THE FLOW STATE IN ELITE ROMANIAN FENCERS

Abstract

Flow is the optimal psychological state in which an athlete achieves their best performance without effort but with total concentration and a sense of total control, without any such thoughts. Flow is often associated with high levels of performance, self-consciousness is diminished and attention is entirely focused on the activity at hand. The purpose of the study was to investigate the flow state and the levels at which Csikszentmihalyi’s nine dimensions of flow are experienced by elite fencers. The research participants were 41 Romanian fencers who were distributed as follows: 13 fencers were medallists (over time) at the European, World or Olympic Games, and 28 did not have outstanding sports results. The Long Dispositional Flow Scale (DFS-2) measuring the nine dimensions of flow was applied. Data analysis (using the Independent Samples t Test) revealed that elite fencers experienced more during competition that the goals and feedback were clear, reached a higher level of awareness of their performance, experienced more the challenge-skill balance, were more focused on the immediate task, perceived more the automatic nature of flow state and the sense of control (however, no significant differences were observed compared to fencers without outstanding sports results). As regards the transformation of time, men fencers experienced more (with a marginally significant difference) time dilation or compression during competition compared to female fencers. Gender- and performance-related findings about athletes’ experienced flow are also discussed.