MORPHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF ATHLETE STARTERS AND NONSTARTERS OF FEMININE FUTSAL

ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to compare the morphological characteristics of female futsal athlete starters and nonstarters. The study included 115 athletes, 60 starters and 55 nonstarters, belonging to 10 teams that competed in the XX Brazilian Cup of Clubs, special division. Anthropometric measurements were obtained with the purpose of characterizing and determining body somatotype. The analyzes were performed with the aid of a commercial statistical package (SPSS version 18.0), adopting a significance level of p< 0.05. The results showed that the athlete starters were older (p=0.024), had a longer practice time (p=0.019), and lower fat percentage (p=0.047) and femur diameter (p=0.048) than the nonstarters, however, the last two variables lost significance after adjustment for practice time. Nevertheless, they presented a similar somatotypological classification (mesomorph-endomorph). Considering that body composition and sports experience are attributes associated with performance, the observed differences between the athlete starters and nonstarters could contribute to the decision making of coaches in the formation of the titular team in women's futsal matches.