Analýza výkonů plavců v České republice

Competitive swimming has deep historical roots in the domestic environment and is considered a traditional sport. The primary objective of the presented text is to comprehensively analyze the swimming population and its performance over a long-term time horizon, spanning from the mid-20th century to the present. The practical research draws upon an extensive data archive from the Czech Swimming Federation and utilizes descriptive statistics, time series and regression analysis for evaluation. The results indicate a growing popularity of Czech swimming, with the number of swimmers increasing by an average of 226 athletes annually, despite the temporary disruption of this trend caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The average age for retiring from a sport career is 14.2 years, which corresponds to the period when athletes transition from primary to secondary school. Data findings further revealed an average age of 11.37 years, at which boys begin to significantly surpass girls in terms of speed. Spatial comparison then showed that competitors from the South Moravian Region achieved the highest average performance (100 m freestyle in a 25m pool, time 65.32 s), while those from the Karlovy Vary Region recorded the lowest (100 m freestyle in a 25m pool, time 72.16 s). The obtained findings provide representatives of the swimming federation with an objective overview regarding intergenerational, gender and regional specifics, offering a data-driven basis for the potential optimization of the entire sector’s functioning.