Mobile app is a valid alternative for vertical jump height measurement in fighters

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the reliability and reproducibility of the Jumpo® application for vertical jumping measurement.

Method: 16 athletes of both sexes with a mean age of 19 ± 5 years, height of 1.7 ± 0.1 m, body mass of 65 ± 15 kg were included. The present investigation counted two meetings, in which test-retest of both assessment instruments for the following vertical jumps: Countermovement Jump, Squat Jump and Drop Jump, measured simultaneously with the Contact Mat and Jumpo®. Contact time with soil the ground and maximum jump height were analyzed. For statistical analysis, intraclass correlation coefficient was applied for intra- and inter-rater assessments. The comparisons between Jumpo® and contact mat performed by intraclass correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman graphic analysis.

Results: Almost perfect agreement for maximum height in all jumps, both intra-rater (ICC = 0.911-0.959), and inter-rater (ICC = 0.939-0.951) and inter-instrument (ICC = 0.939-0.972) were found. However, the contact time presented no significance (p <0.360) in relation to inter-instrument measurements. However, statistically significant inter-rater values ​​were found (p <0.001).

Conclusion: Jumpo® seems to be a valid and reproducible tool for measuring maximum vertical jumps height, but not for contact time. It is suggested, therefore, that coaches and trainers can be encouraged to use this tool for evaluation and monitoring of jumping performance in fighters.