Madrid, España
Murcia, España
Olympic shooting is a precision sport, influenced by both physical and psychological parameters. The main objective of the study was to analyze the effects of competitive anxiety in female sport pistol shooting during the qualification and the final rounds. Twenty-three women, including 5 elite shooters, who competed at a national Spanish Olympic shooting championship, participated in the study. All shooters completed a socio-demographic and a Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) questionnaire 10 minutes before each competition round. Performance was measured at competition by use of electronic targets Sius Ascor D941. Demographic and anxiety variables were registered using a questionnaire and the CSAI-2, respectively. Wilcoxon signed- rank, U Mann–Whitney tests, linear regressions and Pearson correlations were used for the data analysis. Our results showed that pre-competition anxiety impairs performance and increases trigger time. In addition, there are a strong relation between the physical condition and the psychological variables of somatic anxiety and self-confidence for the finalist shooters. We conclude that anxiety modified trigger time and that shooters’ physical condition is inversely related to anxiety and positively related with performance and self- confidence. For this reasons, physical condition programs could be recommended for Olympic shooting.
Abstract: Olympic shooting is a precision sport, influenced by both physical and psychological parameters. The main objective of the study was to analyze the effects of competitive anxiety in female sport pistol shooting during the qualification and the final rounds. Twenty-three women, including 5 elite shooters, who competed at a national Spanish Olympic shooting championship, participated in the study. All shooters completed a socio-demographic and a Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) questionnaire 10 minutes before each competition round. Performance was measured at competition by use of electronic targets Sius Ascor D941. Demographic and anxiety variables were registered using a questionnaire and the CSAI-2, respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank, U Mann–Whitney tests, linear regressions and Pearson correlations were used for the data analysis. Our results showed that pre-competition anxiety impairs performance and increases trigger time. In addition, there are a strong relation between the physical condition and the psychological variables of somatic anxiety and self-confidence for the finalist shooters. We conclude that anxiety modified trigger time and that shooters’ physical condition is inversely related to anxiety and positively related with performance and self-confidence. For this reasons, physical condition programs could be recommended for Olympic shooting. Resumen: El tiro olímpico es un deporte de precisión, influenciado por factores físicos y psicológicos. El principal objetivo del estudio fue analizar los efectos de la ansiedad precompetitiva y competitiva en mujeres de la modalidad de pistola deportiva durante la clasificación y la final olímpica. Veintitrés mujeres, incluyendo cinco tiradoras de élite, que compitieron en un Campeonato de España participaron en el estudio. Todas las deportistas completaron un cuestionario sociodemográfico y el CSAI-2 10 minutos antes de cada ronda de competición. El rendimiento fue medido mediante blancos electrónicos Sius Ascor D941 durante la competición. Para el análisis de datos se usaron las pruebas de Wilcoxon, U Mann–Whitney, regresiones lineales y correlaciones de Pearson. Los resultados mostraron que la ansiedad precompetitiva afecta al rendimiento y aumenta el tiempo de disparo. Además, existe una fuerte correlación entre la percepción de la condición física y las variables psicológicas de ansiedad somática y autoconfianza para las atletas finalistas. Nosotros concluimos que la ansiedad modifica el tiempo de disparo y que la condición física de las tiradoras se relaciona de forma inversa con la ansiedad y de forma positiva con la autoconfianza y el rendimiento. Por estas razones, programas de actividad física podrían ser recomendables en tiro olímpico.