Assessment of 50 Meters Dash on Physical and Physiological Characteristics of Male Nigerian University Athletes

Abstract

The application of modern scientific technological principles in the selection and training of athletes in different sports disciplines has been responsible for the incredible high sporting standards registered in modern competitions. Moreover, frequent changes in officiating rules of different sports discipline necessitate the development of new equipment of new training technologies and methodologies. Available research evidence indicates specific physical and physiological characteristics relevant to certain sports. This research was therefore conducted to assess 50 meters dash on physical and physiological characteristics of Nigerian Male University Athletes. Four universities from each of the seven administrative zones of Nigerian Universities were selected; eight athletes from each university were selected. The groups are, individual sports, speed endurance sports, combat sports, racket sports and ball games, totaling 32 athletes were selected from each zone, totaling 225 athletes representing their various universities at the NUGA championships. The athletes thus selected were tested in the 50 meters dash to determine speed. The data thus collected were statistically analyzed. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if there was any significant difference among the selected groups of sports. It was observed from the result that ball games recorded the highest score in height and weight measures, while the individual sports recorded the highest scores in the 50 meter run test by the individual sport. People with speed and medium height are more suitable for speed endurance sports like soccer and hockey and therefore such people are to be selected when it comes to sport competitions.