of the possi-ble effects. J Drug Educ, 1997, 27, 121–145.

26. Yonamine M., Garcia P.R., de Mores Moreau R.L., Non-inten-tional doping in sports. Sports Med, 2004, 34, 697–704.

27. Laure P., Lecerf T., Prevention of doping in sport in adoles-cents: evaluation of a health education based intervention. Arch

Pediatr, 1999, 6, 849–854. 28. Goldberg L. et al., Effect of an anabolic steroid education pro-

gram on knowledge and attitudes of high school football play-ers. J Adolesc Health Care, 1990, 11, 210–421.

29. Goldberg L. et al., Effects of a multidimensional anabolic ster-oid prevention intervention: The Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS) program. JAMA, 1996, 276, 1555–1562.

30. Goldberg L. et al., The adolescents training and learning to avoid steroids program: Preventing drug use and promoting health behaviors. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2000, 154, 332–338.

The project has been carried out with the support of the WADA.

Paper received by the Editors: November 30, 2006.Paper accepted for publication: March 12, 2007.


Krzysztof Sas-Nowosielski

Katedra Humanistycznych Podstaw Kultury Fizycznej


ul. Mikołowska 72b

40-065 Katowice, Poland


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2007, vol. 8 (1), 65–67

MASTER ATHLETICS. SOCIAL, BIOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF VETERANS SPORT

The monograph Masters athletics.

Social, biological and practical

aspects of veterans sport is probably the first and only attempt at synthe-tic, cross-sectional presentation of is-sues related to athletics of veterans until now, taking into consideration a current state of knowledge in vario-us branches of physical culture scien-ces. This volume is aimed for scienti-sts, lecturers, coaches and instructors of athletics, students of universities and departments related to sport and physical activity, to place at their di-sposal an up-to-date and reliable so-urce of information in the presented area. The book is also intended for masters athletes themselves as an extension of knowledge of issues they deal with on an everyday basis. Perhaps people who so far have had no idea about the existence of masters athletics will also refer to this book. Thanks to this book they will obtain solid knowledge in the area and, first of all, will positi-vely perceive veterans movement and perhaps will want to take part in this movement as athletes, researchers or at least supporters of the phenomenon.

Sooner or later everyone has to face ageing. It is a well-known fact that the process of ageing starts alre-ady at birth. For some time now, however, this subject has gained greater and greater political and social im-portance which is also manifested – which will be shown below – to a large extent in sport, as with the ageing population the society encounters new unfami-liar problems. In this context, let us mention the contro-versial German bestseller The plot of Methuselah writ-ten by Frank Schirrmacher [1]. Thus, special social meaning should be attributed to sport. The healthier and more independent older people are, the higher the quality of their lives and the lower the costs they charge a society. The problem of solitude of elderly people,

known already today, could be signi-ficantly alleviated by stronger social recognition and support of masters movement. Sports activity unites pe-ople, strengthens social contacts, ac-cording to the motto Integration in-

stead of isolation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the European Vete-rans Athletic Association acts with the motto One Family. Masters athle-tics plays a special role in this con-text. It is one of the few disciplines in which one can participate in events until advanced old age, and in any case adequately to age. This is also reflected in the motto of the interna-tional federation of World Masters Athletics Athletics for life.

Unfortunately, scientific studies of masters sport have only been available in the form of studies which are relatively short and narrow in scope. However, the monograph Masters Athletics by Krzysztof Kusy, PhD, and Jacek Zieliński, PhD, Polish specialists in physical culture sciences, is the first so detailed, fundamental study in the area of athletics of the elderly, appropriately ambitious and systematized, which will be a benchmark for future publications.

Demographic changes

After detailed introduction to the research subject, done at the beginning of the monograph, the authors to-uch upon the above mentioned topic connected with de-mographic changes. It is common knowledge that the number of people in the world increases rapidly. If the current population growth rate, at present amounting to about 1.2% per year, will be maintained, the earth will be populated by 9.1 billion dwellers in the year 2050, in-stead of 6.5 billion reached in 2005 [2]. But this tenden-cy is far from uniformity. First and foremost so called

BOOK REVIEWS

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Review of Krzysztof Kusy, Jacek Zieliński Masters athletics. Social, biological and practical aspects of veterans sport

developing countries contribute to the population growth, which was mentioned by IAAF president Lamine Diack (Senegal) who set as an example his continent Africa in 2004 at one of the press conferences on the occasion of the 1st World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor in Sindelfingen. However, the European population will drastically decrease within the next few decades. The data of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat confirm this trend. While in 2000 in Europe lived still 727 million people, it will be presumably 632 million in 2050, assuming that the birth rate will remain on the present level [3, 4].

