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- Effects of an imagery programme on the performance of federated and non-federated Boccia athletesPublication . Amorim, André; Travassos, Bruno; Monteiro, Diogo; Baptista, Liliana; Duarte-Mendes, PedroThe aim of this study was to analyse the effects and the relations through the implementation of an imagery (IM) training programme for federated and non-federated Boccia participants. Twenty-one Boccia athletes participated in this study. At the beginning of the study, and after a period of an 8-week IM training, the athletes’ IM ability (MIQ – 3) and their performance in Boccia tasks (distance to target and distance to coloured ball) were assessed. Data analysis was carried out using non-clinical magnitude-based inferences. The results suggests that, from pre to post test, federated and non federated athletes had a higher IM score and exhibited an improved performance. The performance levels seem to have been influenced by the participants’ level of expertise, with the non-federated athletes revealing higher magnitude of improvement than federated athlete’s. A non-significant correlation was observed between IM and performance. Although the inconsistency of the relationship between IM and performance, the results suggests that IM training enhances the development of IM ability and also motor actions in Boccia athletes.
- The comparison of Imagery ability in elite, sub-elite and non-elite swimmersPublication . Duarte-Mendes, Pedro; Marinho, Daniel; Monteiro, Diogo; Cid, Luís; Paulo, Rui; Serrano, João; Petrica, JoãoThe ability to generate and control mental images is present in all of us, but it differs from person to person. Therefore, it is important to understand that imagery ability can be changed through training and experimentation, it is not a fixed ability. The aim of this study is to compare imagery ability in elite, sub-elite and non-elite athletes in a sport which involves closed and continuous motor skills, such as swimming. 79 swimmers (male N = 37; female N = 42) at an average age of 17 took part in this study. In order to assess imagery ability, the Movement Imagery Questionnaire 3 was used, Portuguese version (Mendes et al., 2016). After analysis of the results, these show that in each and every imagery modality, the scores in the three groups differ significantly. In kinesthetic and external visual imagery the elite and sub-elite groups’ scores, although not statistically different from each other, are significantly higher than those of the non-elite group. In internal visual imagery, the differences between all the compared pairs of groups are statistically significant. The elite group got the highest scores, followed by the sub-elite group average scores and finally the non-elite group average scores. According to these results, the conclusion is that athletes with better performance show greater imagery ability and that apparently the external visual imagery proved to be the best intervention method among swimming athletes.