JUMP PERFORMANCE IN TRAMPOLINE ATHLETES AND HOW TO MEASURE IT: DEVELOPING A REPEATED JUMP TEST

Abstract

A competitive trampoline routine consists of ten scored jumps on which trampoline gymnasts need to exhibit an adequate strength endurance performance of their lower extremities. These strength endurance requirements are assessed with “Repeated Jump Tests” (RJT). However, existing tests are not designed for trampolining, but rather for game sports. Such tests aim, for example, at different number of repetitions and for minimizing ground contact time, thus lacking the specific repetitions and intensity of a trampoline routine. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a RJT specifically for trampolining that will assess jump height, performance decrement (PD) during RJT, and jump-to-jump fluctuations. Twenty-nine elite trampoline gymnasts (TR) from the junior national squad (JNS-TR; n = 21) and the senior national squad (SNS-TR; n = 8), 21 athletes from jump-intensive game sports (GS; comprising volleyball n = 15; handball n = 6), and 16 PE students (PE) completed the RJT consisting of twelve repeated jumps. Group differences were analyzed by ANOVA and trampoline squad differences via t-tests. Results showed that TR had a lower PD compared to GS and PE (p < .05). SNS-TR trampoline gymnasts show lower jump-to-jump fluctuations than JNS-TR trampoline gymnasts (p < .05). TR exhibited a superior performance in the RJT regarding PD compared to GS and PE. In conclusion, our RJT is proposed as a new tool for validly measuring repeated jump performance in trampoline gymnasts.

Keywords

• performance analysis
• elite athletes
• performance decrement
• athletic performance