Annals of Applied Sport Science

Background. Evaluating motor skills and using an appropriate tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of motor proficiency in preschool-aged children seems critical.
Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity, reliability, and sensitivity of the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition Brief Form (BOT-2 BF), in preschool children.
Methods. A total of 306 preschool children (aged four to seven years) participated in this study. To evaluate the validity of the test, the canonical correlation statistic method was used to calculate the correlation between the subscales of this test and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) test. To evaluate the reliability by the time reliability method, 50 subjects were retested after an interval of two weeks. The sensitivity analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) tests were used to determine the ability to diagnose a developmental coordination disorder (DCD).
Results. The results of the canonical correlation analysis showed that there is a significant linear relationship (p<0.001) between the BOT-2 and the MABC tests. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC=0.80) was high for time reliability. The appropriate cutoff point was 13. At this point, the area under the ROC curve was 0.91 for sensitivity and 0.93 for the characteristic, and in general, the area under the curve was 0.97.
Conclusion. According to the results of this study, it seems that the BOT-2 has an appropriate validity and reliability as well as a high sensitivity and characteristic in preschool children, and can be used to evaluate motor skills and diagnose children with DCD.

Background. Sport development is a field of study that has received increasing scholarly attention since the 1970s. However, there is no comprehensive study in development of Taekwondo especially in Iran.
Objectives. The present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the development of taekwondo in Iran and the presentation model. Methods. The study was conducted in mixed method. To this end, the sample of the present study in the qualitative section consisted of 25 subjects with 277 subjects participating in the quantitative.
Methods. The study was conducted in a mixed method. To this end, the sample of the present study in the qualitative
section consisted of 25 subjects with 277 subjects participating in the quantitative method. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed by experts using Cronbach's alpha test. SPSS software version 22 was used for the descriptive analysis and AMOS software for the analysis of the structural equation modeling.
Results. According to Goodness of Fit indices (χ2/df= 21.91; RMSEA=0.068; CFI= 0.915; NFI= 0.909; IFI=0.901) in confirmatory factor analysis, the measurement model is fit for taekwondo development in Iran. Therefore, economic, political, socio-cultural, administrative, technological, sporting, facilities, and equipment factors can be integrated into the model.
Conclusion. Given that administrative factor is the highest ranking in effective factors on the development of taekwondo, it is necessary to pay attention to develop a strategic plan for Taekwondo in accordance with the long-term plan of the World Federation, establish of management stability instead of stability Managers and the use of interdisciplinary teams of experts from marketing, operational, and R & D areas.

Background. Recent research has proposed that environmental factors affect the development of expertise.
Objectives. The present study aimed to compare the history of training activities amongst expert athletes of different sport disciplines regarding the level of risk.
Methods. Participants included 187 athletes from six sports disciplines, which were allocated to "low-risk," "medium risk," or "high-risk" groups based on the level of physical risk placed on the participating athletes. Participants completed a developmental history of athletes questionnaire.
Results. Findings revealed a significant difference amongst groups in terms of the mean age of beginning the sport (p < 0.001). Additionally, there was no significant difference between the total hours of deliberate practice and physical preparation amongst the three groups (p > 0.05). However, the low-risk group had an enormous amount of deliberate practice (p < 0.001) and physical preparation activities (p = 0.002) in the 6 to 12-year age band, and the medium-risk and high-risk sports groups had an enormous amount of deliberate practice (p = 0.01) and physical preparation activities (p = 0.003) in the age band of above 16 years.
Conclusion. The present study provides useful information on the expertise acquisition process in different sport disciplines regarding the amount of practice relative to risk level.

Background. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of media advertising in the development of sports tourism in Guilan province.
Methods. The research method is a descriptive-survey based on the structural equation model (Lisrel). The statistical population of the study was included managers of tourism, sport management professors, managers, and experts of tourism agencies that 362 persons were randomly selected. The instrument was included in a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Likert scale. The questionnaires were distributed among the subjects after the confirmation of the validity and reliability.
Results. The results of the study showed that media advertising in sports tourism of Guilan province played the most critical role in the establishment of cultural tourism and the enhancement of the sports economy, the change of attitude in sport tourists’ public opinion, the introduction of attractions for sports tourists’ attraction, the development of tourism infrastructure and services, respectively. The results also showed that media advertising had the least effect on creating a comprehensive program of sports tourism marketing.
Conclusion. Therefore, we have to pay attention to advertising and marketing to develop sports tourism due to their role in tourism packages.

