RELATIONSHIPS OF PRE-COMPETITION STATE ANXIETY LEVELS WITH COMPETITION RESULTS IN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS
Pınar TATLIBAL1, Beyazıt YEMEZ2
1Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Spor Bilimleri ve Teknolojisi Yüksekokulu, İzmir
2Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Ruh Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, İzmir
Keywords: Rhythmic gymnastics, state anxiety, competition
Abstract
This study was planned to determine the effect of the competitive state anxiety levels of rhytmic gymnasts on competition performance. A total of 129 competitors aged 8-15 (mean age 10.7 ±1.7) who participated in the competitions of Turkish Gymnastics Federation’s 2013 programme voluntarily attended the study. The Competition Anxiety Test - Children Form (SCAT-C) was applied to the competitors a day before the competition. Interviews were made with the trainers and they were asked to predict the results of the gymnasts. Competitive state anxiety levels of the competitors were determined by SCAT-C, and the effect of the anxiety levels on the official results in view of the trainers’ predictions were analyzed. No significant relation between competitive state anxiety level and expected performance were found. It is worthwhile to notice that all competitors in the youngest group (age 8-9) who displayed high anxiety levels achieved lower performance than expected.
