Background. Among the most important factors of success in sports there are self-regulation skills of that are formed through goal-attainment. In the context of achieving high sports results, the concept of achieving the goal of J. Nicholls deserves special attention (Nicholls, 1984). According to the research, the goals of athletes can predict their emotional state and the likelihood of anxiety in the upcoming competition.

The Objective is to reveal the connection between the state of pre-competitive anxiety and the goal-setting features as a way of self-regulation in curling athletes. In accordance with the researcher conclusions of the specifics of goal orientation, we assume that athletes with an ego goal orientation are characterized by a higher precompetitive anxiety compared to athletes with a task goal orientation.

Design. The article analyzes the types of target orientations and the state of anxiety in 56 curling athletes in the pre-competition period (m = 16, f = 40). The study used the following methods: Spielberger’s anxiety scale and R. Martens’ personal competitive anxiety scale with both methods in adaptation of Yu.Hanin, author’s questionnaire to establish the focus of the curler athletes’ goals.

Results. The assumption that athletes with an ego goal orientation are characterized by a higher precompetitive anxiety compared to athletes with a task goal orientation did not receive confirmation, which contradicts the results of studies performed by other specialists. The lack of connection between precompetitive anxiety and the orientation of the goals in athletes is probably determined by the specifics of curling as a team sport. It was established that men and women do not have significant differences in adherence to one or another orientation of goals (p> 0.05), however, significant gender differences were found in terms of personal and competitive anxiety (p≤0.01; p <0.05).

Conclusions. The performed work allowed us to identify new areas for further research, such as: the role of the coach in the target-setting for athletes; the study of factors that influenced the results.