There is an ever increasing awareness that skilled perception of the visual display precedes accurate and swift decision making in sport which will in turn determine successful movement execution or performance (Abernethy, 1987; 1996;). Several contemporary studies and reviews concentrated on examining the proficiency related differences between experts and novices with regards to visualperceptual and visual search strategy skills (Abernethy, 1987; 1996; Ripoll, 1991; William s et al 1993). These studies concentrated mostly on eye movement skills such as pursuit tracking movements, number of fixations and saccadic movement patterns. The results indicated contradictory evidence suggesting that eye movement pattern in itself does not provide sufficient evidence to explain the differences between experts and non experts (Williams et al 1993) These discrepancies lead researchers to question the role of visual skills and led to the believe that these differences result from experts` enhanced contextual based knowledge and their ability to recall structured sport situations more efficiently from long term memory. The problem with almost all these studies is that they assumed that visual information processing or perception relates to foveal function or focal attention and ignored the role of peripheral vision. Some authors did however suggest that peripheral vision may be more critical than foveal gaze and suggested the need for innovative research to evaluate the role of parafoveal and peripheral perception (Abernethy, 1987; Ripoll, 1991) The aim of this study was then to try and find a link between peripheral awareness and decision making. Methods A group of 30 elite rugby backline players (ages 20 to 26) was randomly selected for this study. They were subjected to normal visual testing to rule out any possible visual defects or deficiencies. They were then asked to do a central - peripheral awareness test. This was done with a Wayne`s Saccadic Fixator. Furthermore a panel of three expert coaches was asked to view clips, which were captured with the Verusca analyzing system, of 5 rugby matches where these players played in and to independently rate each player`s decision making on a scale from 1 to 10. The coaches` ratings were then compared and averaged to obtain a decision making rating for each player. These ratings were then compared with the results obtained for the central peripheral awareness test by means of a t- test (p<0.05). Results The three coaches` ratings provided very similar individual ratings for each player. For 27 out of the 30 players their ratings did not differ more than a value of 2 on a scale of 10. The other 3 players` results were excluded from the t-test. The results clearly showed that the higher the decision making rating the better the players scored on the central peripheral awareness test (p<0,05) Discussion In the visual perception and visual search literature the temporal- spatial patterning and durations and number of fixations have been regarded as a reflection of the perceptual strategy used by players to extract meaningful information from the display (Williams et al; 1993). In these studies orienting of foveal gaze were also considered to reflect the locus of attention, thus ignoring the important role of peripheral vision. The results of this study suggest that superior visual information processing and therefore decision making may be the result of better use of the peripheral visual system. Experts thus seem to have the ability to detach their locus of attention from their locus of focus far more effectively. The more effective use of peripheral vision by experts is also supported by the "two visual systems" concept (Milner & Goodale, 1995) providing for two cortical pathways transforming incoming visual information for different purposes with the ambient (peripheral) system responsible for visio-motor control. Conclusions This result opens up many new opportunities in evaluating decision making particularly in open skill or fast ball sports. The challenge would still be to find a better way of improving peripheral awareness and to transfer that to decision making under stressful game situations.
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