The benefits of the 5-week Table Stars @school program as part of physical education in primary schools – A pilot intervention study
Journal Title: International Journal of Racket Sports Science - Year 2019, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
The Table Stars @school program was launched in 2010 to serve as a first introduction to table tennis in primary school children. The main aims of this pilot intervention study were 1. to evaluate the effect of Table Stars @school on the perceptuo-motor skills and selective attention in primary school children in comparison to regular physical education and 2. to find out how many and which children benefited more from Table Stars @school compared to regular physical education. A pilot intervention study was carried out including 177 children between 6 to 12 years from two regular primary schools. All children were tested by means of four perceptuo-motor tests (static balance, walking backwards, speed while dribbling, eye-hand coordination) and a selective attention task (map mission). Both schools were exposed to both the Table Stars @school program and regular physical education in a different order. The results revealed no differences between the regular physical education classes and the Table Stars @school program on group level. However, both interventions showed different responders. Consequently, Table Stars @school seems to fit in as it meets the level of improvement of regular physical education classes and it can be of added value by addressing other children to improve perceptuo-motor skills and selective attention. Nevertheless, intensifying the program and/or integrating it into regular physical education is recommended to increase the effects and better add to the broader development of children.
Authors and Affiliations
Irene R. Faber, Johan Pion, Maria W. Nijhuis-Van der Sanden
Serve analyses of elite European table tennis matches
The purpose of this study was to analyze the serve activities of elite European table tennis players. Twenty matches (78 games, 1466 points) of semifinal and final German League and Europe TOP 16 in men’s (in the top 30...
Exploring the Link between Athletic Identity, Self-compassion, Communication, and Mental Toughness of Table Tennis Student-Athletes
Table tennis student-athletes should be mentally tough as they train and perform under extreme pressure. It is essential to identify other mental skills that will aid mental toughness development. Accordingly, the study...
Consumption habits and economic impact of Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships
Organising international sports events became one of the most important elements of the prioritized sports sector in Hungary. The main goal of this study was to examine the economic impact of Liebherr 2019 ITTF World Tab...
Scoring bias caused by services in table tennis: a statistical analysis
In table tennis, servers have the potential advantage of scoring bias when serving. However, the length of the scoring bias, i.e. the shot number where any bias is eliminated, has not been clarified. This study aimed to...
Job satisfaction and job commitment of Greek tennis, table-tennis and badminton coaches
The aim of the study was to investigate job satisfaction and job commitment of coaches of the three major racket sports in Greek tennis, table-tennis and badminton. One hundred and ten (N = 110) tennis (NT= 61), table-te...