Gross motor skills are important elements that are often associated with the activeness of children in sports and physical activity. The better motor performance level amongst children is reflected by the higher level of involvement in sports and physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the level of gross motor performance amongst children based on ethnic and chronological age. The subjects of the study consist of two different ethnic groups namely, Malays (n=38) and Indians (n=34), respectively. A total of 72 subjects aged between 8 and 9 years old (8.51 ± 50 years) volunteered for this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) is the instrument used in order to assess the gross motor performance amongst the children. Two gross motor components assessed were locomotor and object manipulation. The t-test analysis found that there was no significant difference on the level of motor performance between the ethnicities either in locomotor [t (70) = .31, p (.75)> .05] or object manipulation [t (70) = 1.65, p (.10)> .05]. Meanwhile, the results attained from the Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ) score demonstrated that all the participants regardless of their ethnicity, exhibited a lower level of gross motor performance compared to age equivalent standard score. In conclusion, ethnic differences do not affect the level of gross motor performance either in locomotor or object manipulation.
The ability to produce performances at highest level under physically and emotionally demanding conditions underline the worth of a sportsperson. These stressful conditions places demands on the cognitive resources of the sportsperson; especially in anticipatory actions that require the allocation of cognitive resources. This study investigated the effects of cognitive stress on the temporal anticipation of a timing motor task. A repeated measures design was applied with two independent variables; cognitive stress and levels of difficulty, which included easy, intermediate and difficult. Study participants were 18 male and 18 female undergraduates of the Physical Education programme of Universiti Putra Malaysia. The experimental task involved performing a timing motor task across the three levels of difficulty, under two conditions as follows: (i) without cognitive stress, and (ii) under cognitive stress. Cognitive stress was induced via the continuous subtraction of two from a two-digit number. Participants performed the task individually and the sequence of the experimental task was counter-balanced. A two-way within subject ANOVA was
performed to ascertain the effects of cognitive stress on the temporal anticipation of the timing motor task. Data yielded significant difference in means for the stress main effect [Λ = .64, F (1.35) = 19.89, p < 0.05]; and the task main effect [Λ = .84, F (2, 34) = 3.35, p < 0.05]. Post hoc comparisons produced a significant difference in the means of the performance of the timing motor task at all three levels of difficulty. Data showed that cognitive stress had an effect on the temporal anticipation of the timing motor task. These results are explained from attentional and the neuromotor noise perspectives. It was concluded that the significant difference in the performance of the experimental task was due to the competition for intentional resources and the decrease of the signal to noise ratio due to cognitive stress.
The main objective of this study is to measure the effectiveness of highintensity intermittent functional training on aerobic fitness of youth badminton players. A total of 16 male participants of the 13 to 15 years old badminton players underwent a ten (10) weeks of intervention training. All participants must undergo a 20m Multistage Fitness test to measure their maximum oxygen intake ("V" ̇O2max). The participants were randomly divided into two groups, Experiment (n = 8) and Control (n = 8) based on the results of aerobic fitness assessment. The Experimental Group will perform a high-intensity intermittent functional training whilst the Control Group performs the traditional training which is the regular exercise routine in their training program. After the 10-week interval training, there was a significant difference observed in the maximum oxygen intake ("V" ̇O2max) between the Experimental and Control groups, F (1,14) = 4.663, p = .049. In conclusion, high-intensity intermittent functional training can improve aerobic fitness amongst youth badminton players.
Two major types of services in sepak takraw are kuda and sila services. Even though both services are delivered at high speed, each is composed of different kinematic features. The purpose of the study was to determine the fundamental differences in perceptual strategies in
anticipating the kuda and sila services. The receiver of the game in sepak takraw makes decisions under severe time constraint in both spatial and temporal uncertainty. The study examined two groups of 12 players each; the experts and the novices. Perceptual displays in anticipation of the
kuda and sila services were prompted using video stimulations consisting of seven temporal occlusions t1 (240 milliseconds at pre-contact), t2 (160 milliseconds at pre-contact), t3 (80 milliseconds at pre-contact, t4 (0 millisecond at contact), t5 (80 milliseconds at post-contact), t6 (160
milliseconds at post-contact), and t7 (no occlusion). Significant differences amongst expert players in anticipating kuda and sila services were at t1 F (14, 180) = 2.37; p < 0.05], t2 F (14, 180) = 5.60; p < 0.05], t3 F (14, 180) = 3.81; p < 0.05] and t4 F (14, 180) = 2.00; p < 0.05]. Similar comparisons at t5, t6, and t7 did not yield any significant differences. In addition, there were significant differences amongst novice players in anticipating kuda and sila services at t2 F (14,
180) = 2.27; p < 0.05], t3 F (14, 180) = 1.94; p < 0.05], t4 F (14, 180) = 2.61; p < 0.05], and t5 F (14, 180) = 9.38; p < 0.05]. Overall findings revealed that expert players found it more difficult to anticipate kuda service compared to sila service at t1. Hence, the kuda service is more
difficult to anticipate than sila service. Participants of this study demonstrated a more effective visual perceptual strategy to counter attack a sila service than they would with a kuda service.
