The purpose of this study was to discover whether the gymnasts' body shape affects the judging of gymnastics. The goal was to discover whether the judges' perceptions of the gymnasts' body shape related to the gymnasts' performance scores. A second goal was to discover whether performance scores differed when given by judges with two levels of experience (experienced and novice). Videotapes of compulsory routines performed by 16 gymnasts on bars, beam and floor were constructed to simulate a competition. Eighteen judges, nine novice and nine experienced, evaluated the routines. They were also required to rate their perception of the aesthetic appeal of the 16 gymnasts' body shape. Each gymnasts' body mass index (BMI) was calculated from their height and weight measurements to quantify body shape. The scores were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. The results showed a significant main effect of BMI on judges' perception of gymnasts' body shape scores, $F(3,48)=9.50, p<.001.$ Gymnasts with a medium-low BMI received significantly higher perception scores than gymnasts with a medium-high BMI and gymnasts with a high BMI. The results also showed a significant main effect $(p<.001)$ of BMI on performance scores. Gymnasts with a high BMI received higher performance scores than those gymnasts with a low BMI, medium-low BMI and medium-high BMI. The effect of judge experience was very close to significant $(p<.059)$ in relation to performance scores. Experienced judges gave lower performance scores than novice judges. Although all judges preferred smaller body shape, this preference did not affect the performance scores award by the judges.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.26764 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Valiquette, Sheri. |
| Contributors | Downey, M. J. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Physical Education.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001556361, proquestno: MQ29575, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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