Neural and Motor Differences in Acceleration and Running Speed of Children Aged 6 to 11 Years in the North-Eastern Part of Romania

Abstract

Acceleration and running speed develop in childhood based on biological growth. The research aims to compare, according to gender and age, the running times of 5, 10, and 15 m of children aged 6 to 11 years in the north-eastern area of Romania. Our proposed distance analysis is scarce in the literature and we want to enrich and update the existing data, especially for the north-eastern region of Romania. Our research included 3460 primary school students whom we grouped according to chronological age and gender. Using the TracTronix TF100, the 12 groups formed were measured for 5, 10, and 15 m running times during physical education classes. The first hypothesis states that boys will have higher acceleration and speed values. Second, we assume that growth from 6 to 11 years will improve acceleration and speed for both genders. The unpaired t-test and one-way ANOVA confirmed both hypotheses (p<0.05). Both criteria we tested influence acceleration and running speed. Boys achieved better times than girls in all three events, except for 5 m at 10 and 11. Advancing in age improves acceleration and speed, there is a stagnation from 10 to 11 years for both genders, as well as the 7-8 years threshold for boys. Our study reinforces the effect that gender and age have on children's acceleration and speed, and can be a benchmark for practitioners.