Seasonal fluctuations in vertical jump performance in young alpine skiers

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a training and competitive season on vertical jump performance in young alpine skiers. For the purpose of the study 15 young alpine skiers (13.44 +/- 1.45 yr), members of Croatian national squad were tested. The vertical jump performance was investigated using following tests: squat jump (SJ), counter movement jump (CMJ), 15 s and 45 s continuous jumping (CJ15s and CJ45s). The training and competition gained the specific changes in vertical jump performance; in fact all the measured variables showed a significant improvement (p < 0.05) from the beginning to the end of training and competition, but later, after a summer break a deterioration of selected tests was noticed. It can be concluded that both training and competition periods had positive influence on vertical jump performance.