INTRODUCTION: Air rifle shooting studies have focused on holding ability and postural balance (Ball et al. 2003, Konttinen et al. 1999). Other technical aspects, such as aiming accuracy and cleanness of triggering, have not been studied in air rifle shooting. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the most important performance determining factors in elite-level air rifle shooting. METHOD: Forty international (INT) and national (NAT) level air rifle shooters volunteered to participate in the study. The measurements consisted of an unlimited number of sighting shots followed by a simulated competition series. Hit point, aiming point trajectory and center of pressure were collected from every shot. RESULTS: A total of 13 795 shots in 319 tests were analyzed for this study. Holding ability, aiming accuracy, cleanness of triggering and timing of triggering were identified as the most important shooting technical components, accounting for 81 % the variance in shooting score (Figure 1). INT group athletes had better mean shot scores, more stable hold and postural balance, cleaner triggering action, and better aiming accuracy compared with the NAT group athletes. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study emphasize the importance of holding ability in achieving superior shooting technique, since 54% of the variance in shooting score could be explained by the holding ability in horizontal direction. The elite-level athletes' ability to decrease the amount of postural sway in anteroposterior direction during the last second before the shot seems to be related to the more stable holding ability of the elite level athletes. DISCUSSION: This study identified the most important determinants of air rifle shooting technique. In the future shooting studies, it should be noted that in addition to stability of hold and postural balance, measures of aiming accuracy, cleanness of triggering, and timing of triggering should be included in order to acquire more comprehensive description about the shooting task. --- The hosting University of Jyväskylä is planning to publish conference proceedings "Science and Nordic Skiing III". In case you are interested in this publication please contact the editors (Anni Hakkarainen anni.s.j.hakkarainen@jyu.fi) to become registered for the book.
© Copyright 2015 3rd International Congress on Science and Nordic Skiing - ICSNS 2015. 5-8 June 2015, Vuokatti, Finland. Veröffentlicht von University of Jyväskylä; University of Salzburg. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator