title: Visual feedback use during a back tuck somersault: evidence for optimal visual feedback utilization.
abstract: We aimed to determine if visual feedback use during aerial skills is more efficient at low angular head velocity (AHV; i.e., <350 deg/s) than at high AHV. Twelve experienced female acrobats performed 20 back tuck somersaults under four experimental conditions: full-vision (FV), vision at AHV below 350 deg/s (VBelow), vision at AHV above 350 deg/s (VAbove), and no-vision (NV). AHV was calculated in real time, and liquid crystal goggles were used to manipulate vision. Two gymnastics judges scored landing stability using a four-point scale. All vision conditions that allowed some vision yielded significantly better landing scores than in the NV condition. Furthermore, a nonparametric test revealed that VBelow yielded a better performance ranking than the FV condition. We conclude that visual feedback during a back tuck somersault is used for landing stability at all angular head velocities, but optimal feedback use occurs when there is retinal stability.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Department of Exercise Sciences, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luis
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tremblay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004856:Postural Balance; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular; D013028:Space Perception; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D013177:Sports; D014796:Visual Perception