The Influence of Music on Judges’ Evaluation of Complex Skills in Gymnastics

Abstract

In technical compositional sports, such as gymnastics, judges' decisions regarding deductions for errors in an athlete's execution of complex skills lead to the final evaluation of the exercise shown. Different variables can become important in the context of decisions in sports, and consequently, various factors influence the judges’ performances. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the influence of music on the evaluations of female gymnastics floor routines. Participants' task was to evaluate gymnastic series on the floor in three different conditions (audio-visual, beat-matched, and visual). The results show that the participants (22 judges and 22 laypeople) rated the executions of the gymnastic series in the beat-matched condition (unchanged video file and selected music) higher than in the audio-visual (unchanged video file and auditory information) and visual (unchanged video file and no auditory information) conditions. By the fact that performances in the beat-matched condition are rated the highest by the judges, one could conclude that it makes it worthwhile for the gymnasts to select their music so that the rhythmical structure coincides with the corresponding motor activity.