INTRODUCTION: Based on the premise that alpine skiing is a risky and technical sport, we studied whether the inline-skating competency practiced in physical education classes, allows for the transfer of similar motor patterns to facilitate the successful, safe and consistent learning of alpine skiing. Schmidt (1988) says that the amount of perceived transfer between two sports disciplines is based on the perception of the similarities between the tasks, while Witherell and Evrard (1993) ensure that inline-skating is the activity that is more closely related to alpine skiing training than any other. METHOD: A body of 51 students (ranging from seven to 13 years of age) received skiing instruction for five days in a row and 1 more day after a non-practice week. There were 2 groups: the experimental group (n=25), who practiced inline-skating for 16 days and the control group (n=26), who practiced basketball and Volleyball, as well. Six ski instructors assessed students' skill level by completing a scale evaluation sheet (1: no skill, 2: skilled and 3: very skilled). The test requird the students to ski their best in groups of six on an intermediate slope with no start order. Video recordings were made for further analysis. RESULTS: Due to the fact that the variable does not follow the normal distribution, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used. The data associates the learning ski level with the same four categories mastered in inline-skating: balance (BAL), velocity control (VEL.C), trajectory control (TRAJ.C) and coordination (COOR), which were measured the 5th day of skiing practice (5°) and again, during the retest (RE), one week after no ski practice. DISCUSSION: In table 1, the experimental group indicates statistically significant differences (P<0,05) with the control group in all analyzed categories on the 501 day of practice and on the retest as well, except in the trajectory control. It appears that coordinative affinity exists between inline-skating and alpine skiing. Therefore, it would be used to provide easier learning conditions in alpine skiing (Kröll et al, 2005). CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that practicing inline-skating at school prior to learning alpine skiing improves the development of specific skills used in alpine skiing competency and proficiency in students. Therefore, correlation, or positive transfer exists between both disciplines of study as related to motor skill patterns.
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