Based on this global scenario of future population development, the authors focus on the causes of the age-ing of population. These are first of all lower birth rate, and on the other hand lowering death rate of the popula-tion and related prolonging of life. The progress of medi-cine in the form of antibiotics and vaccines [5] as well as insecticides has been of great significance here. Nowa-days about 11% people in the world are over 60, in 2050 it will be probably 22%, and in 2150 even one third. For the first time in history the number of elderly people will be (and in developed countries it already is) larger than that of young people. The authors present in a very clear way economical, political, socio-cultural, psychological and health questions and consequences resulting from this situation and affecting also sport movement.

Masters record holders

The next chapter is devoted to sport performance. Current absolute world records in athletics are held by people at the age between 20 and 35 years, in the period of life characterized by peak physical fitness. Thanks to modern training means and methods the sport perfor-mance curve may remain at a high level even after this period. Lyubov Gurina, Rickard Bruch, Linford Chri-stie, Heike Drechsler, and also well-known sprinter Mer-lene Ottey, which at the age of 44 years still achieved top-level results, are outstanding but not very rare exam-ples. However, according to the data provided by the au-thors, the quality and time of maintaining the high phy-sical capabilities are connected with the kind of athletic event and are sex-related. Separate paragraphs are devo-ted to the forecast of record results in mature athletes. Possibilities and difficulties are discussed in detail, since in veterans sport one encounters much more problems influencing the accuracy of predictions than in young athletes, especially because of ageing processes.

The history of veteran movement

The monograph is a real treasure house of knowled-ge in the area of the history of masters athletics. Only a few of readers may know that masters athletes had ta-ken up their activity already at the end of the 19th centu-ry and the first veterans club had been founded in En-gland in 1932 or that only in 1976 an appropriate global organization, World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), was formed. From 1975 to the present, every year of the veteran movement history is described sepa-rately. In this chapter, we can also find a complete list of world and European championships organized by ade-quate federations, until 2009 in advance. The detailed review of the development of Polish masters athletics movement may be interesting also for foreign recipients of the monograph.

Someone who asked him/herself the question what is the relationship between the all-sports organization IMGA (International Masters Games Association) and typical athletic organizations like WMA (World Master Athletics), EVAA (European Veterans Athletic Asso-ciation) and IAAF Masters’ Committee or on what geo-graphical territory acts each of them, will surely find an answer in the chapter devoted to the organizational aspects of veterans movement.

Masters’ training

The main point of the monograph discussed is the chapter concerning the age-related physical activity. The authors try, on the basis of sport results achieved during the 14th European Veterans Athletics Champion-ships Stadia in Århus (Denmark), to show how physical fitness changes with age. Almost all athletic events are analysed in detail and the results are presented in an accessible way in tables and figures. This original and extensive scientific study is a great contribution to the knowledge of the limits of human physical capabilities, ageing process and longevity.

The positive, as a rule, impact of sport training on physical and mental health and the physical fitness of masters athletes has already been revealed in many stu-dies in the past. The authors present the most important of them and do not pass over health hazards connected with injuries and the question of so called sudden death during exercise.

But at this moment, an experienced reader becomes aware that there still exists an enormous disproportion

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Review of Krzysztof Kusy, Jacek Zieliński Masters athletics. Social, biological and practical aspects of veterans sport

between the number of studies dealing with athletics for children and youth and studies concerning masters sport. That is why, at present, veterans are individualists out of necessity in the field of planning training loads. Very often they lack an adequately specialized and scientifically established knowledge encompassing their specific needs. It would be desirable that, for this re-ason, the presented monograph is an inspiration for some researchers for new studies in the area of athletic training in masters sport.

Anti-doping

In such an extensive dissertation, the anti-doping to-pic could not have been left out. Like other sports, ma-sters athletics is not quite immune to the threat of do-ping and drug abuse either. Unfortunately, there is still no question of world-wide application of necessary re-medial measures (anti-doping control, better communi-cation policy and penalization perpetrators), because in many countries these actions are still in their infancy. The anti-doping declaration worked out under the gu-idance of Rüdiger Nickel (‘Vaterstetten-declaration’) could serve as a model. Probable motives for doping use, reactions of sports federations, therapeutic use exemptions and the most recent issue of gene doping are presented and discussed in this chapter, too.

