Determinants of physical attributes as indicator for talent identification in long jump event among students with visual disabilities / Nagoor Meera Abdullah

Traditionally, the talent identification process was used to select a child for a sporting program, but scientifically, the talent identification process is designed to select a child's sport. Identifying talent in sport requires one to have a scientific approach as talent can be challenging, biased, and difficult to predict. Studies in talent identification in the long jump for able-bodied sport are available, but less for people who have disabilities, especially among those with visual disabilities. Are the instruments used to identify the potential students with visual disabilities similar as they are used in able-bodied athletes? The purpose of this study is to identify the reliability and construct validity of test instruments on strength, agility, power, and speed in long jump performance among students with visual disabilities. It is also to determine the relation of the fitness attributes towards their performance in long jump. Using a purposive sampling technique, 90 (n=90) male students between 14-17 years old, who are classified as Class B2 based on Paralympic classification for blind sports participated in the study. They are from the Special School for the Blind, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia Association for the Blind, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. The study applies the test-retest method where they have been tested with the physical attributes; strength (basketball throw test), agility (10-m agility test), power (standing long jump test), and speed (40m sprint test). 2 weeks of training have been conducted in between the test. The participants then underwent another test with the same fitness attributes. The findings revealed that the Pearson Correlation was use to identify the reliability scores shows a significant different between test and retest on basketball throw test (r = .841, r = .84, n = 90, p < 0.001), 10 m agility test (r = .908, r = .90, n= 90, p< 0.001), standing long jump test (r= .924, r=.92, n=90, p< 0.001) and 40-m sprint test (r= .988, r=.98, n=90, p< 0.001). The results of the construct validity using Dependent T-test show improvement between test and retest for all the tests with basketball throw test (t value (89) = 3.312, p = 0.01), 10 m agility test (t value (89) = 8.461, p = 0.00), standing long jump test (t value (89) = -5.650, p = 0.00) and 40 m sprint test (t value (89) = 4.856, p = 0.00). Multiple regression (entry method) has been applied to find the relation between the four attributes and the performance in the long jump, and only power shows the relation towards performance in the long jump event (p <.024 (r=-.16)). It shows that, in recruiting talent in long jump among students who have visual disabilities, standing long jump test can be apply as the main indicator in seeking new talent.In conclusion, the physical attributes for talent identification among students with visual disabilities need to focus on exercises that develop their ability in power. So that they can perform better in the long jump. It is recommended to engaging them in physical activity programs and training them frequently on power and develop the TI tests according to the class-specific ability.