The Dynamics of the Development of Apneic Breathing Capacity Specific to Synchronized Swimming in Girls Aged 7–14 Years

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify the durations of maintaining apnea, in different static positions, with and without the use of a nose clip, in girls aged between 7 and 14 years,. The study included a total number of 92 girls, grouped by age into four groups of 2-year spans (7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14 years), and depending on the experience of practicing synchronized swimming (6–42 months). In the study we applied five physical tests where apnea maintenance times were recorded in different static positions: Apnea Test of Facial floatation with and without nose clip, Apnea Test of Front tuck with and without nose clip and Apnea Test of Front layout with support to scull. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS-24. During the study, a program of specific exercises to learn/consolidate the apneic breathing specific to artistic swimming was implemented, for a time interval of 3 months. The results were recorded at the beginning of the study (TI) and at the end of the study (TF). Analyzing the results of the study, we found positive and statistically significant improvements, related to age and experience. The most significant progress, taking into account the averages between the final and initial tests, was recorded in relation to Facial Flotation for 1.301 s for the 7–8-year-old group and 1.110 s for the 9–10-year-old group; the 11–12-year-old group recorded the most positive effect in the Facial Flotation test with a nose clip, with a result of 0.853 s, and in the 13–14-year-old group in the front tuck with nose clip test, a result of 0.807 s was reached. In all tests of the study, the Cohen’s values in all groups fell between 0.184 and 0.478, the size of the effect being small and medium. The ANOVA analysis of variance showed that the differences were statistically significant for p < 0.05 between the arithmetic means of the four groups according to age and sport experiences. For all groups, the value of Wilks’ Lambda was 0.009 (p < 0.01) for age and 0 (p < 0.01) for sports experience, highlighting large differences between groups. We conclude that the development of the ability to maintain apnea specific to synchronized swimming shows an upward trajectory, being conditioned by the training methodology, the age of the subjects and the sports experience. The small and medium values of the effect size highlight the fact that the improvement in apnea maintenance time is dependent on the duration and frequency of the apnea exercises performed in technical conditions specific to synchronized swimming. The training methodology must be adapted to the particularities of age, sports experience and the characteristics of synchronized swimming.