Analysis of the Romanian Basketball Sports Club Performance

Abstract

The current stage of sports development, at the organizational level, seeks to create or maintain a significant number of special training units for children and juniors: school sports clubs, junior sections of the sports clubs, classes with physical education program in middle schools and high schools, national Olympic centres for junior training and, not least, private clubs. Presently, in Romania, it can be noted an increase in the number of sports clubs with basketball activity, which actually does not mean an increase in performance. In this study, there are analysed, in a quantitative perspective, the contributions of sports clubs with basketball activity to the national teams’ performances achieved in the last five years, following their participation in European competitions. There are examined official data regarding the number of sports clubs affiliated to FRB (Romanian Basketball Federation), the number of counties where the teams ranked on the first four places at the final tournaments in the 2011-2014 period and the number of athletes selected from each county to participate in the European Basketball Championships between 2010 and 2014.The collected information provides a diagram illustrating the spread of sports clubs and their performances at junior level in Romania.

Keywords: Performance, basketball, system

Introduction

Performance sport is the model towards which all efforts of the factors engaged in the training

activity of children and junior teams should be directed. Current concerns of the sports movement in

training children and juniors are permanently focused on organizing effective training and guidance at

this age level.

At the organizational level, the goal is to create or maintain a high number of special training units

for children and youth: school sports clubs, junior sections of the sports clubs, classes with physical

education program in middle schools and high schools, national Olympic centres for junior training

and, not least, private clubs.

The selection actions within teams and groups have become permanent, seeking especially the

promotion of young talents (Ghițescu & Moanță, 2008: 169).

Romania’s sports representation in international competitions depends on the performances of

sports clubs affiliated to the specialized federations.

National sports federations have responsibilities in organizing and coordinating the entire activity of

domestic and international competitions (Legea nr. 69/2000).

Sports clubs can be private or public legal entities affiliated to the specialized federations, their role

being to manage and organize activities in one or more sports, which involves training and

participation in competitions.

Currently, in Romania, it can be noted an increase in the number of sports clubs with basketball

activity, which actually does not mean an increase in performance.

In this study, there are analysed, in a quantitative perspective, the contributions of sports clubs with

basketball activity to the national teams’ performances achieved in the last five years, following their

participation in European competitions.

Experts have identified a number of issues affecting the practice of performance sports, out of which

the following have a major impact:

Population access to performance sports; Reduced physical activity due to increased obesity; Lack of interest in practicing performance sports; Dropping out of sports activity around the age of 14-16 years.

The purpose of this study is to identify, within the structural system with basketball activity, the

counties that capitalize experience at the performance level, the tradition and professionalism of all

those involved in practicing performance sports.

Materials and methods

Analysis of the interest in obtaining performance in basketball, but especially of the achieved

results, takes into account the information categories relating, on the one hand, to the sports structure in

which basketball is practiced, and on the other hand, to the achieved performances.

In this regard, there were analysed the following indicators:

The number of sports structures affiliated to FRB (Romanian Basketball Federation), by county; The number of counties where the teams ranked on the first four places at the junior final

tournaments - U16, U18, U20 - from 2011 to 2014;

The number of athletes selected from each county to participate in the European Basketball Championship - U16, U18, U20 - from 2010 to 2014.

Players’ affiliation was established considering their birth place, on the grounds that the sports

structure in the respective county had operated the selection and initial training of players.

This paper contributes, through the data provided, to support the strategy in sports field, highlighting

the need for an increased number of sports structures (economic dimension) for the 2013-2030 period.

Under the current circumstances, in which there is a remarkable increase in the number of sports

structures in the field of basketball, we believe that an analysis of their value using national and

international results may lay the basis for institutional development and performance.

Results

The information used in this study is public and was provided by the FRB and FIBA websites.

Regarding the number of structures affiliated to FRB, it can be stated that, in 2014, there were

affiliated 259 permanent structures in 36 counties and Bucharest Municipality. The situation

concerning the number of sports clubs in each county and Bucharest Municipality is the following

(Table 1):

On the first three places, there are two counties and Bucharest Municipality, which are mentioned in

documents as the first places where basketball was practiced, and we refer here to Bucharest

Municipality and the capital cities of two counties, namely Cluj Napoca and Targu Mures.

In these counties, the weight of practicing basketball game is different by gender, an aspect that will

be discussed in a future study. Regarding the national performances of basketball clubs, these were

analysed in the light of their qualification for the final junior tournaments between 2010 and 2014; all

data were provided by the FRB website, but only the first four places were taken into account. The

situation by county, for both male and female genders, is the following (Table 2):

Out of the 20 counties ranking on the first four places at the final tournaments, male and female,

only 6 had good performances in both men and women: Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj Napoca, Galati,

Prahova and Timis.

The clubs’ entire activity is reflected in the promotion of athletes to national teams, as the best

players on their positions.

Regarding the selection of players to junior national teams - U16, U18, U20, all data were provided

by the FIBA website.

Considering the last five editions of the Junior European Championships in the 2010-2014 period,

and specifying that all male teams participated in competitions in group B and female teams played in

group A (U18 and U20), the situation is as follows (Table 3):

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A separate analysis concerning the results at the final tournaments of national championships and

the representativeness of national teams regarding men’s basketball indicates 21 counties that provide

players to national teams, of which 21 ranking on the first four places at the junior final tournaments

(Table 4).

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Graphical representation shows the top 5 male values recorded, considering the results in national

championships and the number of players in national teams, which indicate that only 9 counties

correspond to the purposes of this study (Fig. 1).

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A separate analysis concerning the results at the final tournaments of national championships and

the representativeness of national teams regarding women’s basketball indicates 22 counties that

provide players to national teams, of which 14 ranking on the first four places at the junior final

tournaments (Table 5).

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Graphical representation shows the top 5 female values recorded, considering the results in national

championships and the number of players in national teams, which indicate that only 7 counties

correspond to the purposes of this study (Fig. 2).

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Discussions and conclusions

After conducting the study and performing the analyses, we can highlight that:

Basketball game is practiced within clubs in 37 of the 42 counties (88%), indicating the spread of basketball in Romania;

Considering the affiliated structures, it is noted the continuous interest of the “historical” regions in practicing basketball;

The interest in practicing basketball is different by gender and only 6 counties correspond to the purposes of this study.

9 counties for males and 7 counties for females recorded the highest score, taking into account the performance criteria established in this study: ranking on the first four places at the final tournaments

of national championships and the number of players in national junior teams between 2010 and 2014;

Given the above, we can notice an uneven spread of the basketball game, highlighting the traditional basketball centres and the counties with low or absent basketball activity.

References

• FIBA website. Retreived from http://www.fiba.com/ FRB website. Retreived from http://www.frbaschet.ro/ Ghiţescu, I. G., & Moanţă, A. D. (2008). Bazele jocului de baschet. Bucureşti: Matrixrom.

• Legea nr. 69/2000. Legea educației fizice și sportului. Retrieved from http://www.dreptonline.ro/legislatie/legea_sportului.php