Abstract
Consolidation processes taking place between practice sessions are known to stabilize motor skills and improve performance without further practice (Trempe & Proteau, 2012). Interestingly, consolidation has only been studied with individuals having no prior experience with the task to be learned. Thus, it is still unknown whether consolidation is restricted to the early phase of learning. To answer this question, we recruited 10 experienced divers that had been involved in a structured training program for at least 3 years. During the experiment, each diver had to improve a specific dive that they had already practiced but was still considered challenging. The divers first performed an initial training session consisting of 12 practice trials. Visual feedback was provided immediately after each trial through a video replay. Two retention tests without feedback were performed 30 minutes and 24 hours after the initial training session. All dives were recorded using a video camera positioned beside the pool and the divers’ performance was quantified by measuring the verticality of the body segments at water entry. Two trends were observed among the divers: 6 divers improved their performance during the initial training phase, and 4 did not. Interestingly, only the divers who improved during the initial training session showed further improvement between the two retention tests (p < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that consolidation is not a process restricted to the early phase of learning, and that performance during training dictates whether further improvement due to consolidation will be observed.Acknowledgments: This work was funded by the Institut National du Sport du Québec.