The Relationship Between Mental Alertness and Backstroke Swimming Performance Level Among First-Year Female Students at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences Mustansiriyah University

Abstract

  This descriptive study, employing a correlational approach, aims to identify the relationship between mindfulness and performance levels among first-year female students. Mindfulness is a modern concept that has garnered significant attention in the fields of physical education and psychomotor science due to its effective role in developing mental abilities, controlling attention, and regulating motor responses during performance. Mindfulness is viewed as a state of conscious focus on the present moment, free from mental distractions and negative thoughts that could affect the quality of an athlete's motor response.

Water sports, particularly swimming, are characterized by activities that demand a high degree of integration between motor skills, sensory perception, and sustained focus during performance. This makes the psychological aspect a crucial factor in enhancing the efficiency of technical skills. Backstroke, in particular, requires balance and precision in arm and leg movements, as well as the ability to control the rhythm of movement and perceive changes in direction without relying directly on forward vision. This underscores the need for a stable mental state and high level of mindfulness in swimmers. From this perspective, the importance of this research lies in studying the relationship between mental alertness and the time required to perform the backstroke swimming skill. The aim is to uncover the role of mental aspects in improving technical performance and to determine whether a higher level of mental alertness in female students contributes to increased skill quality, movement accuracy, and smoothness of rhythm. This research seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between these two variables, thus supporting coaches and researchers in developing training programs that integrate psychological and physical aspects to enhance performance levels, particularly in backstroke swimming. A mental alertness test was administered to a sample of 32 female students, and a 25-meter backstroke test was also conducted. The results showed that the students in the first stage possessed a high level of mental alertness. The results also demonstrated a strong correlation between mental alertness and backstroke performance time; that is, the higher the level of mental alertness, the better the performance. The research findings support the importance of mental alertness in achieving athletic success, especially in swimming, a sport that demands high levels of physical and psychological skills. The researcher recommends enhancing education and training programs with more positive reinforcement sessions to increase mental alertness.