Rhythmic ability (RA) plays an important role in sports in which music accompaniment is used, such as artistic swimming (AS). The aim of the present study was to investigate RA's relationship with the athletes’ overall performance in AS, as well as the independent scores of AS performance (i.e., Execution, Artistic Impression and Difficulty), taking into account their competitive category and experience. The sample consisted of 47 female artistic swimmers (age 15.8±3.3 years; athletic experience 6.6±3.3 years) divided into three competitive categories (Senior, Junior, and Comen). The High/Scope Rhythmic Competence Αnalysis Τest (Weikart, 1989) was used for the evaluation of RA of participants. Three official AS judges were used to assess athletes’ performance in the water routine session. Descriptive and inferential (i.e., two MANCOVAs) statistical analysis revealed that experience was a significant positive predictor of AS Performance and RA, indicating that as experience increased, athletes’ AS performance and RA also increased. In addition, results showed that athletes in the senior category scored higher in all variables in relation to junior and comen athletes; however, these differences were not statistically significant.
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Perceived leadership behavior and athlete satisfaction are integral constructs in the multidimensional leadership model. The aim of the present study was to examine the moderation effect of athletic maturity on the association between perceived leadership behavior and athlete satisfaction in synchronized swimming athletes. The sample was comprehensive, as it included all 165 Greek synchronized swimming athletes participating in national championships and elite athletes from the national teams participating in international events. Athletic maturity was classified according to the athletes' category into comen, junior and senior. Athlete satisfaction was measured with Athletes Satisfaction Scale and perceived leadership behavior was assessed with the Leadership Scale for Sports-Perceived edition. The questionnaires were completed at the end of the competitive season at the athletes' training grounds. Results showed that the strength of association between perceived leadership behavior and athlete satisfaction is significantly greater in the senior category as compared to the comen and junior categories. This association proves to be stronger for the dimension of satisfaction with leadership that is adequately explained by the factors of social support and training and instruction. The findings provide support to the notion that athletic maturity is a moderator of the effect of perceived leadership behavior on athlete satisfaction.
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