Reference Values of Standing Long Jump in Preschool Children: A Population-Based Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine age and sex differences in standing long jump (SLJ) and to determine norm-referenced values for Spanish preschool children. Method: A total of 3555 children, aged 3-6 years, participated in this study (1746 girls and 1809 boys). To measure explosive leg power, the SLJ was used. Results: In the analysis of reliability using test-retest with 86 children (48% boys, age = 56.22 +/- 10.34 months), the following descriptive results were obtained (mean, SD): at pretest = 76.53 +/- 20.20 cm, at retest = 74.56 +/- 21.12 cm (p = .124), and an intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.913 (95% confidence interval = 0.866-0.943). Boys exhibited a greater performance than girls at 3-to 5-years old, but no significant differences were found at 6 years old. In whole group, the SLJ performance was higher with increased age. However, no significant differences were found between boys aged 5 and 6 years. Conclusion: This study provides references values for muscle strength assessment through SLJ test carried out on a large sample of Spanish preschoolers.