Effects of Age and Experience on the Development of Aquatic Competence in Children Aged 36 to 72 Months

Considering age and experience as possible constraints to the development of aquatic skills, this study sought to analyse the effect of both on the aquatic competence of 368 children aged between 36 and 72 months using the Erbaugh Scale. Children were categorised according to age and previous aquatic experience in swimming lessons. The results of the two-factor ANOVA indicate that aquatic competence values increase from the lowest to the highest age group and the values found for the different levels of experience in swimming lessons. A regression model was applied and proved to be significant. According to the model, age and previous aquatic experience together were responsible for explaining 46% of the variance in aquatic competence. When applied in each group, the regression analysis indicated that age starts to exert less influence and the experience a greater influence on aquatic competence the older the age groups become. In addition, as the experience increases, the difference in aquatic competence increases between older and younger children. Therefore, the analysis of the contribution of these variables allows professionals to be guided in planning teaching strategies for the development of aquatic competence. Keywords: constraints, children, aquatic competence.