Do Different Times of The Day Affect Dart Throwing Performance?

Abstract

Background:  Dart sport has become a sport that has recently become widespread among sports branches and its popularity is increasing rapidly day by day. With this popularization, research on darts is increasing. It is stated that athletes can do the training they do at any time of the day with a much better performance at a different time, as in many changing conditions. In addition, at a different time of day, fatigue may be reached later or recovery may occur more quickly. For these reasons, knowing the effect of training at different times of the day is important for both the coach and the athlete. Objectives:  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different times of the day on throwing performance in darts, an indoor skill in which focus, attention, concentration are at the forefront and environmental factors are less effective than outdoor skill. Methods:  In this study, 16 dart athletes (8 boys, 8 girls) with a sport age of 2 - 3 years and an age of 12 - 14 years, who did not have any health problems in Mardin province, participated voluntarily: 2 m and 2.37 m from two different distances at 8.00 and 17.00, 1 day apart. Before the dart throws, the Daily Rhythm Determination Scale for Children was administered to the participants. The center of the dartboard was placed at eye level for each subject. After the throws, the Perceived Difficulty Scale was applied. In the analysis examining the relationship between perceived degree of difficulty, morningness-eveningness and throwing, the subjects’ evening throwing scores and evening perceived degree of difficulty scores were examined; a negative and significant relationship was observed in the eveningist group (r = -1, P = 0.01). No significant relationship was observed in the morning group. Results:  In the study, a statistically significant difference was found between the subjects’ morning and evening throws at 2 m and 2.37 cm. In both morning and evening groups, it was determined that the throwing performance increased in the evening measurements. Conclusions:  As a result, this study concluded that there is an effect of time of day in dart sport and that dart throws made in the evening give better results than dart throws made in the morning. Based on these results, it is recommended that a program should be made by the coaches considering the school programs and daily routines to reduce the effect of time of day. It is thought that this study will be important for chronobiological researches to reveal the factors affecting performance as well as the effect of time of day in darts sport.