Study On The Characteristics Of The Sports Group In Performance Rhythmic Gymnastics

Abstract

This study brings to the attention of field specialists the importance of group theory in the practice of performance sport by rhythmic gymnastics teams. The topic addressed is part of a longitudinal experimental research conducted on the national group team and illustrates the optimal training concept. The instructional strategies identified, studied and assessed in this research focused on the major operational objectives of high-performance sports activity and circumscribed around three defining aspects of sporting success: the individual, the group and the organisation of training. Starting from the premise according to which building a homogeneous, cohesive sports group is a priority objective of the activity carried out by teachers-coaches, we aimed to establish the criteria regarding the formation, development and manifestation of the rhythmic gymnastics sports group and to identify interpersonal relationships within the team, in terms of cohesion factors. Such an approach will finally allow the implementation of efficient action-oriented and ameliorative methods in order to make up a homogeneous and cohesive group and achieve the proposed performance objectives. The technique used to measure the expression of group relationships was the sociometric one. The obtained results highlight the group cohesion and dynamics, as well as the existence of homogeneity imposed by both the specificity of the event and the training activity, which lasts long and is much more intense than sports competition.

Keywords: Gymnasticssports groupinterpersonal relationships

Introduction

The history of psycho-sociology has recorded, since the third decade of the last century, numerous theses on the criteria of formation, development and manifestation of social groups, considering as legitimate the normal parameters that influence the group work (Park & Burgess, 1921; Le Bon, 2004; Katz, 1953; Moreno, 1934; Chelcea, 1998, 2010; Iluț, 1997; Moscovici, 1998, 2006; Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 1998; Zlate & Zlate, 1982; Golu, 1988, 1989, 2004).

The contemporary sports phenomenon increasingly highlights the importance of group theory in the practice of performance sports at the team level. We can talk today about a coherent system of ideas on the sports group psychology. Most research on the small sports group focuses on the system of preferential relationships, the team cohesion and dynamics (Carron, Bray, & Eys, 2002; Esfahani, Soflu, & Assadi, 2011), the leadership typology and task cohesion (Smith, Arthur, Hardy, Callow, & Williams, 2013) or on cohesion, intra-team communication and team member satisfaction and desire to remain (Onağ & Tepeci, 2014). Building a homogeneous, cohesive sports group is one of the priority objectives in the activity carried out by the teacher-coach, because, as stated by Carron et al. (2002), the connection between cohesion and performance is reciprocal, meaning that strong cohesion increases team performance, and team success increases group cohesion.

Problem Statement

Studying the sports group represents an important link in the knowledge process, because the athlete directly experiences social relationships, thus proving their level of integration into the group.

If we consider the national rhythmic gymnastics teams, whose preparation lasts about 11 months per year in training camp conditions, with the entire system of related privations, we will understand more easily how these athletes build progressively and naturally their own existential environment. Thus, it can be conceived as a socially constituted environment, as a specific socio-ecological system where athletes live and invest their efforts to achieve common and individual goals. For these reasons, we aimed at a systematic approach to the role played by the group in the context of performance sports training. From the very beginning, a first distinction arises, namely the one between the sports team in individual events and the sports team in group events. However, regardless of the approach to the issue, we note that, in both types of sports teams, there is collective work aimed at achieving sports performance, but which underpins the self-assertion dimensions.

Dynamics of the rhythmic gymnastics team

Each rhythmic gymnastics team represents an active and dynamic centre. It goes through several stages during its evolution, outlining its own history.

The inner dynamics of the group maintains the individual potential at a certain level and pace. The more rational the internal functioning, the better its results, and thus the effects of the group dynamics will lead to:

• forming a type of individual, but also collective personality through the implementation of new values, beliefs and behavioural patterns;

• optimising the level of sociable learning ability;

• solving situations due to the need for planning the activity;

• establishing shared goals and making decisions about how to act.

In rhythmic gymnastics, the “brilliant” period of a team is relatively short. This is directly related to the peak periods of each athlete and the length of their careers. With few exceptions, gymnasts participating in individual events give up sports activity around the age of 18-19 years. The situation differs in the group event, where an athlete’s career is longer by far, reaching the age of 21-24 years (for example, the group team gymnasts from Japan, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania, participants in the 1999 World Championship). This is largely due to the specificity of this competitive event, where the composition and execution of technical elements require athletes with superior motor background and rich competitive experience. Obviously, they will be selected, using criteria specific to the event, among the most valuable gymnasts who have participated in individual events.

We exemplify below the dynamics of the senior national group team (Figure 01 ) that has covered, during its evolution, almost all stages described in the specialised psychological literature:

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Research Questions

To achieve the performance objectives proposed for the national group team, our study focused on identifying interpersonal relationships, the degree of homogeneity and cohesion of the group of athletes.

Purpose of the Study

Starting from the premise that the effects of the training process conducted in a favourable psychosocial climate are reflected in the nature of interpersonal relationships, we aim to check whether the development of positive interpersonal relationships within the sports group increases the team cohesion and performance.

Research Methods

In this study, the sociometric method was used. The group team members performed a sociometric test, an instrument measuring attractions and rejections between individuals within a group (Chelcea, 1975), by responding to a questionnaire where the items were grouped two by two (elections-rejections) and aimed at three particularly important situations that might exist between gymnasts: sports training activity; participation in competitions; spending leisure time.

Other questions were related to the gymnasts’ preferences regarding the formation of competition teams and designation of the leader.

To comply with the methodological requirements, the first test was applied 4 months after establishing the national group team, and the second test, 3 weeks before the first competition. Three responses were allowed, in order of preferences, for questions 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 11-12, each election being rated +5, +3, +1 points; for rejections, the same rating was used, but with the minus sign (-). At question 9, referring to the team composition in order of preference, the rating was 6 points for the first position, 5 points for the second position etc. Question 10 was about the team leader.

The responses, by group of questions, were tabulated into sociometric matrices, and the results were summarised. In turn, these matrices and summary tables were used to make the sociograms and calculate the preferential status index (PSI) for each gymnast participating in the test.

Findings

Team sociograms

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Conclusion

The in-depth knowledge of the athletes, from a psychological point of view (personality traits, motivation, cohesion between the group members in terms of progress and differences), provides the opportunity to educate and improve these special sides, which can enhance elite performance in individual and group events.

Analysing the group with regard to the cohesion factors, the observations made during training and competitions and the conclusions drawn by the team psychologist on the basis of specific tests, we have found that the team has high cohesion resulting from both the pleasure to practice this sport in group and the need for achievement and performance.

Achieving group cohesion represented a complex social modelling process, which required the harmonisation of individual trends and intentions and their merging into an affective group atmosphere. The effort consisted in reaching an intentionality shared by the group members with regard to the main goals and tasks, which led to effectiveness, by also taking into account the need to harmonise the goal of the group with the individual one and the personal motivation of each athlete.

From the above, we can highlight the need for a careful approach to the system of relationships established within the group of gymnasts and also to the influence that the team and the psychosocial climate can have on the personality of the athletes, because the established relationships can be an important factor in the rhythmic gymnastics performance activity and the long-term participation in competitions.

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