Q.Describe the 50m Speed Test and the 600m Run/Walk. State the fitness component measured, the procedure and the scoring of each.

The 50 m Dash (50 m Standing Start) and the 600 m Run/Walk are two items of the SAI Khelo India school fitness test battery.

Concept understanding — why these two items exist in one battery

Fitness is not one thing. Speed is an anaerobic, alactic quality: it lives in the ATP-PC system and is over in a few seconds. Cardiovascular endurance is an aerobic quality: it is the ability of the heart, lungs and blood to keep delivering oxygen to working muscles for minutes at a time. A child can be excellent at one and poor at the other, so a fitness battery must test both — a short all-out sprint for speed, and a longer sustained run for endurance. That is exactly what the 50 m Dash and the 600 m Run/Walk do.

1. The 50 m Dash (50 m Standing Start)

Fitness component measured: SPEED — the child's ability to accelerate and to reach and hold maximum running velocity over a short distance.

Equipment and set-up

• A flat, marked, non-slip 50 m straight track or ground, with a clear run-off area beyond the finish so the runner can slow down safely.
• A stopwatch (and ideally two timers), a starter, and a clearly marked start and finish line.

Procedure

1. The participant does a proper warm-up.
2. He/she stands behind the starting line in a standing start position (one foot forward, body leaning slightly forward). No crouch/block start is required.
3. The starter gives the commands "On your marks – Ready – Go" (or a single loud signal). The stopwatch is started at the "Go" signal, not at the runner's first movement.
4. The participant sprints the full 50 m at maximum effort, without slowing down before the finish line — decelerating early is the single commonest cause of a poor score.
5. The stopwatch is stopped the instant the runner's chest crosses the finish line.

Scoring

• The score is the time taken, recorded in seconds to the nearest one-tenth of a second (e.g. 8.4 s).
• The lower the time, the better the score.
• The recorded time is then read against the age- and gender-wise norms of the test battery to grade the pupil's speed.

2. The 600 m Run/Walk

Fitness component measured: CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE (aerobic capacity / stamina) — the capacity of the heart, lungs and circulation to supply oxygen to the muscles over a sustained effort.

Equipment and set-up

• A marked 600 m course, laid out on a running track or on any flat, safe, measured ground.
• A stopwatch, a starter, and lap/finish officials to call out times.

Procedure

1. The participant warms up.
2. Participants line up behind the start line; several may run together.
3. On the starting signal, the participant covers the 600 m distance in the fastest possible time.
4. Running is preferred, but walking is permitted whenever the participant needs it — the object is to complete the distance, so this item is safe for children of every fitness level. Pacing is part of the skill: going out too fast means walking later.
5. Timing stops when the participant crosses the finish line.

Scoring

• The score is the total time taken to cover 600 m, recorded in minutes and seconds (e.g. 2 min 48 s).
• The lower the time, the better the score.
• As with the dash, the time is compared with the battery's age- and gender-wise norms for grading.

Comparison at a glance