We hypothesized that gender differences would exist, to some extent, between three year old subjects during the standing broad jump. We found that in the standing broad jump there were significant differences between the male and female subjects.
This research showed a great difference in vertical and horizontal displacement between the male and female subjects. The male subject jumped farther; whereas the female subject jumped higher. One study investigating the relative contribution of strength and physique to jumping performance of 7-11 year old boys concluded that the standing broad jump was more closely related to strength than the vertical jump. It was suggested that the vertical jump required a greater amount of coordination (Ball et al.., 1992). Since strength and coordination were not measured in our study, any effects of strength and coordination cannot be determined. The discrepancy in displacement can be partially attributed to differences in preflight posture and hip and knee flexion during flight. Wever and Cafarelli (1973) noted significant correlations [exist] between hip extension, plantar flexion, and knee extension and the standing broad jump. Posture differences between the subjects at the end of the preflight phase can be seen in figure 1. Notice that the male subject was in a more crouched position with greater flexion at the hip and knee. The position of the female subject right before take-off was more extended as she stood upright at take-off. Although angle measurements were not made at the shoulder, the video showed a great degree of hyperextension in the male subject during the preflight and flight phases of his broad jump. In contrast, the female subject displayed less hyperextension at the shoulder joint during preflight and flexion during the jump. During the flight phase, the subjects' movements showed vast differences at the knee. The male subject's knee remained flexed throughout the movement instead of extending after take-off. On the other hand, the female subject's knee went from a flexed position to an extended position in the air.
Although this study showed many differences between the genders in the standing broad jump at the age of three years, the results are inconclusive. For more conclusive results, the study needs to increase the number of subjects, of the same age with similar experience. Also the differences that were found may have been caused by factors that weren't studied such as horizontal and vertical acceleration of the body. Analyzing the center of mass throughout the jump may have brought some other gender differences to light. Gender differences in these areas may demonstrate why the male subject jumped farther and the female subject jumped higher. The differences may also have been caused by intrinsic differences not studied, for example differences in muscle activation patterns. Repeating this study with more subjects and analyzing different factors such as acceleration and muscle activation patterns could provide a more substantial explanation about why the male and female differed in this study.
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