the description and evaluation of general anthropometric measurements and somatotypes of elite male players of iran adult handball national team and a comparison of these measurements with european elite players in different positions

the aim of this study was to describe and assess general anthropometric measurements and somatotypes of elite male players of iran adult handball national team and to compare these measurements with those of european elite players in different positions. 19 elite handball players of iran national handball team including goalkeepers (n=4), wing (n=4), center backs (n=2), pivots (n=2) and backs (n=7) (mean age: 24.42±3.79 years, mean experience in national team 5.88±3.23 years) participated in this study. anthropometric measurements including height, weight, body mass index, bf%, body fat content (6 and 8 points), whr and somatotypes of players were measured. the results showed that mean height of all players was 188±6.6 cm which was lower than the mean height of european elite teams (188.98), mean weight was 91.57±12.98 kg which was more than the mean weight of european elite teams (86.74), mean bmi was 25.76±3.24 kg/m2, mean bf% was 9.06±2.65 which was lower than the mean bf% of european teams (9.14) and players' somatotype points (endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy respectively) were 2.12, 5.49 and 2.36 which were different from european teams (2.52, 4.76, 1.73). also, anthropometric measurements of players in different positions were different; therefore, each handball position needs specific anthropometric measurements and somatotypes to which coaches and talent identification staff should pay special attention. in conclusion, iranian elite handball players were heavier (about 5 kg) and shorter (about 1 to 3 cm) than elite european players. in addition, the somatotypes of iranian players in different positions were different from elite europeans teams.