Varley Teoldo da Costa

The relative age effect in combat sports: an analysis of olympic judo athletes, 1964-2012

This study assessed the relative age effect (RAE) in judo athletes who participated in the Olympic Games from 1964 to 2012. The names and birth-dates of the Olympic judo athletes were collected from open-access websites. Data from male (n = 1,762) and female (n = 665) competitors were analyzed separately. Chi-squared tests were performed to investigate REA in medalists, and by weight categories and sexes. When the analyses used semesters to divide the period when the athletes were born, a RAE was found in male heavyweight athletes and male medallists. Thus, in a selected group of judo athletes who had participated at the highest competitive level, RAEs were present in both athletes who won Olympic medals and heavyweight athletes in the male group.

2016 Rio Olympic Games: Can the schedule of events compromise athletes’ performance?

ABSTRACT The organizing committee of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games recently announced that some of the preliminary and final competitions will be held at night. The present article discusses the potential harmful effects of these late-night competitions on sleep, circadian rhythms and athletic performance during the Olympic Games. Specifically, night-time competition could lead to injury and may compromise an athlete’s decision-making, attentional, physiological and other processes. Consequently, these impacts could negatively affect the performance of athletes and their teams. Thus, it is suggested that technical commissions take special care when creating strategies to minimize harm to the athletes by considering factors such as light exposure, melatonin intake, sleep hygiene and scheduled naps, and training at local competition time. Furthermore, it is necessary for specialists in chronobiology and sleep to engage with members of the national teams to develop an activity schedule for physical, technical, tactical and psychological preparation that accounts for circadian rhythms, thereby creating the best possible environment for the athletes to achieve their ideal performance.

Nadadores medalhistas olímpicos: contexto do desenvolvimento brasileiro

Expertise as a field is one that studies the authenticity of the expert, meaning the skill or knowledge level he or she has in a certain field, such as athletics. Different models, from the ambient perspective, judge factors that influence the development of the expert. The aim of this study was to verify the context in which Brazilian swimmers develop, specifically those who have won an olympic medal. Eight swimmers who have won at least one medal in any category of the Olympic games were interviewed. The transcripts of the interviews were recorded, after which a qualitative analysis using Meaning - Units (MUs). 218 MUs were classified as follows: when the athletes career began, the presence of coaches, the influence of family and friends, and deliberated practice. From the results, it can be concluded that the context of development contributed fundamentally to the evolution of the athletes. The diverse realities show that there is not a necessary pattern needed to restrict excellency.

Análise dos sintomas de overtraining durante os períodos de treinamento e recuperação: estudo de caso de uma equipe feminina da Superliga de Voleibol 2003/2004

Overtraining is a process involving progressively increased training to a high absolute level that is in excess of more routine training undertaken to maintain performance. However, its excessive increase may impair the physical and mental health of the athlete. The aim of this study was to keep up with levels of stress and recovery of volleyball athletes during the Brazilian Super League 2003/2004. 16 athletes (23,63 ± 6,40 years) were evaluated during two periods, training and rest by answering a stress and recovery questionnaire (RESTQ-Sport-76). Stress levels were measured through the scales 1 to 7 (general stress) and 13 to 15 (stress sports). Its results showed significant differences between perceptions of athletes in all scales (p<0,05) during training and rest. Levels of sports and general recoveries are known through nine scales. In five of them (9, 10, 11, 12 and 16) there were significant differences (p<0,05) and in four, (8, 13, 14 and 15) there were low recovery by the athletes. The conclusion is that RESTQ-Sport-76 was able to assess stress and recovery levels in volleyball athletes and this group demonstrated low recovery during training period.

Content Validation of a Catalog of Exercises for Judo.

This study aimed to assess the content validity of a catalog of 76 judo exercises. Two groups of raters comprising 16 judo experts evaluated the following content validity indicators: Clarity of Language, Practical Pertinence, Theoretical Relevance, and the Dimension of each exercise. The results confirmed the content validity of the judo training catalog with indicators showing scores greater than 0.80. These findings suggest that all 76 judo exercises are pertinent, representative of judo training and understandable for judo coaches. Thus, this catalog of judo exercises may help judo coaches in the selection and recording of exercises.

