Assessment of approaches to pre-start stress coping in judo competitors

Background. Both everyday training regime and participation in competitions itself are for athletes sources of multiple emotionally-difficult circumstances. A competitor who would like to succeed should know how to cope with such problems. For some competitors, stress itself can be a motivating stimulus, although, in practice, it depends on multiple factors. The aim of the study was presentation and description of the approaches used by Wroclaw judo competitors in order to minimize pre-start stress accumulation. Material and methods. 54 judo trainees from Wroclaw clubs participated in the experiment. Diagnostic opinion poll was used, based on questionnaires and surveys. The anonymous survey included questions concerning the presence of pre-start stress, approaches to stress minimization, the type of stress and the circumstances under which stress reaches its maximal levels. Results. In order to minimize the level of pre-start stress, the participants talk mainly with their friends, listen to music, watch TV, play computer games or exercise. Only a small part of competitors use relaxation techniques prior to competitions. Conclusions. It is necessary to introduce more diverse specialist strategies and stress coping techniques to judo training. Permanent coach education in this domain is essential since, based on the study results, their role in regulation of the competitor’s emotional states is essential.