Abstract

This paper examines the discriminative power of measurements of physique between female competitors in different sport. Physique and body composition was assessed from anthropometric measurements. A canonical analysis separated the sportswomen into distinct groups on the basis of a combination of weight, height, percent fat, femur bone width, and biceps girth. Hockey and basketballplayers scored high on these variables in contrast to cross-country runners, who had similar physiques to the ballet dancers. The dancers had the lowest percent fats, were smallest and lightest. The hockey players, gymnasts and swimmers had balanced physiques. The basketball players were significantly taller than the other sports groups. The findings of this study suggest that sportswomen are more muscular and less fat than non-athletic women and their success in sport is due in part to the relationship of this muscle to physicalperformance. Verf.-Referat