The duration of technical elements in rhythmic gymnastics jumps – a longitudinal and correlational study

Abstract. The research purpose is to identify the development level of some skills/components that condition the execution of Body Difficulties in the group of Jumps/Leaps according to the requirements of the FIG Code of Points and increase the value of technical elements in competition routines. The research was conducted on 14 rhythmic gymnasts, members of the National Junior Team of Romania, and included two stages as follows: the first test took place in December 2019, and the second, in August 2020. Motor and biomechanical information was collected to objectify some motor skills involved in the performance of technical elements specific to the group of Jumps/Leaps. Muscle power, contact times, jump height, flight times and jump rhythm were assessed using the Microgate OptoJump Next device, and the duration of technical elements in the group of Jumps/Leaps was measured by a stopwatch. A programme for the improvement and consolidation of technical elements belonging to this group was applied during the research. Statistical analysis of the collected data required checking the normal distribution of results (using the Skewness and Kurtosis coefficients), identifying the mean differences between the two tests by applying the Student’s t-Test and identifying correlations between the parameters resulting from the two tests using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Analysing the correlations between the investigated variables for both lower limbs, it can be stated that there is clear evidence of the dependency links between the two symmetrical segments as well as positive and negative correlations between OptoJump variables and the average duration of jumps.