Veteran athletics competition

What are the motives and conditions that induce mid-dle- and old-aged persons to the active participation in masters athletics? Are these motives different from re-asons reported by young athletes? Questions like these are the subject of the penultimate of main chapters. It turned out that track and field athletics masters make up a special group of people differentiating from the avera-ge as regards education level and material status, and

their motives for sport involvement are in most cases ra-dically dissimilar to the motives of adolescent athletes.

The last chapter is devoted to practical problems of ve terans competition organization. Many important as-pects are brought up: beginning from the current divi-sion into age categories, immensely diversified offer of athletic events, specificity of rules and equipment, through so called medal standards and finishing at valu-able advice concerning holding the contest in practice.

The monograph, prepared by the publishing house of the University School of Physical Education in Po-znań and appearing during the 15th European Veterans Championships Stadia in July 2006, touches upon al-most every aspect of masters athletics in a very impres-sive way. Due to its methodical and comprehensive ap-proach we should hope that the monograph will be wi-dely circulated and will gain recognition as a standard work, and will inspire to more studies in the area. Both authors deserve many thanks for this long awaited work.

References

1. Schirrmacher F., The plot of Methuselah [in German]. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, München 2005.

2. Population challenges and development goals. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division, New York 2005. Available from URL: www.un.org.

3. World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, February 2006. Available from URL: http://esa.un.org/unpp.

4. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. February 2006. Available from URL: http://esa.un.org/unpp.

5. Paton W., Man and mouse. Animal in medical research. Uni-versity Press, Oxford 1993, 68–84.

Dieter MassinSedanstrasse 112

D-59227 Ahlen, Germany


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COMPETITION OF RESEARCH PAPERS

onPHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHING

for Prof. Bogdan Czabański’s Award

Submission requirements:

• Only papers published in the year prior to the date of competition may be submitted

• Papers (offprints) must be sent before the end of March of each year to the Organizers’ address:


Katedra Dydaktyki Wychowania Fizycznego

ul. Witelona 25, 51-617 Wrocław, Poland

tel. 0 (prefix) 71 347-31-69, fax 348-25-27

www.awf.wroc.pl/czabanski


• Independent academics must not partake in the competition

• Former award winners must not partake in the com-petition

• A research paper can be a team work effort, but the team of authors must not include an independent academic

Evaluation criteria:

• Submitted papers must be research papers • All papers must be on the subject of physical educa-

tion teaching

Jury:

Three independent academics, Professors of the Univer-sity School of Physical Education in Wrocław, Poland:

• Prorector for Research• Head of Chair of Physical Education Didactics • Head of Chair of Swimming

The jury convenes annually on April 24. The jury’s final decision will be made available to all participants. Only one paper is awarded with the prize (diploma of merit and 1.000 PLN). The award is presented each year during the inaugura-tion ceremony of the academic year at the University School of Physical Education in Wrocław, Poland.

THE 2nd CENTRAL EUROPEAN CONGRESS

ON OSTEOPOROSIS AND OSTEOARTHRITIS

The 14th CONGRESS OF THE POLISH OSTEOARTHROLOGY

SOCIETY AND POLISH FOUNDATION OF OSTEOPOROSIS

Kraków, POLAND, October 11–13, 2007

Congress Topics:

OsteoporosisOsteoarthritisFree subjects

• English and Polish are the languages of the congress.

• Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

Organizing Committee

Polish Osteoarthrology Societyul. Kopernika 3231-501 Kraków, Polandtel. (+48)12 423 2080fax (+48)12 430 3153e-mail: [email protected]

For detailed information visit:www.osteoporoza.org

2007, vol. 8 (1), 68

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2007, vol. 8 (1), 69–73

Redakcja półrocznika Human Movement przyjmuje do publikacji oryginalne prace empiryczne oraz przeglądowe dotyczące ruchu człowieka z różnych dziedzin nauki (m.in. medycyny sportu, fizjologii wysiłku fizycznego, biome-chaniki, antropomotoryki, socjologii, psychologii, pedago-giki) w zakresie wychowania fizycznego, zdrowotnego, re-kreacji i turystyki, rehabilitacji, fizjoterapii. Przyjmowane są również listy do Redakcji, sprawozdania z konferencji naukowych i recenzje książek. Prace mogą być napisane w języku polskim lub angielskim. Teksty polskie po uzy-skaniu pozytywnej recenzji są tłumaczone na język angiel-ski przez Redakcję. Autorzy nie otrzymują honorarium.

