ECSS Annual Congress 2022

ECSS Seville 2022

27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS)

Spain, Seville, FIBES SEVILLA
www.sport-science.org

watch on YouTube

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The European College of Sport Science (ECSS) is the leading association of sport scientists in Europe, and its main scientific event is the ECSS Annual Congress with around 3 000 people participating every year. This year the ECSS Congress was held on 30 August - 2 September 2022 at the FIBES in Seville, Spain. This was the first ECSS Congress which was held face-to-face after the COVID pandemic, and therefore, the amount of participants (a total of 1391 delegates) was lower than the previous ECSS conferences.

OUR CONTRIBUTION

This year, I chaired a session (Health and Fitness in Children) at the ECSS Congress for the very first time. After that, I also presented gymnastics-related research on the updated MAG-FTB fitness test battery. This study was an important colaboration with my colleagues from the National Sports Academy in Bulgaria. Our poster presentation was part of the the official scientific programme at the ECSS Seville 2022. The abstract was published as conference proceedings of the 27th Annual Congress of the ECSS, and together with the poster presentation are now both available to see/download on this page. The study will be built upon further, and the complete findings will be published in an international journal.

 

Measuring fitness in artistic gymnasts: the updated men’s artistic gymnastics fitness test battery (MAG-FTB)

Poster Presentation

ECSS Seville 2022
27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science

MEASURING FITNESS IN ARTISTIC GYMNASTS: THE UPDATED MEN’S ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS FITNESS TEST BATTERY (MAG-FTB)

Stefan Kolimechkov(1), Iliya Yanev(2), Emil Stoimenov(2), Lubomir Petrov(2), Albena Alexandrova(2), Diliana Zaykova(2)
1 STK Sport, London, United Kingdom; 2 National Sports Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION:

An objective assessment of specific physical fitness is an essential part of the training process of gymnasts. The Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Fitness Test Battery (MAG-FTB) has been used for over 30 years as the main tool for testing specific fitness in Bulgarian male artistic gymnasts but it needed to be updated and improved due to modern developments in gymnastics. The aim of this study was to assess the need to update certain tests from the MAG-FTB and add components for monitoring and assessment of specific fitness.

METHODS:

The study included 70 male gymnasts (mean age of 9.6 ± 2.5 years) who were members of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation. The participants completed the MAG-FTB, which included a total of 20 fitness tests with each age group undertaking between 8 and 10 tests. The modified shuttle run test on the 12m gymnastics floor was replaced with the original 20m shuttle run test (20m SRT) in order to assess gymnasts’ maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) for the gymnasts at the age of 13 and older. The test was administered by using BeepShuttle Junior software using Leger’s equations to calculate VO2max. The MAG-FTB’s points system for each test was modernized with percentile scores (for up-to-date application and comparison between ages), and the total test battery score was recalculated for each age group.

RESULTS:

The total MAG-FTB scores showed that 4.3% of the male gymnasts were assessed as ‘excellent’, 18.6% as ‘very good’, 15.7% as ‘good’, 45.7% as ‘fair’, and 15.7% as ‘poor’ results. This wide variation of the results was due to the diverse nature of the gymnasts participating in the study, including both elite and intermediate level gymnasts. The relationship between total MAG-FTB scores and gymnasts’ current competitive level was found to be moderately correlated (r = 0.50). The results from the 20m SRT showed a mean VO₂max of 47.4 ± 4.0 ml/kg/min, which was close to published VO₂max values for gymnasts (around 50 ml/kg/min) in different studies in the literature. The mean percentile score of VO₂max was 63.5 ± 21.8. The 20m SRT provided more valuable information for the coaches in contrast to the replaced 12m shuttle run test which was previously used in the MAG-FTB. Moreover, testing gymnasts with specialized shuttle run software was well accepted, highly convenient, and comprehensive.

CONCLUSION:

The MAG-FTB provides gymnastics coaches with a functional, field-based tool to measure and assess specific physical fitness for safe and effective participation in men’s gymnastics. The updated battery considered the modern developments in gymnastics, and it can be easily incorporated into any artistic gymnastics program. Annual testing with the MAG-FTB can provide important information about individual training regimens, fitness deficits, and directions for training development.

 

Presenting Author: Dr Stefan Kolimechkov

Date & time: 1 September 2022, 5:45 - 6:45 pm

Poster Presentations, FIBES Seville, Poster Area
Chairs: L. Plavina, PhD [Latvia] & A. Mamen, PhD [Norway]
Session-ID: CP-MH10 Physical Fitness
Abstract-ID: CP-MH10-7

 

 

GALLERY, ECSS Seville 2022

FIBES - the official venue for the ECSS Seville 2022 in Spain.

 

Opening at the ECSS Seville 2022 in Spain.

 

Here I am at my 4th ECSS Congress, after previously attending the ECSS Prague 2019, and the ECSS Vurtual Congresses in 2020 and 2021.

 

With my colleague from the Centre of Exercise Activity and Rehabilitation (University of Greenwhich) Joel Fernandez at the ECSS Seville 2022.

 

Charing my first session in a conference (Health and Fitness in Children) at the ECSS Seville 2022.

 

Probably, my biggest achievement at the ECSS Congress in Seville was the opportunity to chair with Dr Morales from Spain the session Health and Fitness in Children.

 

Here is the Poster area for the ECSS Seville 2022 in Spain.

 

Here I am next to my poster at the ECSS Seville 2022.

 

Presenting my poster on measuring fitness in artistic gymnasts at the ECSS Seville 2022.

 

With my colleague Dr Swarup Mukherjee from the National Institute of Education (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) at the ECSS Seville 2022 in Spain.

 

Visiting the historical landmark Plaza de España in central Seville, Spain.

 

And my usual handstand in Seville (ECSS 2022, Spain).

 

See you next year in Paris for the ECSS Congress 2023.

 

In Summary

I attended my 4th ECSS Congress (from the 30th of August to the 2nd of September 2022), and this was also the first ECSS Congress held face-to-face after the COVID pandemic. This year, the Congress was attended by 1391 delegates in the beautiful city of Seville, Spain. During the Congress, I chaired the 'Health and Fitness in Children' Session together with Dr Morales from Spain. This was my first time charing a session in a scientific conference. I also presented my poster on fitness in artistic gymnasts (3 min for presentation and 2 min for questions). Thank you ECSS, and I am looking forward to seeing you next year in Paris, France.

 

How to cite this study:
After the 27th ECSS Congress in Seville, our study will be built upon further and the complete findings will be published in an international journal:

Coming soon...