MEASURING SPORT-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ABILITIES IN MALE GYMNASTS: THE MEN'S GYMNASTICS FUNCTIONAL MEASUREMENT TOOL

Despite the availability of various field-tests for many competitive sports, a reliable and valid test specifically developed for use in men's gymnastics has not yet been developed. The Men's Gymnastics Functional Measurement Tool (MGFMT) was designed to assess sport-specific physical abil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of sports physical therapy Vol. 11; no. 7; pp. 1082 - 1100
Main Authors Sleeper, Mark D, Kenyon, Lisa K, Elliott, James M, Cheng, M Samuel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Sports Physical Therapy Section 01.12.2016
Subjects
Original Research
gymnastics
physical abilities
Functional measurement
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Summary:Despite the availability of various field-tests for many competitive sports, a reliable and valid test specifically developed for use in men's gymnastics has not yet been developed. The Men's Gymnastics Functional Measurement Tool (MGFMT) was designed to assess sport-specific physical abilities in male competitive gymnasts. The purpose of this study was to develop the MGFMT by establishing a scoring system for individual test items and to initiate the process of establishing test-retest reliability and construct validity. A total of 83 competitive male gymnasts ages 7-18 underwent testing using the MGFMT. Thirty of these subjects underwent re-testing one week later in order to assess test-retest reliability. Construct validity was assessed using a simple regression analysis between total MGFMT scores and the gymnasts' USA-Gymnastics competitive level to calculate the coefficient of determination (r ). Test-retest reliability was analyzed using Model 1 Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Statistical significance was set at the p<0.05 level. The relationship between total MGFMT scores and subjects' current USA-Gymnastics competitive level was found to be good (r  = 0.63). Reliability testing of the MGFMT composite test score showed excellent test-retest reliability over a one-week period (ICC = 0.97). Test-retest reliability of the individual component tests ranged from good to excellent (ICC = 0.75-0.97). The results of this study provide initial support for the construct validity and test-retest reliability of the MGFMT. Level 3.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mark Diab, Tim Erwin, Bryan Kiser, Kevin Mazeika and Don McPherson for their expert guidance and for generously letting us use their gymnastics facilities.
This study protocol was approved by the Northwestern Institutional Review Board and the Nova Southeastern Institutional Review Board
ISSN:2159-2896
2159-2896