Below is a model answer which gained full marks in the prelim exam.

Question: By making reference to the MENTAL factor and one other from either: Physical, Social or Emotional a) Explain some of the challenges you may face in the period leading up to this event. (8)

Some mental challenges you may face leading up to your event are Anxiety over losing this event may prevent you from concentrating on your performance and technique which would result in errors and possibly losing at the event. Low mental toughness could result in you being unable to push through and beat your opponent if they are beating you in the early stages of the event, having low mental toughness would mean that you wouldn’t be able to motivate yourself to play better and you would continue to lose points. If your level of arousal is low and you feel like you don’t need to worry about who you’re competing against, you may be unprepared if you come across a challenging competitor which means you could end up losing, or not winning at your event. If your motivation is low then you may not be able to perform to the best of your ability due to not being able to set goals or get yourself excited for the challenge which could result in losing at your event.

Some physical challenges you may face building up to your event could be a lack of muscular endurance. If you have low muscular endurance then you will become fatigued earlier on in the event which means your standard of playing will drop due to errors being made because you are unable to perform the correct technique due to fatigue and low muscular endurance. Timing may also be a challenge. If your timing is off say in a swimming race, your dive at the start will be mistimed causing you to have a bad start which will increase your time or get you disqualified. Your tumble turns during a race may also be mistimed which would further increase your time. If you had a lack of agility this could affect your performance. In a game of hockey, if you had a lack of agility, you would not be able to turn with the ball quickly to dodge defenders or attackers which could result in your team losing possession of the ball or giving your opponents an opportunity to score. Accuracy could be a challenge you face as well. If your accuracy is not well developed it could mean that you are not able to, in a game of badminton, accurately hit the shot to where you want it to go which means it may go out or your opponent may have an easier chance of returning it and winning the point.

by Jo Corrigan