BACKGROUND: Swimming can enable the development of specific motor skills in children, helping to overcome challenges related to balance, propulsion, and breathing. However, most studies that correlate sports activity with motor behavior neglect performance-oriented sports training, as they do not include youth sports participants (YSP) in their samples. This study aimed evaluating the motor proficiency of children swimming competitively and comparing these data with those presented by children who swim with no competitive goals. METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Eighteen children (±9.5 years old) living in Fortaleza (CE) participated in the study and were divided into two groups: YSP (children who have participated in competitive swimming teams for at least 6 months) and Non-competitive (children who have participated in non-competitive swimming schools for at least 6 months). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second Edition (MABC-2) was used to analyze the children's motor performance. After data processing, Mann-Whitney`s U test was used to compare mean age between groups, and the student's t-test to compare the performance between the groups in relation to scores in the categories of the battery. RESULTS: The results showed that participants in the YSP Group presented superior performance, compared to Non-competitive Group, in the TC and BA categories and in the Total Score on the MABC-2. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that children who participate in a swimming training routine aiming to compete show better motor performance in relation to children who participate in swimming lessons without a competitive goal.
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