V kontekstu motoričnih funkcij je reakcijski čas opredeljen kot čas med določenim dražljajem in prvim mišičnim odzivom nanj. Dejavniki, ki vplivajo na reakcijski čas so: primeren odziv, število ponovitev, resnost dražljaja, spol, dominantna stran, starost, kajenje, uživanje alkohola ter debelost. Propriocepcija je lahko še en odločilen dejavnik za reakcijski čas, saj zagotavlja in ohranja določen gib ali položaj ustreznega dela telesa v času, ki je primeren dražljaju. Namen te študije je bil raziskati povezavo med reakcijskim časom roke in zaznavanjem položaja sklepa ter dejavniki, ki vplivajo na reakcijski čas pri zdravih mladih odraslih. V študijo je bilo vključenih 25 zdravih posameznikov s povprečno starostjo 26.7 ± 4.9 leta. Med udeleženci je bilo 16 moških in 9 žensk, njihov indeks telesne mase (ITM) je bil povprečno 23.8±4.2 kg/m2. Reakcijski čas je bil ocenjen z Nelsonovim testom reakcije rok, občutek za položaj sklepov pa je bil izmerjen z goniometrom. Zaznavanje položaja sklepa za zapestje je bilo opravljeno s ponavljanjem ciljnega kota z aktivnim gibanjem. Spol in dominantna stran nista vplivala na reakcijski čas (p ≥ 0.05). Reakcijski čas se je z naraščajočo starostjo povečeval (p≤0.05). Zaznavanje položaja sklepa za levo zapestje je bilo statistično pomembno pri ženskah in moških (p≤0.05). Pri zaznavanju položaja zapestnega sklepa je bilo manjše odstopanje le pri upogibu zapestja v korist nedominantne strani (p≤0.05). Med občutkom za položaj zapestnega sklepa in reakcijskim časom roke ni bilo povezave (p≥ 0.05).

Post-exercise recovery interventions enable athletes to overcome greater training loads and thereby enhancing their performance. Post-exercise recovery strategies serve to optimize recovery, help lower performance decline and prevent overtraining. The purpose of this study was to examine the current practices and attitudes towards post-exercise recovery among Slovenian sport climbers. 339 sports climbers from Slovenia (186 males, 153 females), consisting of 330 recreational sport climbers and 9 competitive sport climbers completed an online survey which was active from February to May 2022. The most common recovery strategies among sport climbers are sleep/rest (84%) and stretching (77%). A significant proportion of sport climbers (87%) reported sleeping duration below the recommended amount of sleep. Personal opinions notably influence the choice of recovery strategies (6 out of 9 competitive sport climbers and 71% of recreational sport climbers). Our findings reveal discrepancies between individual beliefs regarding the effectiveness of specific strategies and their practical implementation. Competitive sport climbers have more individualized recovery strategies (p = 0.012) and use a greater number of recovery strategies (p = 0. 005). Even though that such recovery practices of sport climbers are often in conflict with the literature, we can conclude that sport climbers recover solidly. This data may suggest that recovery does not play a major role in sport climbing performance.

While there exists a significant body of research dedicated to performance tests specific to combat sports, the current literature lacks valid and functional methodologies for assessing kickboxing-specific tasks. The present study endeavored to establish the test-retest reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change (MDC), smallest worthwhile change (SWC), and typical error (TE) values of the Frequency Speed of Kicks Test (FSKT). Furthermore, this study sought to compare the reliability values of the FSKT with those of the countermovement jump test (CMJ). The study cohort consisted of twenty-eight junior male kickboxers. Participants performed the CMJ and FSKT twice across test and retest sessions. Pearson correlation analysis identified a significant correlation (r=0.717) between the CMJ and FSKT. Paired t-tests revealed no significant disparities between the test and retest values for both the CMJ and FSKT. However, the difference between the test and retest in the CMJ demonstrated a small effect size, while the FSKT showed a trivial effect size. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values for the CMJ and FSKT were deemed "good" (r=0.855) and "excellent" (r=0.963) respectively, in terms of reliability. The FSKT displayed superior absolute agreement between test and retest scores due to its lower SEM values when compared to the CMJ. The TE, used to estimate trial-to-trial variation, was lower in the FSKT than in the CMJ. Moreover, the results indicated a lower MDC value in the FSKT than the CMJ, suggesting that the FSKT could be more effective at detecting smaller performance changes compared to the CMJ. In conclusion, this study posits that the FSKT could be considered a reliable method, demonstrating reproducible results in the performance evaluation of kickboxing athletes, pending the development of a functional kickboxing-specific field test.

