Vertical Jump

The vertical jump measures an individual’s ability to jump explosively in the vertical direction.

Explosive power is a major performance characteristic of numerous sports including ice hockey, bobsleigh, figure skating, athletics, volleyball and basketball.

Equipment

• Measuring tape.
• Wall-mounted black paper with the lower edge fixed at a height of 150 cm and the upper edge fixed at a height of 300 cm.
• Chair.
• Powdered or climbing chalk (flour or similar substances can be used).

• Students dip the fingertips of the preferred hand into the powdered chalk.
• Students take a standing position with the preferred side facing sideways to the wall-mounted black paper.
• Standing erect with the feet flat on the floor, they reach as high as possible with the arm and fingers fully extended and the palm toward the wall. The mark left at this point is recorded as the beginning height.
• The student moves a safe distance from the wall (with the hand on the hip the elbow should barely reach the wall).
• The student brings the arms downward and backward while bending the knees to a balanced, semi-squat position. The student pauses momentarily in this position (to minimize the possibility of a pre-jump) and jumps as high as possible with the arms moving forward and upward, touching the wall mounted black paper at the peak height of the jump with the arm and fingers fully extended.
• This point is recorded as the peak height.
• Allow two trials per participant and record the highest jump.

• Measure the distance between the beginning height and the peak height to determine the height jumped in centimetres.