Assessment of Functional Movement Competency in National-Level Foot Orienteers

Foot orienteering is an endurance sport that requires high musculoskeletal efficiency to maintain performance while running across varied and uneven terrain. This study aimed to assess functional movement competency in national-level foot orienteers (FO) using the Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™). Fifty-one athletes (21 females and 30 males) from Spain, Italy, and Poland were evaluated to analyze fundamental movement patterns. Participants were grouped according to sex, age category (junior vs. senior), and body mass index (BMI). The median FMS™ score for the entire cohort was 17.0, with no significant differences observed between males and females, juniors and seniors, or BMI categories. Junior female athletes achieved significantly higher scores than junior males in the Hurdle Step test (r = 0.37, p = 0.048), and a positive correlation was identified between age and Hurdle Step performance (r = 0.319, p = 0.02), indicating lower scores in younger athletes. Athletes with lower BMI demonstrated superior performance in the Shoulder Mobility test (r = 0.38, p = 0.01), supported by a moderate negative correlation between BMI and shoulder mobility (r = −0.37, p = 0.01). Across all subgroups, the lowest scores were recorded in the Deep Squat test. These findings suggest that age, sex, and BMI may influence specific components of functional movement competency in FO and should be considered when designing training and injury-prevention programs. Further research involving national teams from additional countries is recommended to confirm and extend these results.