An Analysis of Rotation Directions and Support Foot Preferences in Body Rotation Difficulties of Rhythmic Gymnasts

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the type, number, and rotational directions of body rotation difficulties (BRD) preferred by gymnasts in their routines and which support foot/leg is in the BRD they perform. The relationships between the number of BRD in the routines and the competition scores of the gymnasts were also examined. The individual all-around final competition routines (N=72) of the elite senior gymnasts at the 39th Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG) World Championships held in 2022 were examined. RG evaluation rules were taken into account in the analysis of all BRD. The data were obtained by analyzing the routines recorded during the competitions. Descriptive statistical analyzes were made using the IBM SPSS 25.0 statistics program. In the ribbon, the mean values of the number of BRD used were higher, and the mean values of the difficulty and total scores were lower than the other apparatus. The mean value of the number of all BRD performed by the gymnasts in routines was determined as 26.2 ± 6.51. A significant correlation was found between the BRD numbers and scores of the gymnasts, mainly in the hoop and ball apparatus p<5%. Illusion (forward), Fouette (leg stretched horizontally), and Split back without help (trunk horizontal) were preferred more by gymnasts in all routines. The gymnasts generally exhibited rightward rotation direction preferences and used the right support foot/leg in most of their preferred BRD. Bilateral or supportive exercises should be included to prevent the harmful effects of unilateral loading while creating perfect movements with repetitions