The short answer
The average high jump for a 12-year-old is about 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m) for boys and 3 feet 11 inches (1.19 m) for girls, among kids who jump in meets. A good height at 12 is over 4 feet 4 inches for boys and 4 feet 2 inches for girls. The national class for the age is near 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet.
Key takeaways
- Typical 12-year-olds who compete: 3 feet 10 inches to 4 feet 4 inches for boys, 3 feet 8 inches to 4 feet 2 inches for girls
- Boys and girls are within two inches of each other at this age
- Over 4 feet 8 inches for either is a USATF regional-level height
- Most 12-year-olds are still scissor-kicking; the flop adds four to six inches once it is learned
- A child's own standing height is a rough ceiling: few 12-year-olds clear a bar above their head
What is the average high jump for a 12-year-old?
The high jump at 12 is a technique event before it is an athletic one. Half the kids in a USATF 11-12 field are still jumping scissor-style, the other half have just learned to go over backwards, and the difference between those two groups is bigger than the difference between a fast kid and a slow one. Among 12-year-olds who compete, the typical boy clears about 4 feet 1 inch (1.24 m) and the typical girl about 3 feet 11 inches (1.19 m).
Girls and boys are nearly equal at this age. Girls are often taller at 12, and the flop rewards a long, light body more than it rewards strength. That changes at 14, but for now the columns are close.
High jump benchmarks at age 12, feet and meters
| Tier at age 12 | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| First meet, scissor kick | 3'4" - 3'10" (1.02 - 1.17 m) | 3'2" - 3'8" (0.97 - 1.12 m) |
| Typical (school or club team) | 3'10" - 4'4" (1.17 - 1.32 m) | 3'8" - 4'2" (1.12 - 1.27 m) |
| Good (top quarter of the age) | 4'4" - 4'8" (1.32 - 1.42 m) | 4'2" - 4'6" (1.27 - 1.37 m) |
| Strong (USATF regional level) | 4'8" - 5'0" (1.42 - 1.52 m) | 4'6" - 4'10" (1.37 - 1.47 m) |
| National class for the age | 5'0" - 5'5" (1.52 - 1.65 m) | 4'10" - 5'2" (1.47 - 1.57 m) |
Ages 11, 12 and 13 side by side
The bar rises about three to four inches a year at the typical level through these ages. The jump from 12 to 13 is often bigger for a specific kid than the chart suggests, because 13 is when most jumpers finally switch from the scissors to the flop.
The high jump at 11, 12 and 13
| Level | Age 11 (B / G) | Age 12 (B / G) | Age 13 (B / G) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical | 3'10" / 3'8" | 4'1" / 3'11" | 4'5" / 4'1" |
| Good for the age | 4'4" / 4'2" | 4'6" / 4'4" | 4'11" / 4'6" |
| National class | 4'10" / 4'8" | 5'2" / 5'0" | 5'10" / 5'3" |
Scissors or flop?
A 12-year-old jumping the Fosbury flop needs a proper landing mat, which is why many middle school and youth programs keep younger jumpers on the scissors. The scissors caps most kids around 4 feet 4 inches. Once the flop is learned safely it is usually worth four to six inches within a season.
Source: Coaching practice; USATF youth safety guidance
What is a good high jump for a 12-year-old boy?
Over 4 feet 4 inches is good and puts a boy in the top quarter of 12-year-olds who compete. Over 4 feet 8 inches is strong and usually qualifies for a USATF regional. The national class is 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches, and at 12 that is nearly always a tall boy who has already learned the flop. A boy in the typical band who is still scissor-kicking has the biggest single gain available to any jumper on this site: learn the flop.
What is a good high jump for a 12-year-old girl?
Over 4 feet 2 inches is good for a 12-year-old girl and over 4 feet 6 inches is strong. The national class is 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet 2 inches. Girls who come to the event from gymnastics or dance often jump the flop well within weeks, and a 12-year-old girl at 4 feet 6 inches with a clean curve and takeoff is a better prospect than the number suggests.
How these numbers were built
- Population. Athletes with a cleared height at a school, club or USATF meet, from Athletic.net, MileSplit and USATF Junior Olympic results.
- Typical band. The middle 50 percent of that population for the age, rounded to two inches.
- Good, strong, national class. Roughly the top 25 percent, top 5 percent and top 0.5 percent of the age. USATF youth performance standards are quoted where the age falls inside a division that publishes one.
- Heights are cleared bars, not attempts. A jumper who has cleared 5'0" once at practice and 4'8" in a meet is a 4'8" jumper for this chart.
- Feet and meters. Both are given; bars in the US are set in feet and inches at school meets and in metric everywhere else.
How a 12-year-old adds four inches
- Learn the flop with a coach and a real mat. Nothing else on this list is worth as much.
- Run the curve. The last five steps of the approach are a curve that leans the body away from the bar. Most 12-year-olds run straight at it.
- Plant the foot away from the bar. The takeoff foot should land about an arm's length from the standard, pointing along the bar, not at it.
- Film from the takeoff side. The curve, the plant and the lean are all visible in one clip, and at 12 a picture teaches faster than a description.