Investigation of motoric features and somatotypes of athletes in different branches in Van province

This study was conducted to determine the somatotype and motoric characteristics of athletes in different sports branches. The somatotype and motoric characteristics of 80 athletes between the ages of 15-18 years who were active in skiing, swimming, short distance athletics and cycling in Van province were determined by taking anthropometric measurements. Motoric tests were applied to measure balance, flexibility, endurance and strength of the athletes. The data obtained revealed the relationship between the athlete's body type and performance success. The average height of boy athletes was found to be 1727.76±86.31 mm and 1587.84±69.25 mm for girl athletes; the average weight was 62.33±35.9 kg for boys and 47.77±7.56 kg for girls. Anthropometric values of boy athletes were found to be higher than those of girl athletes. According to 0.05 level of significance, height, weight, biceps circumference, calf circumference, elbow width, knee width, triceps and calf skinfold thickness showed significant differences according to gender. In the 20-meter shuttle run test, swimming athletes had the best result with 76.90±10.36 sit-ups, skiers ranked second with 64.50±7.53 sit-ups, and track and field athletes showed the lowest result with 43.59±4.63 sit-ups. In the Flamingo balance test, skiers achieved the best results with 2.02±0.62 and 2.15±0.62 errors in the right and left foot balance situations, respectively, while swimmers showed the lowest performance with 5.44±0.44 and 4.90±0.64 errors in the right and left foot, respectively. In sıt Access test, the highest value was found in ski athletes (35.14±1.23 cm) and the lowest value was found in swimming athletes (31.29±1.44 cm). In hand grip strength tests, cycling athletes had the highest mean values (right hand 40.44±2.61 kg, left hand 38.26±2.42 kg), while track and field athletes had the lowest values. According to somatotype analysis, 2.37-1.50-3.98 values were dominant in track and field athletes, 2.70-1.04-3.77 in cycling athletes, 3.06-2.09-3.54 in skiing athletes and 3.39-2.12-2.90 in swimming athletes. While skiing has more ectomorphic characteristics in boy athletes, skiing has more endomorphic characteristics in girl athletes. As a result, significant differences were found in somatotype and motoric characteristics according to sports branches.