The first part of WP3 was dedicated to building a new and comprehensive database of motor and body composition characteristics for Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic disciplines. To achieve this, we developed a custom-made survey, which was distributed to sports technicians, coaches and professionals with varying levels of training experience and from 5 different countries (i.e. Croatia, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Serbia), to collect this information. Specifically, based on their experience, we asked the experts to define the relative contribution of specific motor characteristics (i.e., power, muscle endurance, coordination, speed reaction, agility, balance and flexibility) to the performance of their discipline of interest on a scale of 100. Similarly, we asked them to provide information regarding typical body composition (i.e., ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph), as well as dimensions of upper limbs, lower limbs and trunk (i.e., normal, short, long).
Surveys were initially obtained from a total of 190 experts, with an average of 12.2 ± 9.7 years of training experience. Thereafter, the collected data was entered into Excel and checked for accuracy, incomplete data and data gaps. After this initial quality check, 176 surveys were retained (Olympic disciplines, n = 139; non-Olympic disciplines, n = 26; Paralympic disciplines, n = 11). Subsequently, within each of the three categories, we computed average values to define the motor and body composition characteristics of each specific discipline. For instance, we averaged the results of 7 surveys related to the discipline of basketball to define the average contribution (%) of each of the 7 motor characteristics to the basketball performance (e.g., power: 14.3%; Muscle endurance: 18.6%; Coordination: 17.9%; Speed reaction: 16.4%; Agility: 15.7%; Balance: 8.6%; Flexibility: 8.6%). This procedure was conducted for each discipline and sport category.
Overall, the complete dataset included 42 Olympic disciplines, 14 non-Olympic disciplines and 6 Paralympic disciplines. These were further categorized as indoor/outdoor, individual/team-sport, ball/non-ball sport and contact/non-contact sport.
A preliminary analysis of motor characteristics revealed the top three Olympic disciplines for each attribute as follows: by power, they were weightlifting (53.3%), rugby sevens (40%), and athletics – throws (40%); by muscle endurance, they were swimming – marathon (40%), athletics – middle distance (40%), and athletics long distance (37.5%); by coordination, they were gymnastics – rhythmic (40%), cross-country skiing (25%), and athletics – throws (20%); by speed reaction, they were badminton (25%), volleyball (20.6%), and sport climbing (20%); by agility, they were diving (22.5%), hockey (20%), and snowboarding (20%); by balance, they were shooting (40%), snowboarding (20%), and gymnastics – rhythmic (20%); and by flexibility, they were diving (22.5%), gymnastics – rhythmic (20%), and figure skating (20%).
As for non-Olympic disciplines, the top three for each attribute were as follows: by power, they were obstacle course race (30%), CrossFit (27.5%), and American football (20%); by muscle endurance, they were cricket (20%), paddleboarding (20%), and rugby (18.8%); by coordination, they were darts (30%), Formula 1 (30%), and ultimate frisbee (25%); by speed reaction, they were futsal (30%), ultimate frisbee (25%), and cricket (20%); by agility, they were ultimate frisbee (25%), obstacle course race (20%), and futsal (20%); by balance, they were paddleboarding (25%), squash (15%), and obstacle course race (15%); and by flexibility, were paddle tennis (15%), MMA (13%), and CrossFit (10.8%).As for Paralympic disciplines, the top three for each attribute were as follows: by power, they were para athletics (35%), para swimming (25%), and wheelchair basketball (22.5%); by muscle endurance, they were paraswimming (25%), wheelchairbasketball (25%), and para table tennis (15%); by coordination, they were para archery (30%), para table tennis (25%), and wheelchair basketball (17.5%); by speed reaction, they were para table tennis (25%), para taekwondo (16.3%), and wheelchair basketball (12.5%); by agility, they were para table tennis (17.5%), para taekwondo (16.3%), and wheelchair basketball (12.5%); by balance, they were para archery (30%), para taekwondo (16.3%), and para swimming (15%); and by flexibility, were para archery (20%), para taekwondo (15%), and para athletics (10%).