Warunkiem rozpoczęcia prac redakcyjnych nad artyku-łem jest dostarczenie do Redakcji trzech kopii maszynopisu (wydruku komputerowego) przygotowanego zgodnie z ni-niejszym regulaminem oraz dyskietki (3 1/2” w formacie IBM) lub dysku CD-ROM zawierających komplet materia-łów. Na etykiecie dyskietki (CD-ROM-u) należy podać ty-tuł pracy oraz numery wersji użytych edytorów i progra-mów graficznych. Praca może być wysłana pocztą elektro-niczną (por. Poczta elektroniczna).

List przewodni i oświadczenie

Do maszynopisu (wydruku komputerowego) autor po-winien dołączyć list przewodni oraz oświadczenie, że treść artykułu nie była i nie będzie publikowana w tej formie w innych wydawnictwach bez zgody Redakcji czasopisma Human Movement oraz że zgadza się na ogłoszenie jej w tym półroczniku. W przypadku prac zespołowych oświadczenie może złożyć w imieniu wszystkich współau-torów autor główny.

Ocena pracy (recenzja)

Praca jest recenzowana przez dwie osoby. Autor może podać nazwiska potencjalnych recenzentów, lecz Redakcja zastrzega sobie prawo decyzji o ich doborze. Recenzenci nie znają nazwiska autora ani autor nie zna nazwisk recen-zentów, dlatego do artykułu należy dołączyć tzw. ślepą stronę, tzn. tylko z tytułem pracy. W zależności od sugestii osób oceniających Redakcja podejmuje decyzję o dalszym losie pracy. Decyzja Redakcji jest ostateczna.

Maszynopis (wydruk komputerowy)

Tekst prac empirycznych wraz ze streszczeniem, rycina-mi i tabelami nie powinien przekraczać 20 stron, a prac prze-glądowych – 30 stron znormalizowanych formatu A4 (ok. 1800 znaków na stronie, złożonych 12-punktowym pismem Times New Roman z zachowaniem 1,5 interlinii). Redakcja przyjmuje teksty przygotowane wyłącznie w edytorze tekstu Microsoft Word. Strony powinny być ponumerowane.

The Human Movement journal, issued semi-annually, accepts for publication original papers and review papers in various aspects of human movement (e.g., sociology, psycho-logy, pedagogy, exercise physiology, biomechanics, motor control, sport medicine) in a broad sense of the term: physi-cal education, recreation, physiotherapy, health and fitness, and sport science. Authors are not paid for their articles. Letters to the Editor, reports from scientific meetings and book reviews are also welcome. Articles written in Polish and English will be accepted. After acceptance, articles in Polish will be translated into English by the Editorial Office.

Three copies of the manuscript and figures should be sent to the Editorial Office. If you send the printed version by e-mail, a floppy disk should be submitted containing the whole text of the paper. The label of the disk should include the name of the first author, paper title, as well as the ver-sion numbers of the word processor and graphics programs used. IBM 3 1/2’’ disks and CD-ROMs are acceptable. It is advisable to use Microsoft Word. Electronic manuscripts are preferred.

Cover letter

Authors must submit a cover letter with the manuscript. Each submission packet should include a statement signed by the first author that the work has not been published pre-viously or submitted elsewhere for review. It should also contain Author’s acceptance of Publisher’s terms. The pa-per should be accompanied with the correspondence ad-dress of the Author, the telephone number, fax number and e-mail address.

Review process

Received manuscripts are first examined by the editors of Human Movement. Incomplete packages or manuscripts not prepared in the required style will be sent back to au-thors without scientific review. Authors are encouraged to suggest the names of possible reviewers, but Human Move-

ment reserves the right of final selection. Manuscripts will be sent anonymously to two reviewers. As soon as possible after the review process is concluded, you will be notified by e-mail of the acceptance or rejection of your contribu-tion for publication, our decision is ultimate.

Preparation of the manuscript

Experimental papers should be divided into the follo-wing parts: title page, blind title page, abstract with key words, introduction, materials and methods, results, discus-sion, conclusions, acknowledgements, references. In papers of a different type, sections and their titles should refer to the described issues.

REGULAMIN PUBLIKOWANIA PRAC

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

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Regulamin publikowania prac – Instructions for Authors

STRONA TYTUŁOWA

Na stronie tytułowej należy podać: 1. Tytuł pracy w języku polskim i angielskim. 2. Skró-

cony tytuł artykułu w języku angielskim (nie dłuższy niż 40 znaków), który będzie umieszczony w żywej paginie. 3. Nazwiska autorów z afiliacją. 4. Imię i nazwisko autora (autorów) wraz z adresem do korespondencji, numerem te-lefonu, faksu i koniecznie e-mailem.

