Self-regulation skills of a competitor type vs. a training champion athlete in artistic roller skating: a season long case study in elite sport competitions.

The purpose of this case study was to investigate whether the use of self-regulation skills prior to a competition partly accounts for differences in performance between a successful elite roller skater classified as a “competitor type" and an unsuccessful elite roller skater classified as a “training champion”. The two skaters completed a 56-item self-regulation questionnaire before five and nine competitions respectively during a six month championship season. The results indicated that the competitor type skater reported a significantly lower level of volitional inhibition – self-control, a significantly higher level of self-discipline, a significantly higher level of life demands, and a significantly higher level of threats than the training champion. Additionally, for both skaters general self–regulation competency and self-discipline were higher during the earlier events than during the later events. The results support the future investigation of the effect of self-regulation skills upon elite sports performance.