The Efficiency of the Treaction Co Software for the Selection Process in Rhythmic Gymnastics

Abstract

The complexity of the training process, the increase of the demands in dealing with the training objectives, as well as the tendency to decrease the age of reaching the great performances in rhythmic gymnastics, are aspects that require the continuous improvement of the sports selection strategies. The current tendencies of the rhythmic gymnastics contest programs highlight exceptional performances, materialized in practice by higher difficulty technical executions with increased rates of reaction speed, the gymnast being forced to react quickly to stimuli, respectively to the movement of the object, for the success of the element or of the combination of elements. The reaction time has major implications in the efficiency of dealing with the specific technical elements, being especially important in the incipient stage of the formation of the skill for using the apparatus, respectively the I st stage of the sports training in the rhythmic gymnastics. The overall objective was to contribute to the improvement of the initial selection criteria in rhythmic gymnastics by objectively evaluating the complex reaction time to visual stimuli. The purpose of the study was to identify the importance and relevance of the TReaction Co software in the selection of gymnasts with real valences for practicing this sports field. The study was carried out on a sample of 30 gymnasts aged between 6 and 8 years old, in the sports hall of the UNEFS Bucharest. The testing was performed using the TReaction Co software, through which the complex reaction time was evaluated for the upper limbs -the dominant hand and the non-dominant hand. The results obtained by using the TReaction Co software were a useful step in completing the existing sources in the specialty literature of rhythmic gymnastics.