european college of sport science

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Discussion: Use of situated learning in different contexts (indoor vs.outdoor) has shown that both approaches lead to the development of
knowledge and skills, but these have largely been temporary. The result of the study indicate that the development of declarative knowledge
is not space dependent and that pupils from the outdoor group, in the long run, build up procedural knowledge with more resistance.
The investigation also concludes that there are differences between boys and girls. The boys score higher on all tests. This is
consistent with other studies examining the spatial task solutions (Malinowski & Gillespie, 2001).
References
Griffin M M (1995). Situated learning, transfer, and map skills.
Johansen B T (1999). Orientering.
Malinowski J C, Gillespie W T (2001). Individual differences in performance on a large-scale, real-world wayfinding task. Thomas KT,
Thomas JR (1994). Developing Expertise in Sport: The Relation of Knowledge and Performance.
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SWIMMING COMPETENCE AND PERCEIVED COMPETENCE
STALMAN, R., DAHL, D., MORAN, K., KJENDLIE, P.L.
NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF SPORT SCIENCES
Introduction: An increased risk for drowning is seen in males, particularly since they may overestimate their abilities, compared to
women. Moran (2008) has found gender differences in New Zealand, particularly that men overestimate their ability and women underestimate
their ability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the gender differences of practical swimming skills and self reported
perception of swimming competence.
Methods: Eighty one (81) university students were asked to fill out a questionnaire and also to perform practical tests of their swimming
competence. The questions addressed their perceived competence (in a pool), their perception of whether they could perform as well
outdoors in open water, and their perception of risk in five risk scenarios. The practical tests covered seven essential skills. The Mann –
Whitney U test was employed to examine statistical differences. A 0.05 level of confidence was accepted as significant.
Results and Discussion: Of the seven practical tests, four showed a significant gender difference: floating ability, entry dive from pool
deck, surface dive to 2m depth, and rescue towing. In every case, the women performed better than the men. Self reported perception of
competence showed significant gender differences for only three of 21 items. The women reported greater competence than the men for
“the ability to stay afloat in deep water without support”, while the men reported greater competence for “surface dive to the bottom of the
deep end of the pool (4m). Eighty percent of the men reported that surface diving would be easy/very easy, while only 62% of the women
reported the same. Interestingly, the women both reported greater competence and actually demonstrated greater competence than the
men on the floating test. On the other hand, while the women actually performed better on surface diving, the men reported the perception
that they were more competent in this skill. Lastly, there were no significant gender differences in perceived risk for the five risk scenarios.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that there are few gender differences both in practical and perceived ability in Norway. It does not support the hypothesis
that a possible gender difference makes males more susceptible for drowning.
References
Moran, K. (2008). Will they sink or swim? New Zealand youth water safety knowledge and skills. Int. Journal of Aquatic Research and
Education, 2(2), 114-127
THE BODY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS IN SPORT
LARA SÁNCHEZ, A.J., ZAGALAZ SÁNCHEZ, M.L., HERRADOR COLMENERO, M., HUERTAS HERRADOR, J.A.
UNIVERSITY OF JAEN
Introduction: We can communicate without words and we can convey emotions and attitudes towards situations, physical status and
identity, with the body movement performed. Motos (1983) described the gesture as an intentional movement and y it is fraught with
meaning that reflects the personality of the person. It is an expression of emotion. May be it is voluntary or involuntary.
The aim is to observe the communication and expression of emotions and feelings in sport, through the use of the body of athletes,
depending on the time of the party and the marker.
Methods: 12 volleyball players have participated They had a mean age of 20.9 ± 3.3 years. They were playing in a mid-level team. At the
time of measurement they were in first position with aspirations to upgrade. To gather the data has been compiled a schedule of observation.
Results: There are certain behaviors that are characteristic of the times that a game is won and therefore the players are happy and full of
satisfaction. On the other hand, there are other behaviors that are characteristic of those moments where they lose the point and sentiments
of the players are radically opposed.
Discussion: The players express their feelings and emotions through the body and movement without being aware. Score a point implies
a feeling of joy that is manifested by the body open; symmetrical form; quick, enthusiastic and intense movements, longer duration and
with a sense of lightness. Conversely, losing a point implies a feeling of anger and rage. It is manifested in a feeling of heaviness and
sinking, in which the subject prefers the solitude and isolation and it shows through the body closed, asymmetrical shapes, and slow,
short and heavy movements. At the time of addressing a new point, when players score a point, they are much more active, happy,
dynamic... Conversely, when they have missed the point it seems that they try to forget this game quickly and focus on the following. By
the way to express and interact themselves each player with their peers, it seems that the level of cohesion of this team is high.
References:
Bergeles, N. and Hatziharistos, D. (2003): Interpersonal attraction as a measure of estimation of cohesiveness in elitge vollyball teams.
Percept Not Skill, 96(1): 81-91.
Motos, T. (1983): Iniciación a la expresión corporal. Teoría, técnica y práctica. Barcelona: Humanitas.
Santiago, P. (1985): De la expresión corporal a la comunicación interpersonal. Teoría y práctica de un programa. Madrid: Narcea.
Schinca, M. (1988): Expresión corporal. Madrid: Escuela española.
Spink, K.S. (1992): Group cohesion and starting status in successful and less successful elite vollyball teams. J Spots Sci, 10(4): 379-388.
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