Comparison of traditional and body height-adjusted assessment method for standing long jump

The jumping distance achieved in the standing long jump SLJ is used to assess lower body strength. Traditionally, body height (hereinafter referred to as height) is not considered in the assessment (i.e., traditional SLJ or SLJ_T) and this may significantly disadvantage smaller children.Data on SLJ, pole climbing (APCT) and push-up (PU) were collected from boys and girls in Austrian regular primary, secondary, and high school as well as in secondary and high school in elite sports classes. For SLJ, we computed an alternative score by dividing jumping distance by height as correction (height-adjusted SLJ or SLJ_H). In a linear mixed model, the regression slopes of SLJ_T on height were significantly different from that of APCT and PU in the five different contexts defined by school and type of class. In contrast, corresponding regression slopes of SLJ_H differed only in minor ways from those of APCT and PU. Thus, SLJ_H removed a bias due to height in the assessment of body strength and led to a fairer assessment of participants across different schools comprising regular and elite sports classes.