The Influence of Sports Activity on the Importance of the Sexual Somatotype of Athletes in Paired Women’s Acrobatics and Gymnastics

Abstract

The article presents research materials relating to the study of the individual characteristics of the 2D:4D finger index in young athletes in pair female acrobatics and gymnastics. The aim of the study is to study and comparatively analyze the features of the 2D: 4D finger proportions in the "upper" and "lower" female partners in paired female acrobatics and among the female athletes involved in artistic gymnastics, referred to adolescence; confirmation of the influence of the 2D:4D finger ratio on the athletic capabilities of athletes and the formation of their sexual somatotype. It has been proved that the presence in these groups of female athletes with certain values of the inverse, andromorphic sexual somatotype indicates an increased level of testosterone in the body of these athletes and inverse adaptive changes with the formation of masculinization phenomena in them. Research methods and organization. To conduct research on the features of the 2D:4D finger proportions in the "upper" and "lower" female partner athletes in paired female acrobatics and in athletes engaged in artistic gymnastics, the following methods were used: anthropometric method to determine: IPD) and somatotyping according to the classification of J. Tanner and W. Marshall; 2) measurement and comparison of II and IV fingers of the hands of athletes using the finger ratio method according to J.T. Menning – 2D:4D Digit Ratio; 3) as well as the method of literary analysis, using available sources of information; 4) method of mathematical statistics. Organization of the study. This study was conducted in 2019-2020 with the involvement of 31 pairs of acrobats and 59 athletes involved in artistic gymnastics in Ukraine (Nikolaev and Poltava). "Lower" acrobats and gymnasts (n=90) - adolescent – 19.35±1.07 years; "Upper" acrobats (n=31) – pubertal age – 14.68±1.14 years (p≤0,01). Their experience in these sports ranged from 2.5 to 10 years. The level of sportsmanship – from I-III sports category to a candidate for master of sports, master of sports. Research results. After carrying out the study of the necessary anthropometric measurements for each participant (indicators of the width of the shoulders and pelvis, the length of the II and IV fingers of both hands) and processing the obtained anthropometric values, the values of the sexual dimorphism index (SDI) in each study group were determined by mathematical recalculation.