A number of conclusions and recommendations regarding talent selection and subsequent training in elite gymnastics can be drawn from this study. At 12.5 years of age, smaller, slimmer gymnasts performed better on the gymnastics skills. This must have ramifications to talent identification programs and selection of athletes specifically for gymnastics. Girls who are naturally small in structure and slim have a greater chance of being a good performer. Although bigger gymnasts also had stronger legs, this did not help them to outperform the smaller more agile gymnasts. Hence it may be that a small structure is a better predictor to good performance than being strong. Gymnasts who had a high strength to weight ratio also produced high levels of performance. Therefore, strength is only a relevant predictor of good performance if it is considered closely with body mass. This was particularly obvious in skills where there was less technique involved. The results indicate that as the skill became more technical (ie the back saulto) girls with good technique could outperform those with a high strength : weight ratio. Girls who grew significantly in height over the three years of the study had poorer performances. Hence it could be assumed if growth can be slow and steady without large accelerations, which are normal with adolescence, a young gymnast has a better chance of maintaining improvements in performance. Great increases in mass over the period of the study were particularly detrimental to performances involving the twisting action. When a gymnast twists she needs her body to be as narrow as possible to permit speedy rotation. Large gains in body mass hinder this action. Development of leg power seem to be unaffected by growth of these subjects over the course of this study. So, it may be that adolescent growth in girls may not hinder progression in other sports such as athletics, but in technical sports where rotation of the body is concerned any increase in body size may effect performance. Athletes who trained at a high volume (ie., over 20 hours per week) performed better in the gymnastics tests. Hence, for improvements in gymnastics, many hours of training are required. Summary In summary, from these results, for optimal performance in gymnastics the following factors are important: a small body small steady increases in growth high strength : weight ratio training greater than 20 hours per week