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• INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS DETERMINING PERFORMANCE AMONG COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS AND THEIR COACHES

  Tibor Papp

  Szilvia Borbély

  Melinda Bíró

  Views:

  141

  In our country, swimming is one of the most successful sports. The question arises as to what might be the key to success. What are the factors that determine effectiveness? We sought the answer to this in our research. We examined the opinions of competitive swimmers (N=63) and swimming coaches (N=27) in the Eastern Hungary region. We used a questionnaire method during the survey. We focused separately on inherited and acquired skills and the importance of the coach-athlete relationship, relying on previous literature. Based on our results, the five most important factors for success are competition and training stress tolerance, performance motivation, the ability to learn competition technique, the coach-athlete relationship, as well as parents' moral support. Based on the athletes' opinion, the most decisive factor in their success is the coach's expertise, diligence, internal motivation, and parents' support.

• THE IMPORTANCE OF CHILD PROTECTION IN THE SWIMMING POOL

  Gréta Andrea Bernáth

  Melinda Bíró

  Views:

  100

  Most of the coaches have a positive, supportive attitude towards athletes. Physical and emotional abuse of children is no longer part of the pedagogical practice of coaches these days, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. We examined two sports, swimming and water polo. We were interested in what form of abuse appears among athletes. How abused athletes share their experiences and process what happened. We used a questionnaire method in the study. One hundred seventeen people participated in the research: 63 women (53.8%) and 54 men (46.2%). The results demonstrated that all types of abuse (physical, mental, physical, and sexual) occurred in the examined sample. The majority of those interviewed reported various "punishments" such as some exercise, push-ups (73.5%), or additional swimming (69.2%). Many of them (28.8%) were shamed and humiliated. 43.2% of the respondents do not consider physical or mental abuse to be acceptable, but there are some things where they are more lenient. Nearly 17 percent assume intense pressure on the head is acceptable, and 30% of athletes partially or fully agree that "the coach has the right to use physical punishment to educate and discipline the child. Respondents shared their experiences mostly with their mother (41.9%), father (26.5%), or friends (26.5%). More than half of the respondents (59.8%) tried to suppress their grievances, and many (58.1%) also believed these experiences would accompany them throughout their lives.