ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVE ORGANIZATION OF SPORTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTHS STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ADAPTATIONS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the organizational structure of competitions in different sports’ federations. From the analysis of offi cial documents, 14 sports federations were assessed, as well as their respective ages of competitive participation onset, the division of categories, and structural and functional changes. The results show that offi cial competitions in all sports, except track and fi eld and swimming start occurring before athletes reach the age of 10 years. In regard to structural changes, the soccer federation is the one that proposes the least modifi cations, as it only alters the playing time. The basketball, handball, and gymnastics federations provide the largest number of structural changes, respecting the particularities of children and youth. As for the functional changes, the volleyball federation, among those investigated, shows the largest number of modifi cations, which refer to the execution of the basics (e.g. serve, block), playing actions (setting, number of hitters), and tactical limitations in the primary categories. The modifications submitted by the federations from Paraná show adaptations for the better fruition of sports practice by the athletes, respecting the pedagogical assumptions of long-term sports development. However, the onset of competitive involvement seems to occur before the age recommended in the specialized literature, facilitating the precocious specialization of young athletes.