PhD A.S. Yurkov
Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University named after V.P. Astafiev, Krasnoyarsk

Objective of the study was to determine the level of specialized sports-related fears in adolescent skeleton racers.
Methods and structure of the study. The study involved the 12-17 year-old athletes from Krasnoyarsk (n=60, including 30 boys and 30 girls) involved in skeleton at the stages of sports training (12-14 years) and sports specialization (15-17 years).
The athletes were divided into four groups, 15 subjects each: 12-14 year-old boys, 15-17 year-old boys, 12-14 year-old girls, and 15-17 year-old girls.
The "Athletes’ Fears" questionnaire and the author’s methodology to determine specialized fears of skeleton racers were used to determine the athletes’ specialized fears and quantify them.
Results and discussion. The "Athletes’ Fears" methodology revealed the statistically significant differences between all the study groups. The 12-14 year-old boys and 15-17 year-old girls were found to have an average anxiety level, while the 12-14 year-old girls – an average anxiety level bordering on a high one, and the 15-17 year-old boys – a low anxiety level.
We developed the "Specialized Fears of Skeleton Racers" methodology. The results obtained under this methodology indicated statistically significant differences between all the study groups. In the 12-14 year-old boys, the anxiety level was average, while in the 15-17 year-old boys it was low. The 12-14 year-old girls were found to have an average anxiety level bordering on a high one, while the 15-17 year-old girls had an average anxiety level bordering on a low one.
The comparison of the two methodologies yielded similar results. It was found that the level of specialized fears in the skeleton racers was determined by their sports experience and sex: the anxiety level in the boys was lower than in the girls; with age and gain in sports experience, the anxiety level decreases for both sexes.
The developed methodology can be used by sports psychologists and skeleton coaches to determine the anxiety levels and psychological preparedness of athletes, as well as to identify the types of fear.

Keywords: methodology development, athletes' fears, specialized fears of skeleton racers, anxiety level.

References

1. Voskresenskaya E.V., Melnik E.V., Kuhtova N.V. Psikhologiya strakha i trevogi v sportivnoy deyatelnosti (teoriya i praktika): metodicheskie rekomendatsii [Psychology of fear and anxiety in sports activity (theory and practice): guidelines]. Vitebsk: Masherov VSU publ. 2015. pp. 21-22.
2. Ilyin E.P. Psikhologiya sporta [Sports psychology]. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2019. 352 p.: il. (Ser. «Masters of Psychology»). pp. 70-75.
3. Kalinin E.A. Proyavleniya reaktsii strakha i trevogi u gimnastov vysokoy sportivnoy kvalifikatsii [Fear and anxiety reaction dispaly in highly skilled gymnasts]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 1970. No. 10. pp. 14-16.