Twisting and somersaulting make up the majority of gymnastics skills. Gymnasts decide at a very early age whether to turn to the left or to the right, and usually maintain this preference throughout their career (Arkaev and Suchilin, 2004).
While it is generally accepted in the coaching literature that an athlete should maintain his or her turning preference, one problem arises from a misperception of turning direction when being upside down, that is likely to develop in young gymnasts (Arkaev and Suchilin, 2004). One feels turning leftwards but is turning rightwards instead, because the vestibular system is placed upside down during an overhead phase in a particular skill. This misperception often causes problems of learning more complex skills, like a twisting somersault. Because the turning preference is often determined from self-reports of young gymnasts, indicating the direction in which they feel good when performing a particular skill, the actual twist direction is likely to be different between skills with different functional demands (Sands, 2000). It is furthermore likely to assume that gymnasts choose their preferred twist direction in favor of other factors, like lateral preference (Golomer, Rozey, Dizac, Mertz, and Fagard, 2009).
