This research was carried out with the aim of determining the differences in the functional response of the cardio-vascular system to load on a sample consisting of 16 male skiers and 8 female skiers, members of the "Niš" Skiing Club in Niš. The research encompassed 9 tests used for functional abilities three of which were tests for heart rate frequency, three were tests for systolic and three for diastolic blood pressure. The results of this research have indicated that the frequency of the resting heart rate of male skiers was 79, 38 beats per minute, and for female skiers was 88 beats per minute. After a five-minute load it was 145 beats/min. for male skiers, and for 166,5 beats/min. for female skiers, and after a one-minute rest following a load the pulse frequency was 93,63 beats/min. for male skiers, and 121,13 beats/min. for the female skiers. Even after identical aerobic loads, the results obtained in this research indicate that the values for heart rate frequency after a five-minute load and a one-minute rest after load of female skiers was statistically significant greater in comparison to the values for male skiers at the 0.05 level. The obtained data indicate that it is necessary to be cautious about determining the load for skiers who take part in organized physical activities and are of different sexes.
