Relations between musical abilities and rhythmic gymnastics successfullness observed in both genders

The success in rhythmic gymnastics (RG) performance depends on a number of factors, including musical factors. Music plays an important role in all sports with an esthetic component, especially in rhythmic gymnastics. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between some musical abilities and rhythmic gymnastics performance success with respect to both genders. The sample consisted of 58 students of the Faculty of sport and physical education, 29 female and 29 male. Seashore test was used to estimate musical abilities, in which were considered differentiations of the Tone height, Tone volume, Rhythmic structures, Tone length and Tone color, as well as Memory of the melody. Rhythmic gymnastics program contests (routine without apparatus, rope routine and ball routine) were realized in the regular teaching course of Theory and Methodology of RG. Adoption of rhythmic gymnastics program contests was evaluated by an expert score obtained as the mean of the three judge grades, given independently. The results showed that correlation between RG expert score and musical abilities in the subsamples of males and females existed, but there were differences in some variables depending on gender. In the male subsample, there was a correlation between the expert score and the Total score on the Seashore test (r = .40, p <.05), as well as between the expert score and Tone volume (r = .42, p <.05), phythm (r=.44, p <.05) and Tone length (r = .40, p <.05), while the in female subsample, there was correlation between the expert score and tope color (r = .42, p <05).