Background. Educational sport is one of the best tools to fashion motivational forces with respect to sports, which leads to desirable results in sports activities. Today, the path to success in elite and professional sports passes through the attention to educational sports.
Objectives. Due to the importance of educational sports, this study aimed to study the challenges of educational sports in the country by reviewing previous studies.
Methods. Purposefully and based on the main objective of the research, we investigated papers in the field of educational sports and the findings on problems and limitations in the field along with highlighting keywords comprising educational sports, physical sports, school sports, educational sports challenges, limitations, and weaknesses of educational sports, health and physical education in schools from 2011 to 2020 in the country. In this study, related articles were searched by keywords and in specialized databases of Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, SID, Magiran, Irandoc. The inclusion criteria for the selected articles were as follows: they need to be in Persian or Iranian articles, be published in prestigious domestic and foreign scientific research journals, and be in the field of educational sports and the examination of harms and weaknesses of it in the country. The results of the searches based on inclusion criteria eventually led to the identification of 26 articles field; by reviewing the articles that were outside the main purpose of this study, they were excluded from the analysis, and finally, 15 completely related and consistent articles were selected. These articles have been in the field of educational sports and their harms and limitations have been reviewed.
Results. The findings showed that the weakness and problems involved in the country's educational sports can be of 7 dimensions: lack of sports facilities and equipment, educational weakness, managerial weakness, human resources weakness, lack of financial resources, contextual and individual factors.
Conclusion. In developed countries such as China, Japan, the United States, etc. the main basis for the development of sports in the country, as well as the development of elite and professional sports, is physical and educational sports which will necessitate us to get them started from the beginning in schools and universities. Therefore, there should be a fundamental revision of the country's management programs in the field of educational sports in schools and universities.

Background. Unusual gaze behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was reported very early in the literature.
Objectives. The current study examined gaze behavior in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children while performing an active balance task on the Wii balance board. Methods: 8 children (male) diagnosed with high-functioning ASD and 9 TD children (3 female, 6 male) were recruited for the study. Eye movements were recorded at 60 Hz during the soccer game on Wii balance board.
Results. There was no significant difference in the game scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, evidence indicates differences in gaze behavior, particularly total fixation durations on the main area of interest (center AOI) (p < 0.05). While performing the active balance task, children with ASD spent less time looking at the center of the screen than typically developing children. Shorter fixation durations in ASD compared to the TD group could indicate how our ASD group had enhanced perceptual processing. The second possibility for shorter total fixation duration in ASD is that they are more scattered in their fixations.
Conclusion. Shorter fixation durations in children with ASD while performing the active balance task could be because of enhanced perceptual processing or a deficiency in their ability to plan. However, no advantage or disadvantage was observed in the Wii-fit game’s performance.

Background. Managing talent involves all the key elements of human resource management. It is evident to overemphasize the role played by sports administrators, coaches, and trainers in an effective long-term development program of athletes in sports organizations in Burundi. The need is high to implement the management program to mitigate the issues that hamper the development of sportsmen.
Objectives. The objective of the study is to determine the talent management processes as predictors of long-term athlete development in sports organizations in Burundi. The specific objectives were formulated from five variables, namely: strategic planning, talent acquisition, and retention, performance management, career development, as well as compensation, and motivation.
Methods. The sample size consists of 200 male and female respondents, comprising 80 sports administrators, coaches, and trainers, and 120 athletes from Sports Federations in Burundi. These respondents were active sports administrators and athletes in national and international competitions. A descriptive study design was used while validated questionnaires designed in line with a five-point Likert scale were used for data collection and analysis.
Results. The results indicated that all five hypotheses were significant (p<0.05). The processes of talent management were perceived to contribute to the long-term athlete development program in Burundi.
Conclusion. The government should provide public sports facilities for youth use. Sports federations are encouraged to prioritize investments in qualified sports personnel, as well as the development of youth training centers and sports academies.

Background. Women and gender issues have become leading topics of concern around the world, and most explore women’s challenges and advancement in all aspects of life.
Objectives. To identify the effects of the Glass Ceiling (GC) factors on Career Development (CD) among women athletes in Sri Lanka's national teams.
Methods. One hundred five respondents were randomly selected using simple random sampling among 144 individuals who were eligible for this study, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to record the answers GC effects were taken as independent variables and Women Career Development (WCD) was taken as the dependent variable.
Results. All the independent variables portrayed a statistically significant association with the dependent variable. Even though a negative association was hypothesized between all these regress and the CD, the only organization depicted a negative association with the dependent variable. Furthermore, the association among the independent variables was also statistically significant, and the most influential factor that affects WCD was organization while culture and the individual were respectively given the impact on the dependent variable. The family was not significant while other independent factors were in the model. Moreover, independent variables remained unchanged even after controlling the effects of age and performance.
Conclusion. Taken together, these results provide solid recommendations to women athletes on how GC factors affect CD in their professional life while addressing the invisible barriers that national women athletes faced during the development of their careers after retiring from sports.

