1. Tim I. Williams, Jan Burns, Emily Stretch, Summer Hubble Institute of Education Figure 1. Mean Wechsler IQ scores for 7 sports represented in the INAS games. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. There is a significant difference between sports on IQ score (F(6,2520)=22.65, p<0.001, η 2 =0.05). The variances were unequal (Levene’s F(6, 2520) = 21.97, p < 0.01). Games- Howell tests were used to examine the differences between the IQs of athletes competing in different sports – see table 1. Table 1. Mean differences between sports. Highlighted cells show statistically significant differences. + = 0.1 >p>0.05 * = p < 0.05, ** = p <0.01, *** = p < 0.001 A multivariate analysis of the subdomain scores (N=419) found no statistical significant difference (F(24, 1428.04) = 1.12, p = 0.31, η 2 =0.01) between sports on the domain scores. Conclusions The hypothesis was not supported. The IQ difference between sports is best explained by whether they are individual or team sports. Further research into the cognitive components of elite INAS athlete performance is required to compare with non ID athletes. References 1. Burns, J. (2015). The impact of intellectual disabilities on elite sports performance. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2015.1068830 2. Singer, R. N. (2000). Performance and human factors: Considerations about cognition and attention for self-paced and externally-paced events. Ergonomics, 43(10), 1661-1680. 3. Wang, C.-H., Chang, C.-C., Liang, Y.-M., Shih, C.-M., Chiu, W.-S., Tseng, P.,... Juan, C.-H. (2013). Open vs. closed skill sports and the modulation of inhibitory control. Plos One, 8(2), e55773. doi: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055773 Acknowledgements The staff and athletes of INAS who have given their time and data for this research Contact information Institute of Education, University of Reading, London Road Campus, RG1 5EX Email: timothy.williams@reading.ac.uk timothy.williams@reading.ac.uk Web : http://www.reading.ac.uk/education/about/staff/timothy-williams.aspx Introduction Athletes with intellectual disability (ID) take part in Paralympic competitions because there is evidence that IQ and/or adaptive ability affect sporting performance in each of the disciplines in which they can compete. Strict eligibility criteria apply before athletes are allowed to compete. Over 4000 athletes from 36 nations have been assessed. This database affords the opportunity to examine the contribution of cognitive skills (based on IQ test results) to sporting performance in a group of individuals whose measured IQ lies below 75 and whose ID began before the age of 18. Research on the influence of cognitive skills on sports performance have identified reaction time, visuospatial skills, variability of performance and “game intelligence” as critical features. Burns (2015) has suggested that game intelligence reflects meta-cognitive skills such as self regulation and executive functioning. Different sports make different cognitive demands on participants. For instance Singer (2000) in a review article distinguished between “open” and “closed” sports where Open skill sports are those that are dynamically changing, unpredictable and externally paced (basketball, tennis – cf. Wang et al. 2013) Closed skill sports are those that are predictable, self-paced (athletics, swimming – cf. Wang et al. 2013). Hypothesis: Open skills sports (basketball, cricket, football, tennis and table tennis) will require higher IQ scores due to higher executive function skills than closed skill sports (swimming, athletics) Methods All athletes registered on the International Federation for Para- athletes with Intellectual Disabilities (INAS – www.inas.org) database give permission for the results of their tests to be used for research. This study examines only IQ test results from the Wechsler family of IQ tests. 2721 athletes’ Wechsler IQ results were examined, of which 2534 were selected for further analysis because there were more than 50 competitors in that sport. Results The Wechsler IQ scores were first analysed with a univariate ANOVA with sport as the fixed factor. Then the 4 subdomain scores (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, Processing Speed) were analysed with a MANOVA using sport as the fixed factor. Intellectual Ability and Sporting Performance: Data from athletes with intellectual disability AthleticsBasketballCricketFootballSwimmingTennis Basketball -4.54 *** Cricket -4.20 ** 0.34 Football -3.75 *** 0.780.45 Swimming 0.244.77 *** 4.43 * 3.99 *** Tennis 0.565.09 * 4.75 + 4.31 * 0.32 Table tennis 1.225.76 *** 5.42 * 4.97 *** 0.990.66