Kontakt z autorem będzie utrzymywany wyłącznie za pomocą poczty elektronicznej.

STRESZCZENIE

Przed tekstem głównym należy umieścić streszczenie w języku angielskim, zawierające około 250 wyrazów i 3–6 słów kluczowych (ze słownika i w stylu MeSH). Powinno się ono składać z następujących części: Purpose, Basic pro-cedures, Main findings, Conclusions.

TEKST GŁÓWNY

Tekst główny pracy empirycznej powinien zawierać następujące części: wstęp, materiał i metody, wyniki, dys-kusja (omówienie wyników), wnioski, podziękowania (je-żeli potrzebne), przypisy (jeżeli występują), piśmiennictwo (zawarte tylko w bazach danych, np. SPORTDiscus, Med-line). W pracach innego typu należy zachować logiczną ciągłość tekstu, a tytuły poszczególnych jego części po-winny odzwierciedlać omawiane w nich zagadnienia.

Wstęp. Należy wprowadzić czytelnika w tematykę arty-kułu, opisać cel pracy oraz podać hipotezy oparte na prze-glądzie literatury.

Materiał i metody. Należy dokładnie przedstawić mate-riał badawczy (w przypadku osób biorących udział w eks-perymencie podać ich liczebność, wiek, płeć oraz inne cha-rakterystyczne cechy), omówić warunki, czas i metody prowadzenia badań oraz opisać wykorzystaną do nich apa-raturę (z podaniem nazwy wytwórni i jej adresu). Sposób wykonywania pomiarów musi być przedstawiony na tyle dokładnie, aby inne osoby mogły je powtórzyć. Jeżeli me-toda jest zastosowana pierwszy raz, należy ją opisać szcze-gólnie precyzyjnie, potwierdzając jej trafność i rzetelność (powtarzalność). Modyfikując uznane już metody, trzeba omówić, na czym polegają zmiany oraz uzasadnić koniecz-ność ich wprowadzenia. Gdy w eksperymencie biorą udział ludzie, konieczne jest uzyskanie zgody komisji etycznej na wykorzystanie w nim zaproponowanych przez autora me-tod (do maszynopisu należy dołączyć kopię odpowiedniego dokumentu). Metody statystyczne powinny być tak opisa-ne, aby można było bez problemu stwierdzić, czy są one poprawne. Autor pracy przeglądowej powinien również po-dać metody poszukiwania materiałów, metody selekcji itp.

Wyniki. Przedstawienie wyników powinno być logiczne i spójne oraz powiązane z danymi zamieszczonymi w tabe-lach i na rycinach.

Dyskusja (omówienie wyników). Autor powinien od-nieść uzyskane wyniki do danych z literatury (innych niż omówione we wstępie), podkreślając nowe i znaczące aspekty swojej pracy.

Papers should be submitted in three printed copies or sent via e-mail. An experimental paper, together with the figures, tables and abstract, should not exceed 20 pages (30 pages for a review paper). A normal page is considered to be an A4 sheet, of 30 lines and 60 characters per line, with 12-point Times New Roman font, one and half-spaced text, with margins of 25 mm at the sides and at the top and bot-tom. Type or print on only one side of the paper. Use one and half spacing throughout, including the title page, abs-tract, text, acknowledgments, references, tables, and le-gends. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the ti-tle page. Put the page number in the upper-right corner of each page.

TITLE PAGE

The title page should contain: title of the article, name and surnames of author(s) and their affiliations, name and address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript with fax, phone, and e-mail address; and a short running head of no more than 40 characters (count letters and spaces).

BLIND TITLE PAGE. Because reviews are blind, include a blind title page with only the title.

ABSTRACT

The second page should contain the abstract (ca. 250 words). The abstract should be divided into: Purpose, Basic procedures, Main findings and Conclusions. It should em-phasize any new and important aspects of the study.

Below the abstract, authors should provide (and identify as such) 3 to 6 key words that will assist indexers to cross-index the article. If suitable MeSH terms are not yet availa-ble for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.

TEXT should contain the following sections: Introduc-tion, Material and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclu-sions, Acknowledgements (if necessary), References.

Introduction. State the purpose of the article and sum-marize the rationale for the study. Give only strictly perti-nent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Material and methods. Clearly describe selection of the experimental subjects. Identify their age, sex, and other important characteristics. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established me-thods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. When reporting expe-riments on human subjects, indicate whether the procedu-res followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional). The Editors reserve the right to

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Wnioski. Przedstawiając wnioski, należy pamiętać o celu pracy oraz postawionych hipotezach, a także unikać stwierdzeń ogólnikowych i niepopartych wynikami wła-snych badań. Stawiając nowe hipotezy, trzeba to wyraźnie zaznaczyć.