Background. The fencing assault is a fight between two competitors, in which they alternate the offensive with the defensive attitude while attacking and retreating in the hope that one will strike the other with the tip of the blade, with impressive speed and precision. The fencer who is faster will have the advantage of scoring touch and has a better chance of winning the competition.
Objectives. This study aims to verify whether training programs that use both non-specific and specific fencing exercises develop the speed of fencers at the level of the lower and upper limbs.
Methods. The study subjects were divided into two homogeneous groups. The experimental group consisted of 10 athletes (5 boys and 5 girls), and the control group also included 10 athletes (5 boys and 5 girls). The experimental group followed a training program, including one set of exercises to develop limb speed, the set of exercises being different every month, with a total duration of the intervention of 3 months; the control group followed traditional training, without emphasizing the development of the limb speed.
Results. After three months of training, we could notice a significant difference between the two groups in terms of defining the speed of the athletes’ lower and upper limbs.
Conclusion. Considering the results obtained from the tests, we can state that the innovative and different training methods significantly developed the speed of the fencers in the experimental group.

Background. Chess is increasingly recognized as a potent educational tool for augmenting cognitive abilities and academic performance. However, empirical evidence among Vietnamese primary school students remains limited.
Objectives. This study assessed the effects of an 8-week chess training program delivered through a blended learning approach on novice learners' cognitive functions and academic outcomes.
Methods. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, 62 primary school students (Grades 4–5; mean age ≈10.6 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=32) and a control group (n=30). The experimental group received weekly 60-minute chess sessions combining face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated activities, covering chess fundamentals, tactics, endgame techniques, and opening principles. Pre- and post-intervention assessments measured academic performance via the School Performance Test (SPT), attention (short-term and minute-focused), and memory. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, t-tests, and Pearson correlation analyses.
Results. The experimental group exhibited significant improvements in SPT scores (6.21 ± 0.34 to 8.02 ± 0.42; F=6.314, p=0.021) and short-term focused attention (45.34 ± 3.67 to 69.98 ± 4.12; F=4.897, p=0.042). Minute-focused attention (11.32 ± 1.45 to 17.23 ± 1.78; F=5.427, p=0.033) and auditory word memory showed marginal gains, whereas changes in literary creativity and digit memory were insignificant.
Conclusion. The findings indicate that blended chess training substantially enhances primary students' specific cognitive skills and academic performance.

Background. Gadgets have become a common phenomenon for children in all countries. Excessive use of gadgets hurts children's development, both physically and mentally.
Objectives. This study aims to reveal the pattern of gadget use in children and its impact on their motor skills and mental health.
Methods. The participants were 355 children aged 12-15 years in Surabaya, consisting of 47.6% males and 52.4% females. A questionnaire was used to reveal the pattern of screen time and children's mental health by MHQol. Meanwhile, the Barrow Motor Ability test measured children's motor skills. Regression analysis was used to examine the impact of one variable on another, and ANOVA was employed to assess differences between data groups.
Results. The study's results proved that students' average screen time duration was 5.9 hours/day. Females' screen time access was higher than that of males. Gadget use was correlated with children's motor abilities, with a beta coefficient of -0.116 and an F value of 4.839 (p < 0.05). The frequency and duration of screen time also significantly affect children's mental health, with beta coefficients of -0.118 and -0.167, respectively, and an F-value of 8.226 (p < 0.05).
Conclusion. The higher the duration of gadget use, the lower their motor skills. The higher the frequency and duration of using gadgets, the worse the child's mental health. Males' mental health is better than that of females.

Background. The five members of the BRICS alliance play an ever-increasing role in shaping today's global economy. On the other hand, players stemming from these countries have a disproportionately low share among the top-ranked female tennis players.
Objectives. The paper seeks to reveal whether the recent economic expansion of these countries is associated with more flourishing sports advancements of female tennis players.
Methods. Based on the data encompassing the period 2012-2021 and stemming from the WTA rankings and the World Bank Database, a correlation analysis has been executed to investigate whether macroeconomic and socio-political indicators explain the advancements of female tennis players stemming from these countries.
Results. Some macroeconomic indicators, like per-capita GDP, are positively correlated, while others, like gross national expenditure and the alternatives offered to be educated, are negatively correlated with the advancements of the players; hence, a clear-cut decision as to whether economic well-being fosters sport successes or not could be reached.
Conclusion. While a certain level of well-being is needed to succeed in sports, achieving outstanding performance is no longer considered a prosperous way to elevate social status after reaching a certain level of well-being. As such, players from less developed countries might be more motivated to strive for outstanding results.