The aim of this study was to examine perceived leisure-time physical activity constraints between Turkish young people living in Germany and Turkey. The current study was conducted with a causal-comparative model to examine the differences in perceived physical activity constraints between Turkish youth living in Turkey and fourth-generation Turkish-German youth who grew up and lived in Germany. 196 young adults from Germany and 201 young adults from Turkey participated in this study. A 2-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance test was used to assess the effects of country of residence and gender background on perceived physical activity constraints. Analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant interaction effect between the country of residence and gender on perceived physical activity constraints of Body Perception, Facilities, Income, Family, Skill Perception, Time, Willpower, and Society. There was also a statistically significant simple main effect of country of residence on all subscales except the skill perception, and the significant simple main effect of gender on facilities, income, time, willpower, and society subscales. Young adults living in Turkey and female precipitants reported higher physical activity constraints compared to participants living in Germany and males. These differences might be associated with the differences in economic development and physical activity norms in Turkish and German societies. These factors are vital for the number of environmental and organizational opportunities to increase leisure-time physical activity participation.

Despite all endeavours to prevent it, the use of performance-enhancing substances continues to occur in sports and social science research suggests that doping prevalence is likely much higher than what is found through testing. One of the ways to uncover doping violators is through reporting illicit drug use, through “doping whistleblowing” – the readiness to do so depends highly on the level of our moral development and the motivation to do so. It was exactly this method, which helped uncover some of the biggest doping scandals in sport in the past few years and our purpose in this study was to examine attitudes toward drug testing and anonymous reporting and see, if we can predict an athlete’s intention to report anonymously based on attitudes toward drug testing. 255 top athletes and coaches from Estonia and Slovenia-two small, athletically successful countries-participated in this study, 176 male and 79 female, 156 athletes and 99 coaches from team and individual sports. They filled out an attitudes questionnaire about drug testing and an anonymous report. The participants filled out a questionnaire online. We used t – test to compare subgroups of participants and correlation and linear regression to look for relations between doping attitudes and willingness to make an anonymous report. Comparisons of subgroups of participants revealed that female participants are more likely to believe that taking banned substances should be punished but are less likely to make an anonymous report. We also found that coaches seem to be better informed about the issue of doping than athletes and trust NADO more than athletes. We found several correlations between attitudes toward doping testing and those toward anonymous report and we tried to predict the willingness to make an anonymous report. We found several predictors, which were different for men and women. NADOs play an important role in creating conditions, which will enable people to report doping anonymously, but it has to be done both through education and through rigorous testing. This will ensure that whistleblowing can become an active part of the fight for clean sport.

The aim of this research is to determine the profile of preschool teachers who have enrolled in the education for Leader of Kinesiological Activities for Early and Preschool Children at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Rijeka, as well as to predict it for future cycles. As many as 171 preschool teachers who completed their education for Leader of Kinesiological Activities for Early and Preschool Children, i.e. lifelong training programme, participated in the research. The basic descriptive parameters were calculated, and to determine the correlation between certain variables the Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used, the differences were determined by the Student’s t-test for independent samples, and to predict the future preschool teachers’ profile the linear regression analysis was used. The results indicate that the attendants were statistically significantly different (p<0.00) according to the criterion of completed study, i.e. preschool teachers with a completed graduate study are averagely seven years younger and have almost seven years of working experience less. A further trend of enrolment anticipates preschool teachers with less years of service and a completed graduate study. The greatest contribution offered by this research lies in the proven need of the participants for further training on the topic of integrated movement, while the large age span indicates a huge interest of preschool teachers with more, but also fewer years of service.

