Outdoor activities and high-risk water sports often create anxiety in parti
cipants who feel concern about danger. Relaxation and imagery, often used t
o enhance training, can improve performance of skills in a variety of sport
s. The aim of this study was to establish whether Mental Practice, Physical
Practice, Combined Mental and Physical Practice, or No Practice would affe
ct the acquisition of skill for a kayak wet exit. 60 postprimary girls aged
11-16 yr., competent swimmers but without previous experience in kayaking,
gave their informed consent to be in the study. Each participant was rando
mly assigned to one of the four experimental groups. Following their practi
ce periods, each group performed three kayak wet exit attempts (unseen by o
thers); these were videotaped for later analysis by an observer. The partic
ipant and an independent observer, who was blind to the allocation of pract
ice group, then used a 6-point rating scale to assess each performance. Par
ticipants' and the observer's ratings were analysed by separate Kruskal-Wal
lis one-way analysis of variance which indicated a significant practice eff
ect. Subsequent chi-squared tests indicated significantly different distrib
utions of groups, showing Physical Practice superior to No Practice and Men
tal Practice. While physical practice remained effective in improving techn
ique, combinations of mental and physical practice were better than no prac
tice.