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of modified equipment on skill acquisition among novice badminton players. The participants (24 boys, 16 girls) aged between 7 – 9 years old, without any prior formal badminton experience, were randomly divided into four groups: standard racquet with standard court (SRSC), standard racquet with modified court (SRMC), modified racquet with standard court (MRSC) and modified racquet with modified court (MRMC). Children’s hitting opportunities and stroke effectiveness were tabulated using videotaped and notated during a minicompetition after a five-week training program. The result showed that there was a significant difference in hitting opportunities between the groups, F (3, 36) = 5.178, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.301. The results in terms of stroke effectiveness also showed that there were significant differences between groups F (3, 36) = 4.178, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.258. Based on the results, the children who practiced using modified racquet with the modified court (MRMC), recorded the highest hitting opportunities and stroke effectiveness compared to the others groups. The participants who practiced using the standard equipment recorded less hitting opportunities and stroke effectiveness during the minicompetition. This study demonstrated the advantages for children playing using modified equipment with a smaller court. By manipulating the task constraints, skill acquisition can be enhanced among children.
Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengkaji kesan pengubahsuaian raket badminton dalam prestasi kemahiran kanak-kanak. Saiz raket badminton yang digunakan oleh kanak-kanak telah dikecilkan bagi membolehkan mereka bermain mengikut ciri-ciri fizikal mereka. Seramai 40 orang kanak-kanak berusia antara 7 hingga 9 tahun, yang tidak mempunyai pengalaman dalam bermain badminton telah menyertai kajian ini. Kanak-kanak telah dibahagikan kepada dua buah kumpulan secara rawak iaitu kumpulan raket yang diubahsuai (RU) dan kumpulan raket piawai (RP). Kedua-dua buah kumpulan telah menjalani program latihan selama lima minggu, yang telah dikendalikan oleh seorang jurulatih yang berkelayakan. Prestasi pukulan hadapan peserta telah diukur dan dianalisis menggunakan ujian-t sampel bebas. Hasil ujian mendapati terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan terhadap penggunaan raket bersaiz piawai antara kumpulan RU dan kumpulan RP, t (38) = 2.51, p < .05. Manakala bagi penggunaan raket yang diubahsuai juga menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan antara kumpulan RU dan kumpulan RP, t (38) = 4.53, p < .05. Dapatan kajian turut mendapati bahawa kumpulan RU mempunyai prestasi pukulan hadapan yang lebih baik berbanding kumpulan RP apabila menggunakan raket yang diubahsuai dan raket piawai. Keputusan ini menunjukkan bahawa kumpulan RU mempunyai proses pemindahan pembelajaran kemahiran yang lebih baik semasa menggunakan raket yang diubahsuai dan raket piawai berbanding kumpulan RP. Kesimpulannya, pengubahsuaian saiz raket dapat meningkatkan prestasi kemahiran di kalangan kanak-kanak dalam sukan badminton.
This study aims to examine the decision making by rugby sevens referees, and its relationship with the referees' performance. The instruments used in this study are the Rugby Referee Decision Making Test (α=.74) and the Referee Sevens Field Performance Evaluation (α=.94). It was administered to 132 rugby sevens referees (mean age 33.4 + 1.5 years; 132 males) from the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU), which have been refereeing in 10 rugby sevens tournaments in Malaysia. Descriptive and Inferential statistics (one way ANOVA and Pearson's Correlation) were employed to analyse the data. Decision Making ( ̅= 24.13, SD=5.24) and performance ( ̅= 136.45, SD = 4.47) were identified at a moderate level. The findings indicated no significant differences [F= (3, 128) =.246, p>0.05] in the decision making across age level, but there were significant differences [F= (3, 128) =63.159, p