High jump

 

High jump  layout (gym mats, elastic bar, cones.)

Overview: This event is kept to a very basic higher and higher competition.  Children are shown how to develop height by combining speed and spring with swinging each leg up in turn.

Cones are set out at 45 degrees to the elastic bar, right and left.  (See diagram)

  1. Decide; right or left take off leg (the leg you jump from):- Put children in a line facing you. Tell them to hop on the spot with eyes closed. The leg they hop from is their take off leg.  The other leg is the lead leg. 
  2. Now with eyes open, raise lead leg leg in front and replace it, followed by the take off leg, as if stepping sideways over a low fence.  Then do the same movement as a jump with a little run on the spot beforehand, followed by four small paces on the spot. This is the scissors jump movement.
  3.  Get children who hopped from left leg line up behind right cone facing the jumping area. (see diagram)  Children who hopped from right leg line up behind left cone.
  4. Keeping the elastic bar low (30cm)  the right foot jumpers run up and jump over using the scissor style just learnt, AND the four steps landing followed by the left foot jumpers. (the post-landing steps are important to prevent sitting or falling back on landing
  5. When everyone is able to clear the elastic with appropriate style (as taught), progressively raise it by 10 cm intervals to max of one metre.

See instructional video below.

Health and safety, High Jump

  1. The surface used (grass or mats) must be dry. If the grass is wet it should be done in a gym/or hall onto gym mats (NOT crash mats)
  2. Children to be told to run on after jumping so that they do not sit back on landing.
  3. People holding the elastic should release it if the child catches their leg in it.
  4. People holding the elastic should stand on the gym mat to stop it slipping.

Scoring

Keep measuring and scoring simple by using a garden cane marked with coloured tape at 40cm, 55cm, 70cm, 85cm and 1m.  Simply hold it against the elastic bar in the middle (at the lowest point).  Everyone gets a practice jump at 40cm. Everyone gets an attempt at each height to the max of five jumps.  If a height is failed the child can use remaining attempts.  When a height is cleared the child can progress  to the next height providing s/he has enough attempts remaining.  Points are allocated according to the highest height each  child clears.

Scoring

1m       5 points

85cm  4 points

70cm  3 points

55cm  2 points

40cm  1 point