A correlation study between 10 and 15 meter sprint and vertical jump height in young female teamgymnasts

Sammanfattning: Background: Teamgym is originally from Scandinavia and the first competition was held in Finland in 1996. The sport includes parts such as trampette, tumbling and floor programs which is performed by the whole team which often consists of six to twelve gymnasts. Trampette and tumbling program consists of three series of tumbles and vaults performed by six gymnasts of the team. The floor program is three minutes long and performed by the team. Female elite gymnasts are often short, lightweight and have a good strength and power and are very flexible and limber. Jumping movements are common in this sport especially to vault and floor programs. It is also preferable that the gymnasts achieves a high sprint speed in order to carry out the movements that are included in the sport. Plyometric training along with resistance training has proven to have positive effects on the gymnasts jumping ability. Especially the jumping ability is incredibly important for a gymnast and for its development in the sport. Plyometrics improves not only the acceleration during the sprint, but also increases the athlete’s strength in the lower extremity. Very few previous studies have been done on gymnastics, particularly in teamgymnastic. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any linear correlation between vertical jump height and 10 and 15 meter sprint in teamgym gymnastics. Method: 17 young female teamgymnasts, 12-17 years old, were tested in 10 and 15 meter sprint and two different vertical jumps, countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJa) and squat jump (SJ). The highest was correlated with the fastest sprint time. To analyze the correlation between vertical jumps and sprint the Spearman’s rank correlation (rs) was used. Result: CMJa shows a moderate negative correlation to 10 meter sprint (rs = -0.447) and CMJa also shows moderate negative correlation to 15 meter sprint (rs = -0.488). SJ shows a weak negative correlation to 10 meter sprint (rs = -0.23). SJ also shows weak negative correlation to 15 meter sprint (rs = -0.16). When controlling for the weight, SJ and both sprints went from a weak correlation to a strong correlation. Conclusion: The strongest correlation was found between CMJa and 15 meter sprint. When controlling for the weight, SJ and both sprints went from a weak correlation to a strong correlation. The result showed that the test subjects jumped higher during CMJa than during SJ, with a median of 36.0 compared with 30.0 centimeters. No previous studies have examined these variables and their relationship on teamgymnasts. Further research should be done on the teamgymnasts, since very little previous research has been done in this area.