PhD, Professor V.A. Vishnevskiy
Surgut State University, Surgut

Keywords: billiards, benefits for students, adaptive sport.

Introduction. There are very few theoretical studies on the effect of billiards on the state of health of those involved. Speaking of foreign studies, we should mention the one by B. Abernethy, R.J. Neal and P. Koning [4] dedicated to visual-perceptual and cognitive differences between snooker players of various levels. The authors found no significant difference between expert and novice players in standard optometric studies of eyesight, eye muscle balance, color vision, depth perception, and dominance frequency of a particular eye when aiming. Studying the attention of team and individual sports representatives including snooker players, D. Memmert, D.J. Simons and T. Grimme [5] found no fundamental differences in performance and concentration of expert players of team and individual sports and beginner athletes. 

The work by N.N. Zakhar'eva and G.V. Barchukova [1] should be specially mentioned when speaking about Russian studies; the authors found that players with “ready for action” reaction, having higher athletic performance results, made fewer mistakes during the high-speed 10-letter test, had a higher speed of motor response, a higher speed of hand movement rate maintenance in the tapping test, and high and moderate intensity of conditioned excitation processes in the cerebral cortex. Players with low athletic performance were in the state of “prestart fever” more often, had a reduced ability to resist developing fatigue in the top speed URA test, a lower speed of motor response and less abilities to maintain the hand movement rate in the tapping test.   

Enumerating the organizational and methodological conditions for the use of billiards in physical education of students of economics, A.V. Titovskiy and O.V. Mamonova [2] write that billiards allows to strengthen major muscle groups, improve the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, train eye muscles, distance judging and accuracy, improve health, however they refer not to experimental data but to the textbook by J.K. Kholodov [3]. The authors argue that the load of 110-130 beats/minute is used during billiards classes, although it was at the level of 80-90 beats/minute in our research, including that of the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students engaged in billiards on a permanent basis. However, no research was done in the field of adaptive billiards, so the question arises: “How specific is the impact of billiards on the physical condition of special health group students?”

Objective of the study was to identify the benefits of billiards for 12-17 year-old students that had been engaged in it on a regular basis for 2-3 years.      

Research method and organization. The study involved 20 students of the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School “Olimp” of Surgut engaged in billiards on a permanent basis who were examined before, during and after training sessions. Well-being, activity and mood were assessed before and after the training sessions, a rhythmogram of the heart was recorded while at rest and in an orthostatic test, such psychophysiological indices as the level of psychoemotional stress, cerebral hemispheric activity, motor response speed, response to a moving object (RMO) and attention switch were measured and optimum viewing zone was identified. Blood pressure and pulse were measured during the training sessions, 10-ball challenge from standard position was conducted. Statistical hypotheses were verified using Student’s t-test.       

Results and discussion. Table 1 presents results of the analysis conducted to determine the intensity of impact of billiards training sessions on the state of the autonomic nervous system and the level of neurohumoral regulation of the students. The results show that, while at rest, the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students have a higher general level of neurohumoral regulation, less active sympathetic and more active parasympathetic nervous system and of the energy metabolism level of the cardiac function regulation. Their stress index is two times lower, too. The training sessions themselves did not cause significant changes in the state of the autonomic nervous system and the level of neurohumoral regulation; we can only speak about some of the emerging trends. In our opinion, this can be explained by the fact that the sport itself does not place high functional demands on those involved. While in the special health group students with variations in health status the sessions still caused an increase in the general level of neurohumoral regulation and activation of the energy metabolism level, the load was insignificant for more trained Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students. This conclusion is also confirmed by the results of in-class medical and pedagogical observations.    

Table 1. Effects of academic billiards course on the state of the autonomic nervous system and the level of neurohumoral regulation of the students of Children and Youth Sport Reserve School “Olimp”, M±σ

A completely different picture is observed with respect to the comparative analysis of psychophysiological indicators (Table 2). In this case, there are almost identical improvements in attention switch, motor reaction speed and variation range in the “Response to a moving object” test. This indicates neurodynamic processes optimization and improvement of the integrative functions of the brain with regard to time and space perception.

Table 2. Psychophysiological indicators dynamics during the academic billiards course attended by the students of Children and Youth Sport Reserve School “Olimp”, M±σ

* – results are significant when p < 0.05.

Students' ratings of their status before and after the training sessions match mainly in case of the females (Table 3). Perhaps this is due to their higher emotional sensitivity. Billiards classes do not cause significant changes in the optimum viewing zone of either the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students or the special health group students. Better control test results of the students of the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School “Olimp” are quite understandable too. 

Table 3. Students' ratings of their status, optimum viewing zone and test results during the academic billiards course, M±σ

Thus, comparative analysis results suggest a significant impact of billiards on psychophysiological indicators, well-being and activity levels of trainees only.

Conclusion. Study results allow us to state that billiards has a significant effect only on psychophysiological indicators, well-being and activity level of those involved. All other changes were associated with the special health group characteristics, age, gender and other specifics. At the same time the revealed positive effects of the academic billiards courses on the special health group students and good long-term adaptation progress showed by the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students practicing billiards on a permanent basis, plus moderate workloads of the game on the bodily functions make the game of billiards a quite accessible and interesting adaptive sport discipline.

References

1. Zakhar'eva N.N., Barchukova G.V. Vliyanie predstartovykh sostoyaniy na sportivnuyu rezultativnost bilyardistov [The Influence of Prestarting Conditions on Sports Performance of Billiard Players]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2013, no. 12, pp. 72-74.
2. Titovskiy A.V., Mamonova O.V. Bilyard v fizicheskom vospitanii studentov-ekonomistov [Billiards in physical education of students of economics]. Izvestiya Tulskogo gos. universiteta. Fizicheskaya kultura. Sport, 2015, no. 4, pp. 59-65.
3. Kholodov J.K. Teoriya i metodika fizicheskoy kultury i sporta [Theory and methods of physical culture and sports]. Moscow: Akademiya publ., 2014, 480 p.
4. Abernethy B., Neal R.J., Koning P. Visual-perceptual and cognitive differences between expert, intermediate, and novice snooker players. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 1994, vol. 8, I. 3, pp. 185-211.
5. Memmert D., Simons D.J., Grimme T. The relationship between visual attention and expertise in sports. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2009, vol. 10,  I. 1, pp. 146-151.

Corresponding author: abram-sport@mail.ru

Abstract

Comparative analysis of the mental and physiological performance and activity rates of the 12-17 year-old students (including special health group students) engaged in billiards on a permanent basis showed benefits of the sport for their health, with all other variations traced by the study being interpreted as associated with age, gender and other specifics. The generally positive effects of the academic billiards courses on the special health group students and good long-term adaptation progress showed by the Children and Youth Sport Reserve School students practicing billiards on a permanent basis, plus moderate workloads of the game on the bodily functions – make the game of billiards recommendable as a quite accessible, interesting and beneficial academic adaptive sport discipline.