posted on 2010-11-09, 11:01authored byJoanna Prescott
In the most recent survey, Performance Directors and Sports Scientists highlighted
talent identification to be the top priority for research within Great Britain (Burwitz,
1999). However, the identification of talent is only the first stage of a continuous process
of development through which sporting excellence may be realised. The contribution of
talent identification to the attainment of excellence in Women's Artistic Gymnastics has yet
to be conclusively determined. Moreover, as a result of the lack of longitudinal research in
this area, the impact of growth and maturation upon the development of talent
characteristics in the young female gymnastics not fully understood.
A longitudinal study was conducted to examine the identification and development
of talent within a mixed ability sample of 48 young female gymnasts. Potentially
prognostic talent characteristics from social-demographic physical, perceptual-motor and
psychological dimensions of performance were assessedin an 'initial' measurement session
(September 1996). The 'future' performance of the gymnasts was assessed 17 months
later (February 1998) using a composite index of competitive performance and technical
skill acquisition. The performance of gymnasts was classified as successful or
unsuccessful according to this index. The relationship between the 'initial' talent
characteristics and 'future' gymnastic performance was examined using principal
components analysis and logistic regression. Using a similar approach, the extent to which
a reduced battery of talent characteristics was able to distinguish between the gymnasts
and a group of 15 untrained control subjects was determined. Finally, to provide an
insight into the longitudinal development of the talent characteristics, the initial test battery
was administered to the gymnasts on two further occasions separated by a measurement
interval of six months.
The results indicated that the profile of the young female gymnast is
multidimensional. It is recommended that information should be analysed within each
dimension of performance before being combined to produce a multidimensional profile.
The physical characteristics were found to be the most prognostic indicators of talent and
were recommended for inclusion in both the initial identification and subsequent
monitoring processes. Support was also provided for the predictive validity of perceptualmotor
characteristics, however, the contribution of these characteristics may be enhanced
by further improvements in measurement reliability. Recommendations were drawn from
the social-demographic and psychological dimensions concerning the most effective
organisation of the training environment. The results from each dimension were combined
to produce guidelines for the initial identification and subsequent development of talent
within young female gymnasts.