Youth basketball in New Zealand: Establishing performance norms in the context of 'Balance is Better'

This study establishes normative data for adolescent basketball players in New Zealand, and seeks to understand if sport participation volumes align with the 'Balance is Better' initiative by Sport New Zealand. The study recruited a convenience sample of 55 junior representative basketball players from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, aged 13 to 18 years, comprising 42 males and 13 females. Gender was self-reported in a baseline questionnaire that also covered sports affiliations, weekly training, game hours, and injury history. To determine physical progression through age, participants underwent anthropometric and physical performance assessments, including tests of strength endurance, power, speed, agility, and dynamic balance. Differences between age group data were assessed through one-way ANOVA and non-parametric tests. The findings indicate general adherence to ‘Balance is Better’ recommended activity hours across age groups. Notably, females displayed a decrease in weekly sport hours with age, contrary to male athletes. Female players also engaged more in other sports than males, suggesting less basketball specialisation, especially in the U17 category. Gender differences were evident in physical performance: females showed non-significant changes in strength endurance, jump performance, speed, and agility with age, while males exhibited significant improvements in strength endurance (press-up, p = 0.002; prone hold, p = 0.002; right side hold, p = 0.004; left side hold, p = 0.005), vertical jumps (right, p = 0.011; left, p = 0.019). It is possible that comparisons of female data were unable to detect significant differences owing to low participant numbers. The study reveals that physical performance in youth basketball in New Zealand does not uniformly improve with age. Gender disparities are evident, with females participating in varied sports and males tending towards early basketball specialisation. Overall, participation volumes align with the 'Balance is Better' guidelines.