Relative age effect on the reaction time of soccer players under 13 years old

O efeito da idade relativa, que consiste na vantagem obtida pelo atleta nascido mais proximo ao inicio do ano de selecao, tem se mostrado uma variavel importante para o processo de selecao de esportistas. Este estudo objetivou avaliar a influencia da epoca de nascimento no tempo de reacao de escolha de futebolistas presentes nas categorias de base (sub 13) de clubes profissionais futebol. Participaram 76 atletas com idade de 13,36 ± 0,45 anos. Os voluntarios foram submetidos ao teste do TRE, e os resultados categorizados conforme o semestre de nascimento (S1 ou S2). Foi empregado o teste t para a comparacao entre grupos, e analise de Correlacao de Pearson para verificar a existencia de associacoes entre as variaveis. Os resultados nao indicaram diferencas entre os grupos no tempo de reacao (r = 0,033 e p = 0,772) e no tempo de movimento (r = 0,0073 e p = 0,530). Concluiu-se que para essa populacao, a epoca de nascimento nao influencia no desempenho dessa capacidade.

Validação das propriedades psicométricas do RESTQ-Coach na versão brasileira

The purpose of this study was to validate a Brazilian version of the The Recovery, Stress Questionnaire for Coaches (RESTQ-Coach), herein named Questionario de Estresse e Recuperacao para Treinadores Esportivos (RESTQ-Coach-versao brasileira). The RESTQ is an assessment tool for Brazilian sport coaches. Also, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the purpose of this study was to verify the adequacy of the theoretical model by Kallus e Kellmann (1993). A sample comprised of 424 coaches, average age of 37.06 (±9.20) years, was divided into eleven different sports modalities, consisting of five team sports and six individual sports. The results of the AFC shows that the original model of the questionnaire proposed by Kallus e Kellmann (1993) is inadequate for this sample, and that the AFE was identified as the best solution to a factorial validation of the instrument, which is composed of six factors. This solution disclosed general internal consistency values of α = .85. Values of the global adjustment indicators of the Brazilian model for six AFE factors were: χ2 = 9.660,239 e gl = 2695, p=0,001; CFI= 0,96; TLI= 0,95; RMSEA 0,07, expressing their quality. We concluded that Kallus e Kellmann (1993) model was not corroborated by the AFC for this Brazilian sample. The best factorial solution to the RESTQ-Coach Brazilian version is composed by six constructs.

Principais correntes de estudo da criatividade e suas relações com o esporte

RESUMO Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar os diferentes pensamentos e visoes sobre criatividade, bem como relaciona-los com o esporte de uma forma geral. A visao mistica, pragmatica, cognitiva, psicometrica e social da criatividade, bem como seus principais conceitos e linhas de pensamentos, sao apresentados de forma sistematica e sucinta ao relaciona-los com o fenomeno esportivo. Apresentam-se ainda novas perspectivas sobre os paradigmas que envolvem o estudo da criatividade na atualidade. UNITERMOS: criatividade, jogos coletivos, comportamento criativo, processos cognitivos, personalidade.

A QUALIDADE DA COPA DO MUNDO DA FIFA BRASIL 2014 NAS CIDADES-SEDE

The purpose of this study was to verify whether the perception of quality of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil varies depending on where the event was hosted. A total of 3,042 questionnaires were collected in five cities hosting the World Cup. Results from confirmatory factor analysis indicated good psychometric qualities of the model used to measure quality. Through MANOVA tests, significant differences in the event quality were observed among participants from five host cities. The results were discussed and managerial implications and suggestions for future studies were provided.

Recursos humanos, financeiros e materiais de atletas de basquetebol nas categorias de base e a percepção dos treinadores sobre a formação dos atletas

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os recursos humanos, financeiros e materiais de atletas de basquetebol nas categorias de base e a percepcao dos treinadores sobre estes recursos no processo de formacao do atleta. A amostra do estudo foi composta por: 47 atletas de categoria sub-19 anos de Minas Gerais e os respectivos treinadores e 47 atletas profissionais. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Questionario sobre o Contexto da Pratica para Atletas de Basquetebol (QCP-Basq), Versao Recursos para o Treinamento e entrevista semiestruturada. Com base nos resultados foi possivel entender que os atletas profissionais treinaram em instituicoes com mais recursos desde a iniciacao esportiva em comparacao aos atletas da categoria sub-19 anos de Minas Gerais. Os treinadores de Minas Gerais indicam precariedade na estruturacao dos recursos na formacao do jovem atleta e ressaltam que ha dificuldade em aproveitar o jogador que se destaca nas categorias de base nas equipes profissionais do Estado.