Author(s): AZEVEDO, A., ARNS, S., COSTA, R., LAMAS, L., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF BRASILIA, Country: BRAZIL, Abstract-ID: 2054

INTRODUCTION:
Acrobatic Gymnastics (ACRO) is an official discipline of the Gymnastics International Federation. It is performed in pairs or groups and requires great collaboration between partners to perform elements of difficulty and efficient use of space and time during the competitive routine [1]. Teams perform three exercises (Balance, Dynamic, and Combined) in competition. The scoring criteria fosters teams’ creativity, challenging performance assessment [2]. This study aimed to compare the technical and artistic performance of top-level Women’s (W) and Men’s (M) Pairs.
METHODS:
Data were collected from 47 exercises, including Balance, Dynamic, and Combined (26 W; 21 M) from the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championship 2022. A single observer (sports scientist, national ACRO judge and coach) collected all data from official videos supported by previous reliability assessment (Cohen’s Kappa: 0.90). Techniques were categorized according to ACRO official classes. Balance: mount (M0-1), grip (G1-6), support (SU1-4), top position (TP1-8), base support (B1-2), and motion (MT0-6). Dynamic: top’s initial position (TI1-6), top’s final position (TF1-4), salto direction (SA0-2), rotation quarters (Q0-8), element category (C1-4), twist (TW0-1). Spatial analysis considered the execution of elements within a grid of nine zones on the competition floor (bottom, center, top; left, middle, right). Temporal analysis compared time spent performing either techniques or choreography. The comparison of technical elements was only descriptive due to the great dispersion of frequencies among techniques. A chi-square test was applied to analyse the usage of floor zones. Generalized Estimating Equations were applied to analyze the time spent with techniques and choreography (alpha = 0.05).
RESULTS:
Technical elements: i) Balance: grip - W: G1 (40%); M: G6 (57%); support - W: SU1 (91%); M: SU4 (57%); top position - W: TP5 (47%); M: TP4 (30%); ii) Dynamic: quarters - W: Q8 (39%); M: Q4 (54%); twist - W: TW0 (55%); M: TW1 (64%); iii) Combined: grip - W: G1 (50%); M: G6 (92%); support - W: SU1 (96%); M: SU4 (92%); top position - W: TP5 (56%); M: TP4 (33%); quarters - W: Q8 (53%); M: Q4 (53%); twist - W: TW0 (60%); M: TW1 (73%). Spatial analysis - Balance: W and M performed more elements, respectively, on the top and on the center of the floor (p<0.05); Combined: W performed more elements on the center. W and M similarly allocated time for techniques and choreography.
CONCLUSION:
Top-level ACRO Women’s and Men’s Pairs exhibited different patterns of technique execution and floor zones utilization. However, both groups allocated similar amounts of time to techniques and choreography. These findings offer valuable benchmarks for high-performance preparation and provide broad technical references for coaching at all levels of practice.
REFERENCES:
1. Merida et al. (2008) 2. León-Prados et al. (2022)