Anthropometric Attributes of Male Hockey Players Playing at Different Positions in Obafemi Awolowo University

Aim: To investigate the anthropometric characteristics of Obafemi Awolowo University male hockey players playing in different positions.

Study design: The experimental survey research design was adopted for this study.

Place and Duration of Study: Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between March 2022 and July 2022.

Methodology: The experimental survey design, which adopts the purposive sampling technique and the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK), was employed to assess twenty-two male hockey players drawn from the university male hockey team. The examined anthropometric variables include height, weight, body circumferences (chest, waist, and thigh), and Body Mass Index (BMI). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

Results: The results revealed that hockey players differ significantly from one another in their anthropometric characteristics with respect to their playing positions in height [F= 3.087, p > 0.05]; weight [ F=14.334, p < 0.05]; chest circumference [ F = 5.081, < 0.05]; waist circumference [F = 17.751, p < 0.05]; and body mass index [ F= 17.636, p < 0.05] but they were not significantly different in thigh circumference [ F=1.160, p > 0.05].

Conclusion: Male hockey players in OAU differed in their anthropometric characteristics which greatly influenced their movement types with a range of intensities and play positions.