Age Group Effects on Perceptual and Motor Abilities of Rhythmic Gymnasts, 11 years and Older

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to identify the differences on several perceptual and motor abilities among three age groups of rhythmic gymnasts. 63 gymnasts aged 11-18 years participated in the study. The first group was the 9 women gymnasts of the Greek National team aged 15-18 years (Μ=16.53 ± 1.3). The second group was the 21 junior gymnasts of the Greek National team aged 13-14 years (Μ=13.39 ± 0.64). The third group was consisted of 33 elite young junior gymnasts aged 11-12 years (Μ=11.76 + 0.62). According to the results, there was a significant effect of age on eight out of ten perceptual and motor abilities tested. More specifically, women and junior gymnasts scored higher than young juniors on measures of continuous attention, choice and simple reaction time, two-hand coordination and aiming. Women scored higher than young juniors on selective attention, wrist-finger dexterity and coincidence anticipation. These findings might provide useful information for designing training schemes and selecting the appropriate exercises in each age group.