The study of the somatotypes of the Turkish National Rafting Team

Aim: In the study, it was aimed to determine the somatotype characteristics of the male athletes of the Turkish National Rafting Team. 8 male rafting athletes from the Turkish National Rafting Team voluntarily participated in the study during the national team camp in Rize before 2015 World Rafting Champs-Indonesia. Material and Methods: The age, height, weight, skinfold thickness, circumference, and width measurements of the athletes participated in the study were taken at the Performance Lab of Physical Education and Sports Academy, Karadeniz Technical University. Heath-Carter method was used to determine their somatotypes. The statistical analyses of the measurements were carried out by using SPSS 13. Results: The mean values of the participant male rafting athletes of the Turkish National Rafting Team (n=8) were found as follows; mean age 21 years old; mean height 175.68±3.32 cm; mean body weight 76.00±7.96kg. The mean values of the somatotype components of the athletes were found as endomorphy 2.23±0.88, mesomorphy 5.04±0.91, ectomorphy 1.92±0.94. Although there are various studies on determining somatotype characteristics in Sports Science, those related to rafting are limited in number.  Conclusion: We are of the opinion that our study, in addition to determining the somatotype characteristics of the male rafting athletes of the Turkish National Rafting Team, will also contribute to the studies carried out in this field.