It is known that physical, psychological, and cognitive characteristics are important in orienteering. However, no studies have investigated the effects of cognitive characteristics on performance in practice. This study aimed to determine the effect levels of the different variables of elite male orienteers (i.e., success rate, year of sports experience, short-term memory, visual memory, attention, and concentration) on their performance in two orienteering courses (sprint and memory courses). A total of 36 voluntary elite male athletes who had been orienteering for at least two years, over 18, with a mean age of 24.58±4.85 years and sports experience of 7.83±3.56 years participated in the study. The Cognitrone, VISGED visual memory, d2 attention, and serial digit learning tests were applied to all participants, respectively. All participants ran the memory and sprint orienteering courses at 72-hour intervals in a randomized manner. Afterward, the effects of the athletes’ cognitive performance and some characteristics on the course completion time were examined. According to the results of the linear regression analysis, the model’s independent variables that affected the winning time of the sprint course were the success rate, short-term memory score, and concentration (R= .505, R2= .255, F=3.193, p=.003, p<.01). Among these variables, the variable that predicted the winning time of the sprint course the most was the success rate (B=-244.25, Beta=-0.473, P=.015, p<.05). Year of sports experience, success rate, short-term memory score, concentration, and cog-correct response time were the independent variables affecting the winning time of the memory course (R=.620, R2=.385, F= 3.374, p=.000, p<.001). Year of sports experience was the independent variable with the highest effect on the winning time of the memory course (B=-6.718, Beta=-0.369, p=.029, p<.05). The factors affecting the sprint and memory courses' winning time were examined, and it was concluded that the orienteers' years of sports experience and successes affected the course winning time. These findings suggest that orienteering race performance is more related to the experience of transferring them to orienteering and creating tactical processes rather than the cognitive characteristics of orienteers.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of static fatigue of trunk extensor and abdominal muscle groups on static and dynamic balance components. The study sample consisted of 40 healthy volunteers. Lumbar erector spinae, multifidus, and latissimus dorsi, external oblique, rectus abdominis and internal oblique muscles were measured on the dominant side. Dynamic and static balances were measured before and after the test protocol following EMG analysis. Pre-test and post-test static and dynamic balance scores showed that there was a statistically significant difference in OE (open-eyed) static balance values between the experimental and control groups (p<.01). There was a statistically significant difference in ATE (Average track error) scores between male and female participants (p<.05). There was a statistically significant difference in mean coordinated fatigue values of agonist and antagonist muscle groups in the Biering-Sørensen position between male and female participants (p<.05). Deterioration was observed in participants’ OE static balance, indicating that OE static balance deterioration occurred again in the OE position. There was a statistically significant difference in co-fatigue values of abdominal muscles between the two groups.

Dual-task paradigms are typically used for two different aims. The first aim is to investigate the demands of attention of a motor task, and the other aim is to examine the effects of simultaneous cognitive or motor tasks on motor performance. The purpose of the current research is to determine the changes in motor performance times of national (experts) and non-national players (novices) during motor tasks including cognitive cues. Fifteen male national taekwondo players, who are active in taekwondo (age=17.8±1.65 years; training experience=6-13 years; training frequency=5-6 day\week, 2-3 hour\day) and 15 male non-national taekwondo players (age=16.8±1.68 year; training years=3-9 years; training frequency=1.86 ± 0.22 hour\day and 4.33 ± 0.61 day / week) were voluntarily included in the study. FitLight Trainer™ system was used to determine the dual-task performance of participants. The performance time of expert players was statistically and significantly lower compared to novice players (Random Test: t=3.884, p <0.05; Cue Test: t=3.155, p <0.05; Mixed Cue Test: t=3.013, p<0.05). This study reveals; (1) expert players automatically make postural control adjustments during the motor task, and they put less cognitive effort than they are minimally considered, (2) they show a positive development in regular physical activities and training, and other systems, especially in the proprioceptive system, involved in balance control. We conclude that performances of novices suffer considerably in motor-cognitive dual-task situations. Therefore, training with dual-tasks might be useful working memory skills and attentional control of novice players. We conclude that dual-tasks acutely impacts motor and cognitive performance. Therefore, training with dual-tasks might be useful working memory skills and attentional control of novice players. We conclude that dual-tasks acutely impacts motor and cognitive performance. In future studies, dual-task paradigms between different combat sports and comparisons of postural control strategies should be measured.