Motor performance status in 10 to 17-year-old Estonian girls.

The improvement of motor abilities is associated with the periodical acceleration of changes in adolescents of both sexes. The present cross-sectional study is aimed at establishing smooth curves of motor performance status in 10 to 17-year-old girls. Motor performance was tested in 902 girls with the aid of 30 m dash, standing long jump, vertical jump, pushing a stuffed ball (2 kg), standing quintuplet jump, isometric strength of back extensor muscles, trunk forward flexion and 1-min ergocycling at the highest possible rate. Statistically significant differences of all studied motor abilities between the age groups of 10-12 were indicated. In height and body mass the most pronounced differences (on average 6.5 cm and 7.7 kg, respectively) appeared between the age groups of 12 and 13. At the age of 13 the group results were statistically higher than those at 12 in pushing a stuffed ball, vertical jump, quintuplet jump, strength of back extensors muscle, 30 m dash and ergocycling test, but not in standing long jump and trunk forward flexion. At the age of 14 the performance was not higher than at 13, except in the vertical jump and quintuplet jump. From 14 to 16 years of age differences reappeared in the results of vertical jump, quintuplet jump, pushing a stuffed ball, 1-min cycling and trunk forward flexion but not in the 30 m dash and standing long jump. The lack of significant differences between the age groups of 16 and 17 indicated the final stabilization of tested motor abilities. The obtained results suggest the existence of several periods in motor performance status in 10 to 17-year-old Estonian girls: 1) The biggest differences in the mean results of the tests on motor abilities occurred between ages 10-11, 11-12 and 12-13, which coincide with the biggest differences in height and weight at the same age. 2) The differences in the mean results of most tests on motor abilities stabilized between the age groups of 13 and 14. The mean results of 14-year-old girls were lower in some tests compared to the results of 13-year-olds. 3) The positive differences in the mean results remained between the age groups of 14-15 and 15-16 (excluding the sprint velocity and standing long jump). 4) The final stabilization of motor abilities occurred at the age of 16 to 17.