Abstract des Autors

The information a sportsperson receives is derived essentially from his visual system. Visual performance and sporting performance are inextricably linked. During the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville a survey undertaken with the complicity of 574 athletes showed that 34% of them wore spectacles and 19% were corrected by corneal lenses. During competition the sportsperson's acquisition of data was found to be numerous, mobile, at diverse distances, in static and dynamic vision, in central and peripheral vision coming from three directions in space, sometimes in very low light. The champions therefore require all the components of their visual perception. Research in neurophysiology has allowed us to better understand the sensorial visual mechanism. Nowadays, in conjunction with the classic and ancient testing methods such as the measurement of visual acuity, colour vision and binocular vision, it is possible to analyse the functions of light contrast sensitivity wich is one of the bases of shape perception. The eye's adaptation to different lighting levels should also be an essential measurement. Finally, the Equitest is used to test the central equilibrium of the athlete dependant on the reuniting of sensory factors relating to the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptor mechanisms. The sensory visual examination of the sportsperson, especially the sportsperson with a high level of expertise should be complete in order to determine any treatable deficiencies, but also as in some cases, to determine potential inaptitudes. Verf.-Referat