Podziękowania. Można wymienić osoby lub instytucje, które pomogły autorowi w przygotowaniu pracy bądź wsparły go finansowo lub technicznie.

Piśmiennictwo. Piśmiennictwo należy uporządkować według kolejności cytowania w tekście, w którym dla oznaczenia odwołania do piśmiennictwa należy posługi-wać się numerami ujętymi w nawiasy kwadratowe, np. Bouchard et al. [23]. Piśmiennictwo (zawarte tylko w ba-zach danych, np. SPORTDiscus, Medline) powinno się składać z nie więcej niż 30 pozycji, z wyjątkiem prac prze-glądowych. Niewskazane jest cytowanie prac nieopubliko-wanych.

Przykłady zapisu piśmiennictwaPowołanie na artykuł z czasopisma [nazwisko autora

(autorów), inicjał imienia, tytuł artykułu, tytuł czasopisma w przyjętym skrócie, rok wydania, tom lub numer, strony]: Shinohara M., Li S., Kang N., Zatsiorsky V.M., Latash M.L., Effects of age and gender on finger coordination in MVC and submaximal force-matching tasks. J Appl Phy-

siol, 2003, 94, 259–270.Gdy autorami artykułu jest sześć lub mniej osób, należy

wymienić wszystkie nazwiska, jeżeli jest ich siedem i wię-cej, należy podać sześć pierwszych, a następnie zastosować skrót „et al.”

Tytuł artykułu w języku innym niż angielski autor po-winien przetłumaczyć na język angielski, a w nawiasie kwadratowym podać język oryginału. Tytuł czasopisma należy zostawić w oryginale. W pracy powinny być uwzględnianie tylko artykuły publikowane ze streszcze-niem angielskim: Jaskólska A., Bogucka M., Świstak R., Jaskólski A., Mechanisms, symptoms and after-effects of delayed muscle soreness (DOMS) [in Polish]. Med Sporti-

va, 2002, 4, 189–201.Powołanie na książkę [nazwisko autora(ów) lub redak-

tora(ów), inicjał imienia, tytuł pracy przetłumaczony na język angielski, wydawca, miejsce i rok wydania]: Osiń-ski W., Anthropomotoric [in Polish]. AWF, Poznań 2001.

Powołanie na rozdział w książce [nazwisko autora(ów), inicjał imienia, tytuł rozdziału, nazwisko autora(ów) lub redaktora(ów), tytuł pracy, wydawca, miejsce i rok wyda-nia, strony]: McKirnan M.D., Froelicher V.F., General prin-ciples of exercise testing. In: Skinner J.S. (ed.), Exercise te-sting and exercise prescription for special cases. 2nd Ed. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia 1993, 3–28.

Powołanie na materiały zjazdowe tylko umieszczane w międzynarodowych bazach danych, np. SPORTDiscus: Racz L., Tihanyi J., Hortobagyi T., Muscle fatigue during concentric and eccentric contraction. In: Avela J., Komi P.V., Komulainen J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th Annual

reject papers if there is doubt whether suitable procedures were used. Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the origi-nal data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indi-cators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confi-dence intervals). Authors submitting a review manuscript should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.

Results. Present results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures. Do not repeat in the text all the data presented in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or sum-marize only important observations.

Discussion. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduc-tion or the Results section. Include implications of the fin-dings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate observations to other relevant studies.

Conclusions. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such.

Acknowledgments. List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., a person who provided purely technical help or writing assistance). Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

References. References (only the ones included in inter-national data bases, e.g. SPORTDiscus, Medline etc.) sho-uld be submitted on a separate sheet of paper and in the or-der of appearance in the text. References should be numbe-red consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses, e.g. Bo-uchard et al. [23]. Except in the case of review articles, the total number of references should not exceed 30.

A journal article should include: surname of the au-thor(s); first name (only initials); title of the paper; title of the journal in the accepted abbreviation; year, volume (num-ber), and pages. List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list first six and add et al. Example: Shinohara M., Li S., Kang N., Zatsiorsky V.M., Latash M.L., Effects of age and gender on finger coordination in MVC and submaximal force-matching tasks. J Appl Physiol, 2003, 94, 259–270.

