Comparison of saccadic eye movements and facility of ocular accommodation in female volleyball players and non-players.

There is controversy on the interaction of sport exercise and visual functions. Some aspects of visual skills have been evaluated in volleyball players. Eighty-three normal females were categorized in four groups; non-players (NP), beginner volleyball players, intermediate and advanced players. Facility of accommodation and far saccade for optotypes at three distances were measured. The athletes showed better facility of accommodation and saccadic eye movement (SEM) than the non-playing control group. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between NP and beginner players with advanced players and intermediate players. There are mutual interrelations between the visual system and sensory-motor coordination of the whole body. In a "programed" activity many motor and sensorial elements interactively influence one another. The visual system, as the most important coordinator, navigates the "programed" activities. The facility of accommodation shows how fast clear vision can be accomplished. The SEM shows how fast visual system can fixate on an object. Improvement of these two parameters indicates that the visual system can change fixation very fast and clearly see a new fixation point promptly. These are the requirement for a good volleyball player; hence, we find better visual performance in advanced players than in others.