The classification of skills on continua (basic to complex, open to closed) and the use of continua to describe sporting skills.

What this dot point is asking

AQA wants you to define a skill, explain why skills are placed on continua rather than in fixed boxes, describe the basic to complex and open to closed continua, and classify sporting skills with examples.

What is a skill?

The phrase is worth unpacking, because each part is a marking point. "Learned" means it is developed through practice, not something you are born with. "Maximum certainty" means it works reliably, not by luck. "Efficiency for minimum effort" means it looks smooth and wastes no energy, which is why an expert's technique appears effortless while a beginner's looks laboured. A skill therefore sits on top of underlying abilities such as coordination, reaction time and balance, which are inborn and set the ceiling for how good the learned skill can become.

Why we use continua

The basic to complex continuum

This continuum describes how much thought, decision-making and judgement a skill needs.

• Basic (simple) skills: need little thought or decision-making, for example jogging or a forward roll.
• Complex skills: need lots of thought, judgement and decision-making, for example a tennis serve or a somersault in gymnastics.

The open to closed continuum

This continuum describes how much the environment and other performers affect the skill.

• Open skills: affected by the environment and others, so they constantly change, for example a pass in football or a tackle in rugby.
• Closed skills: not affected by the environment, so they are self-paced and the same each time, for example a free throw in basketball or a golf swing.

The classification matters because it shapes how a skill should be practised, which is the link AQA most often tests. A closed skill is stable and self-paced, so it is best learned through repetitive, fixed practice (drilling a golf swing or a free throw over and over) until the movement becomes consistent and almost automatic. An open skill changes with the environment, so it is best learned through varied practice that forces the performer to read and react to different situations (small-sided games, changing defenders), so they can adapt the skill in a real match. The same idea applies along the basic to complex continuum: a basic skill can be taught whole and quickly, while a complex skill is often broken into parts and built up, with more guidance and feedback because of the decision-making it demands. Many skills sit in between, which is exactly why the continuum is used: a hockey pass, for example, is mostly open but has a fairly fixed technique, so it sits towards the open end without being fully open.

Worked example