Introduction: Wearable activity monitors have been developed for jump height assessment, but the Blast Athletic Performance monitor has not yet been validated, and it remains unclear if the Blast can track changes across a sports season. Methods: Collegiate women`s volleyball players (n = 20) wore the Blast monitor (waistband) while performing standing vertical jumps (SVJs) and one-step vertical jumps (OSJs) weekly during and after a 9-week season. Jump heights from the Blast were compared to a Vertec (criterion). Results: Correlations of Blast and Vertec were moderately high (r = 0.67-0.69), but the Blast underestimated SVJ and OSJ (9.2-10.0 cm), with mean absolute percent errors 19.8-21.0%. A + 23% correction factor reduced errors to 10.5-11.3%. The Blast did not detect small decreases (2-4 cm) in criterion-measured jump height in the postseason. Conclusion: The Blast underestimated jump height and had limited ability to detect changes of up to 5.0 cm following a volleyball season. A relative correction lowered, but did not eliminate, measurement error.
© Copyright 2019 Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science. Taylor & Francis. Published by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.