Articles not in English: Authors should translate the ti-tle into English and enclose the language of translation in square brackets. Do not translate the title of the journal. Only papers with English abstracts should be cited. Exam-ple: Jaskólska A., Bogucka M., Świstak R., Jaskólski A., Mechanisms, symptoms and after-effects of delayed musc-le soreness (DOMS) [in Polish]. Med Sportiva, 2002, 4, 189–201.

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Congress of the European College of Sport Science. July 19–23, 2000, Jyvaskyla Finland, 600.

Powołanie na artykuły w formie elektronicznej: Donsmark M., Langfort J., Ploug T., Holm C., Enevold-sen L.H., Stallknech B. et al., Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) expression and regulation by epinephrine and exercise in skeletal muscle. Eur J Sport Sci, Volume 2, Issue 6 (December 2002). Available from: URL: http://www.humankinetics.com/ejss/bissues.cfm/

Przypisy. Przypisy, objaśniające lub uzupełniające tekst, powinny być numerowane z zachowaniem ciągłości w całej pracy i umieszczone na końcu tekstu głównego.

Tabele i ryciny. Tabele i ryciny wraz z numeracją, pod-pisami oraz opisami należy umieścić na osobnych stronach, na których odwrocie trzeba podać tylko tytuł pracy, bez nazwiska autora. Jeżeli w tekście nie ma powołania na ta-belę lub rycinę, należy zaznaczyć miejsce jej umieszczenia. Ryciny muszą być czarno-białe lub w odcieniach szarości. Symbole, np. strzałki, gwiazdki, lub skróty należy dokład-nie objaśnić w legendzie. Wykresy powinny być wykonane w programach Excel lub Statistica 5.0 i dołączone jako osobne pliki w formacie *.xls lub *.stg. Pozostałe ryciny (np. schematy) należy przygotować w programie Corel Draw (wersja 8 lub niższa) i dołączyć jako osobne pliki w formacie *.cdr. Fotografie lub inne materiały ilustracyjne można dostarczyć w formie elektronicznej (*.tif, *.jpg – gę-stość punktów obrazu 300 lub 600 dpi) bądź w postaci na-dającej się do ostatecznego opracowania przez Redakcję.

Nie można powtarzać tych samych wyników w tabe-lach i na rycinach.

Praca, w której tabele i ryciny będą przygotowane nie-zgodnie z podanymi wymogami, zostanie odesłana do au-tora.

Korekta autorska

Artykuł po opracowaniu redakcyjnym zostanie przeka-zany do autora w celu naniesienia przez niego korekty au-torskiej. Obowiązkiem autora jest odesłanie korekty w cią-gu jednego tygodnia. Kosztami poprawek innych niż dru-karskie będzie obciążony autor.

Poczta elektroniczna

Zachęcamy autorów do przesyłania prac w postaci elek-tronicznej (jako załączniki). Każda część pracy powinna być przesłana jako oddzielny załącznik: plik tekstowy, plik z rycinami, plik z tabelami, plik fotograficzny itd. Aby przyspieszyć przesyłkę, pliki należy skompresować w po-staci *.arj lub *.zip. Komplet plików powinien być przesła-ny na adres [email protected]

Prawa Redakcji

Redakcja zastrzega sobie prawo poprawiania usterek stylistycznych oraz dokonywania skrótów. Prace przygoto-wane niezgodnie z regulaminem będą odsyłane autorom do poprawy.

A book should include: the author’s or editor’s surname (authors’ or editors’ surnames), first name initials, the title of the book in English, publisher’s name, place and year of publication. Example: Osiński W., Anthropomotoric [in Polish]. AWF, Poznań 2001.

Chapter in a book: McKirnan M.D., Froelicher V.F., General principles of exercise testing. In: Skinner J.S. (ed.), Exercise testing and exercise prescription for special cases, 2nd Ed. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia 1993, 3–28.

Conference proceedings and papers can only be refer-red to in the text if they are included in international data bases, e.g. SPORTDiscus. Example: Racz L., Tihanyi J., Hortobagyi T., Muscle fatigue during concentric and ec-centric contraction. In: Avela J., Komi P.V., Komulainen J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th Annual Congress of the Euro-pean College of Sport Science. July 19–23 2000, Jyvaskyla Finland, 600.

