Abstract:

Background:
Although the current researches confirm that gymnastic training is connected with success in many sports subjects, gymnastics, unfortunately become still less favoured by both pupils and teachers and tend to be replaced by other types of physical exercise less demanding of means, organization and teaching methods. AIM: The aim of the study was to establish and compare the current levels of gymnastic skills in 6th year pupils in the primary schools in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Method:
The examinations took place at primary schools in the Czech Republic and Poland, and the identical gymnastic poses corresponding to the physical education curricula of the attendants were chosen for the research. The research group was made up of primary school 6th year pupils comprising both girls and boys. In total, the research was attended by 74 persons, of which 39 children were from Poland and 35 were from the Czech Republic. The research techniques of observation and scaling while using the seven-point rating scale were applied to establish the level of acquisition of gymnastic skills. The Mann Whitney U Test was used for statistical data processing by comparing independent datasets.

Results:
The results showed that the difference between the pupils of both countries was only significant in two gymnastic poses of girls (shoulder stand p = 0.023, backward roll p = 0.013) and in shoulder stand in the overall comparison of the children of both countries (p = 0.001). The pupils achieved best results in forward roll and the worst results in vault. As for the differences between both countries, pupils in the Czech Republic performed best in forward roll and those in Poland in backward roll. The average value of the gymnastic poses approximates the fourth point of the rating scale.

Conclusion:
As follows from the result analysis, the issue of the decreasing level of gymnastic skills and popularity of gymnastics among primary school pupils is still more relevant and requires intensive attention.

Keywords:

Gymnastics, Czech Republic, Polish Republic, physical education, primary school, motor skills.