The Comparison of Wingspan as an Indicator of Height in Adolescent Males
In the world of athletics, an inch or a pound can make or break you. Those who have physical advantages such long height and wingspan, are much more sought after athletes due to their ability to perform better in specific areas of a sport. With athletics and professional sports being such a large industry, studies on wingspan and height are conducted frequently. The purpose of this research was to show that wingspan is an accurate indicator of height in adolescent boys.
In conducting the experiment, 100 boys each from grades six, nine and eleven were measured over the course of five weeks. Subjects were instructed to remove shoes and any hats before standing straight against a wall for the height measurement. The wall allowed more accurate height and ease for positioning to the correct posture. Wingspan was measured fingertip to fingertip with palms facing forward and arms in line with chest as not to cause curve in the measuring tape. Data was recorded and then the ratios between wingspan and height were found for each subject and grade.
Two sample t-tests were carried out with the intention of showing that the ratio within each grade was different and grew closer to 1:1 thus proving wingspan an indication of the height a subject would grow into after puberty. The analyzation did in fact show that each grade’s ratios were unequal, but the ratio did not grow closer to one as the grade level increased. This resulted with rejection of the original hypothesis.
This research proved that wingspan is an accurate indication of height for the indication at the time the subject is being measured, although not that increasing age results in a ratio growing closer to one.
Research Conducted By:
Amanda Conlon
Lakeshore High School
Abigail Girardot
Center Line High School
Warren Consolidated Schools