Proceedings of the International Centennial Anthropological Congress 5. [antikvár]

Introduction In the. year 1976 the Institute of Sports Science of the University of Darmstadt was given an investigation commanc from the Bundesinstitut of Sport Science in Cologne, which was based on the aim of development of models for the systematic search for talents in the field of sports. The project was to start investigating the problem as pilot study in form of an interdisciplinary project at first only for the alpine skisport. The decision however for that particular kind of sport was based on the following features: 1.the alpine skisport is in regard to the performance factors a very complex kind of sports. An advantage of it is that the results of this investigation can be used for different kinds of sports. 2.Competition of skiing can only take place in geiographic determinated areas, so that the combination of the sample as well as the raising of the data can take place in a relatively economical way. The first problems were already raised before the practical project work. It became visible immediately, that the demand for interdisciplinarity could neither theoretically nor practically fully be realized. Seen from the theory of science the problem arises that the main condition for the interdisciplinarity, that an overlapping theory in the field of sport science is not existing and will not exist in the near future. The primary practical difficulties of interdisciplinary work are caused by the fact 1.that for many fields of traits whose efficiency for talent research cannot be doubted, adequate methods are not existing and can consequently only be included with provisional methodical instruments, 2.that the financial expense for such an investigation is relatively big and 3.that during such an interdisciplinary work personal problems among the investigation team appear should not be neglected. They are primarily based on the factor that the members of the team maintain different theoretical concepts.