The purpose of this master's thesis was to determine the relationship between physical fitness and competitive success in alpine skiing among young competitors in the U16 category. The sample included 30 male and 31 female participants, aged 14 and 15 during the 2021/2022 season, who actively competed in the Nordica Dobermann Cup. Measurements were conducted at the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana at the end of the 2021/2022 ski season. The variable set included eight physical fitness tests (400-metre run, trunk stabilisation, pull-ups with overhand grip, sprint speed from 10 to 30 metres, Bosco test, standing ten-jump, jumps on a force plate, and figure-eight run around 9 poles) as well as a performance variable defined by the total number of points accumulated across three alpine skiing disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, and super-giant slalom). The relationships between physical fitness variables with respect to sex were calculated using linear correlation analysis. Results showed that male participants achieved statistically higher values in most tests, particularly those measuring explosive strength and speed, while differences between sexes were less pronounced in coordination and agility tests. Statistically significant correlations were found between individual tests in both sexes, with the strongest associations observed between speed, explosive lower-limb strength, and speed endurance. In male participants, the applied regression model explained approximately 72.7% of the total variance in competitive success across the three alpine skiing disciplines, while in female participants this figure was 84.6%. Despite these high R² values, neither model reached statistical significance (p > 0.05), nor did any individual variable make a statistically significant independent contribution. The main reasons for the absence of statistical significance include the small number of observations relative to the number of predictors, the similarity between certain tests measuring comparable physical abilities, and the complexity of competitive success in alpine skiing, which is influenced not only by physical fitness but also by technical, tactical and psychological factors, snow conditions, equipment, and the biological maturity of competitors.
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