(1) there are differences in stability between the conditions of standing in ski boots and barefoot, (2) the type of surface affects stability, and, (3) the level of stability differs between the ...frontal and sagittal planes. The study included 35 young male recreational skiers aged 20.71 ±0.63 years. Measurements of stability were taken by means of a Libra seesaw balance board. The conditions of soft surface were created by attaching an inflated cushion to the board. The experiment was carried out on both rigid and soft surface for both movement planes and two different conditions: maintaining the seesaw balance board in the horizontal position and performance of a particular balancing task. All the tests were performed with visual feedback. Restricted ankle joint mobility that results from wearing ski boots caused a reduction of stability in studied subjects, particularly in the sagittal plane. The differences found in the study were likely to be caused by the difficulty the beginners experienced in re-organizing muscular coordination in hip joint strategy and effectively using mechanical support of ski boots that reduces lower limb muscle tone. The use of the soft surface improved stability exhibited by the subjects in the frontal plane without compromising the stability in the sagittal plane. The soft surface might have contributed to a reduction in excessive corrective movements, thus improving stability in studied subjects. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of limitation of foot mobility and disturbances in afferent information from the plantar mechanoreceptors due to wearing ski boots on the level of postural stability in beginner skiers under conditions of the unstable support surface.
Gender differences in anthropological characteristics may influence success in adopting skiing skill if different teaching met¬hods are applied. This study aimed to determine the difference between ...the level of adopted skiing skill for female and male ski-be¬gin¬ners applying 2 different teaching programs. 126 subjects (30 females; 96 males), average age 23,3±1,6 years participated in 7 days ski-school. Within the male and female group ski-teaching was carried out using 2 different methods: combination method CM, which implies using of snowplough and parallel ski technique, and direct method DM, where only parallel ski technique is used. Following the learning process, subjects were tested through 7 elements of skiing technique. For female subjects no diffe¬ren¬ce between two teaching models was recorded, while CM appeared to be more efficient for males in elements traversing to the right (p=0,03), short turn (p<0,05) and parallel turn (p=0,01). Through factor analysis 7 main components were extracted, the first being defined as total skiing knowledge TSK. TSK was then compared to two programs carried out on males and females. Diffe¬ren¬ce was determined in the level of TSK for male who learned through CM in comparison to the participants who were learning through the DM (p=0,01), while no difference in the same variable was determined for female. These findings lead to conclusion that using CM in men achieved better results compared to the DM. For the practice, it means that it is not necessary to separate ma¬le and female while forming ski groups for beginner skiers, since females will advance the same, regardless of the learning method.
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