TALENT DETECTION AND SELECTION IN WOMEN’S ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS: THE BRAZILIAN COACHES’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present and discuss the talent detection and selection in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics considering the aspects that guide these procedures in Brazil. We conducted a field based study and we interviewed 34 coaches from 29 institutions. We find out that the methods used to detect and select talents in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics prioritize the initiation age of practice, the anthropometrics characteristics and the physical-motor tests. However, it is known that the determinant factors for success in sports are multifactorial and sometimes the transversal tests used in the assessment can’t cover all aspects that have impact on the successful career at sport high level.