Article in electronic form. Example: Donsmark M., Langfort J., Ploug T., Holm C., Enevoldsen L.H., Stallknech B. et al., Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) expression and regulation by epinephrine and exercise in skeletal muscle. Eur J Sport Sci, Volume 2, Issue 6 (December 2002). Ava-ilable from: URL: http://www.humankinetics.com/ejss/bissues.cfm/

Tables and figures. Each table together with its number, title, and annotations, should be submitted on a separate sheet of paper. Authors should identify the places where ta-bles and figures are to be included within the text. Figures should be prepared in black and white and marked on the back with the title of paper only (do not include the name of the author). Legends for the figures should be submitted on a separate sheet of paper and should be self-explanatory. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Only Figures prepared in Excel, Statistica 5.0 or Corel Chart (version 8 or lower) will be ac-cepted. The recommended file formats for figures are: *.jpg, *.tif, with an image resolution of 300 or 600 dpi.

Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively ac-cording to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. Data should not be repeated in tables and figures.

Photographs must be black and white glossy prints.

Proofs

The corresponding author will receive one proof. Only minor corrections can be made at this time. Corrections other than printing errors may be charged to the author. It is the author’s responsibility to return the corrected proofs within 1 week.

Sending via e-mail

Authors who have an access to Internet are encouraged to send their work-files electronically using standard e-mail software. The e-mail software must have an option to send data files attached to the e-mail message. In such

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Prawa autorskie

Publikacje podlegają prawu autorskiemu wynikającemu z Konwencji Berneńskiej i z Międzynarodowej Konwencji Praw Autorskich, poza wyjątkami dopuszczanymi przez prawo krajowe. Żadna część publikacji nie może być repro-dukowana, archiwizowana ani przekazywana w jakiejkol-wiek formie ani żadnymi środkami bez pozwolenia właści-ciela praw autorskich.

Płatna reklama

Redakcja przyjmuje zamówienia na reklamy, które mogą być umieszczane na 2. i 3. stronie okładki lub na do-datkowych kartach sąsiadujących z okładką. Ceny reklam będą negocjowane indywidualnie.

cases, all parts of the work should be sent as a separate files: text file, picture file(s), table file(s), photo file(s). To speed up the data transfer, files should be com-pressed (if possible) using *.arj or *.zip formats before transmission. Complete packages of manuscripts are to be sent to the following address: [email protected]

Reprints

Each Author will receive 1 copy of the issue in which his/her work appears.

Advertising

The Editorial Board accepts advertising orders. Adver-tisements can be published on the second and third page of the cover or on the pages next to the cover. Advertisement prices will be negotiated individually.

ZASADY PRENUMERATY CZASOPISMA HUMAN MOVEMENT

THE RULES OF SUBSCRIBING THE HUMAN MOVEMENT JOURNAL

Cena rocznej prenumeraty (dwa numery) dla odbiorców indy-widualnych w kraju wynosi 27 zł, dla instytucji 55 zł. Dla od-biorców indywidualnych za granicą wynosi 27 eu, dla instytucji 55 eu.Numery czasopisma wysyłamy pocztą po otrzymaniu odpo-wiedniej wpłaty na konto:

BPH PBK S.A. O/Wrocław

18 1060 0076 0000 3200 0040 0409


al. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wrocław,

z dopiskiem: Prenumerata Human Movement.

Prosimy zamawiających o bardzo wyraźne podawanie adresów, pod które należy wysyłać zamawiane egzemplarze czasopisma.Pojedyncze egzemplarze można zamówić, wpłacając 16 zł (od-biorca indywidualny) i 30 zł (instytucja) na podane konto i wpi-sując numer oraz liczbę zamawianych egzemplarzy na odwrocie blankietu wpłaty (odcinek dla posiadacza rachunku).Pojedyncze numery można zakupić w cenie 16 zł w punktach sprzedaży książek w AWF we Wrocławiu oraz AWF w Warsza-wie.Dla odbiorców z Europy Wschodniej zachowujemy taką samą cenę jak dla odbiorców w Polsce, przeliczając złote na walutę kraju docelowego po kursie w dniu zamawiania.

The price of annual subscription (two issues) for individual fo-reign subscribers is Euro 27 and Euro 55 for foreign institu-tions.The issues of the journal are sent by post after receiving the ap-propriate transfer to the account:

BPH PBK S.A. O/Wrocław

18 1060 0076 0000 3200 0040 0409


al. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland,

with the note: Human Movement subscription.

We ask the subscribers to give correct and clearly written ad-dresses to which the journal is to be sent.Single copies can be ordered by transferring Euro 16 (individual foreign subscribers) and Euro 30 (foreign institutions) to the above mentioned account and writing in the number and the amount of issues ordered at the back side of the form.Single copies of the journal outlets are available at the Universi-ty School of Physical Education in Wrocław and Warszaw.For the recipients from Eastern Europe the price is the same as for Poland, and the price is converted to the currency of a given country on the day of ordering.

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