Kolimechkov et al. 2019 (ALPHA-FIT)

Full name: ALPHA-FIT test battery norms for children and adolescents from 5 to 18 years of age obtained by a linear interpolation of existing European physical fitness references
Year: 2019
Population: Constructed European reference tables for ages 5-18, combining IDEFICS child norms (ages 6-9; total study n=18,745 from 8 countries) and HELENA adolescent norms (ages 13-17; total study n=3,528 from 9 countries). No single 4x10m test-specific sample size is reported.
Study type: Interpolated normative reference study
Link: DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2546360

About this reference

Kolimechkov et al. combined IDEFICS child and HELENA adolescent reference tables for handgrip strength, standing long jump, and the 4x10m shuttle run. They linearly interpolated missing percentile columns within the underlying sources, interpolated the age gap from 10-12, and extrapolated ages 5 and 18. Tables 5 and 6 print 4x10m values from P1 to P100. Because lower time is better, this site's ascending numeric centiles reverse the paper's performance direction: source P97/P75/P50/P25/P3 map to site P5/P25/P50/P75/P95.

Known limitations

This is not a newly measured cohort. Ages 10-12 are linearly interpolated, while ages 5 and 18 are extrapolated from the two underlying studies.
Some percentile columns were absent from the underlying child or adolescent references and were themselves interpolated before the age tables were joined.
Exact P5 and P95 times are not reported. For this lower-is-better metric, the faster source P97 is used as site P5 and the slower source P3 as site P95.
IDEFICS and HELENA differed in age coverage and sampling, and their total study sample sizes are not the same as a 4x10m analytic sample size.
European youth only. Values may not generalise to non-European populations or current cohorts.
The authors describe the interpolated values as temporary references until the missing ages are measured directly.

Used for

4×10m Shuttle Run