Main purpose of this paper was to
find differences in motor skill level between selected and non-selected group
of children in artistic gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics is one of the sports
that is frequently put into a negative context because of early specialization
of children, while at the same time it is considered to be basic, fundamental
sport. Thirty-one child (age 5.59 ± 0.77) participated in this study. The data
was collected using
Test of Gross Motor Development – Second Edition
(TGMD-2).
One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test was used to determine the
differences in motor skills in children. The results show differences in
locomotor skills between selected and non-selected children gymnasts
(p<0.05). When comparing boys and girls, results show no gender differences
in gross motor quotient, locomotor or manipulative skills. Although, there
significant differences exist in gross motor quotient and locomotor skills in
selected girls, compared to non-selected girls (p<0.05). These results suggest
that female competition program in preschool age favorizes development of
locomotor but not manipulative motor skills. Regardless of the sport in which
preschool children are enrolled, exercise should be multilateral. For this
reason, in artistic gymnastic we should encourage multilateral development and
inclusion of tests and exercises for manipulative skills which could have
effect on child’s future overall (motor, social and psychological) development.