Health-related components (4)
0413 groups fitness into two categories. Health-related components matter for everyday health, not just sport: cardiovascular endurance (stamina) — the heart and lungs supplying oxygen to the working muscles during sustained activity; muscular endurance — a muscle or group contracting repeatedly without fatiguing; flexibility — the range of movement at a joint; strength — the ability to overcome a resistance. Low levels of any affect daily life as well as performance.
Skill-related components (6)
Skill-related components affect how well a skill is executed. Agility — changing body position quickly, under control. Balance — the centre of mass over the base of support; static (a handstand) vs dynamic while moving. Coordination — two or more body parts working together (hand-eye). Power — strength and speed together: a strength movement done quickly. Reaction time — time to start responding to a stimulus. Speed — the maximum rate of moving the body over a distance.
Causal chain to a named activity
Naming the component is only step one; a full explanation builds a causal chain to a specific performance benefit for a named activity. For a rower: greater speed drives and recovers the oar faster, which raises the stroke rate (strokes per minute), which moves the boat faster. Each link must be stated — component, mechanism, outcome — not a jump from the name to a vague "better performance". The same three-step pattern fits every component.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
"Endurance" alone is too vague
Writing "endurance" alone is not precise enough — there are two, and the examiner cannot tell which is meant. Specify muscular endurance (a muscle resisting fatigue) or cardiovascular endurance (heart and lungs supplying oxygen over time). A related slip is offering a characteristic of skilled performance instead. Attach the qualifying word to "endurance".
Digest (### 2.3): "endurance" alone is too vague -- candidates must specify muscular or cardiovascular endurance -- and it is sometimes confused with characteristics of skilled performance (s23 P11 Q8c(i); s22 P13 Q12b; s23 P12 Q15).
Named but not applied
The most repeated weakness here is naming the component correctly, then giving a generic textbook description instead of applying it to the activity or position named. AO2 marks are for genuine application — how the component helps that performer, e.g. "a goalkeeper needs quick reaction time for a close-range shot", not the definition reworded.
Digest (### 2.3): the single most repeated weakness -- naming a component correctly but then giving a generic description instead of applying it to the named activity/position; cricket, water polo, a goalkeeper and cycling recur (w22 P12 Q5a; s23 P13 Q1a; w23 P13 Q10b(i)).
Speed ≠ agility
Speed and agility are distinct. Speed is the maximum rate of moving the body over a distance — moving fast in a straight line. Agility is changing the body's position quickly under control — fast changes of direction. A sprinter relies on speed; a badminton player twisting between shots, on agility. Do not offer "being fast" as agility, or "changing direction" as speed.
Static vs dynamic balance
Both are balance — the centre of mass over the base of support — but static is held while stationary (a handstand) and dynamic is maintained while moving (a netball player changing direction). Candidates mix them up, calling a moving example "static" or a held position "dynamic". Decide whether the performer is still or moving, then label accordingly.
Wrong category of component
Asked for a skill-related component, candidates give a health-related one, or vice versa. Health-related = cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, flexibility, strength; skill-related = agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, speed. Another slip is repeating one in other words ("quickness" for speed). Check which category is asked.
Power just means being strong
Students use "power" and "strength" interchangeably, assuming the strongest is the most powerful. In fact power combines strength AND speed — a strength movement done quickly, such as an explosive jump. A very strong but slow performer is high in strength yet low in power; a fast but weak performer also lacks power. Only a performer high in BOTH is genuinely powerful.
Apply to the exact named activity
Re-read the activity or position in the stem and build every sentence around it, not a more familiar sport. A generic definition with no named activity, or one never used, caps the answer in the lower band. Failing to apply is the most repeated Paper 1 criticism.
Name the component precisely
Use the exact spec term, not a loose paraphrase — "muscular endurance", not "endurance"; "cardiovascular endurance", not "stamina" alone. An imprecise name cannot be credited, because the examiner cannot tell which of the ten components is meant.
Build the full causal chain
Go from the component, through the mechanism, to a specific benefit — good dynamic balance lets a netball player change direction while marking, staying in position to intercept the pass. A component named without its mechanism and outcome stays in the lower band.
Fitness is made up of ten components, split into two groups.
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