Question

Need and importance of statistics in physical education​

Answer 1

Physical Education

Sport is a way of expressing order in the physical world of chaos. It is also about competition. For any sport to work, there must be standard rules and conditions so that fair comparison of performances can be made. In any sport, this is how the victor is determined - eg. by comparing the number of goals or runs scored or the times achieved - in that event on that day.

Since sport is about order, it is natural to want an ordered way to record it. Although this is a generalisation, it is no surprise that both sport and mathematics are dominated by men - whose brains function in this more ordered way.

The good thing about good statistics is that competition can also occur across space and time. Athletes or teams can compare their performances to their current rivals or to themselves at another time, or historic accomplishments.

Another benefit is that one can analyse the measured statistics of the past in an attempt to determine what to do next. All athletes are working towards some goal and the use of statistics and records allows them to know when they have reached it or how far away they might be. Of course, this requires that they use the best measures and look at them the right way.