scholarly journals Does the Relative Age Effect Influence Short-Term Performance and Sport Career in Team Sports? A Qualitative Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso de la Rubia ◽  
Jorge Lorenzo-Calvo ◽  
Alberto Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Qualitative Systematic Review ◽  
Term Performance

Relative Age Effect: Beyond the Youth Phenomenon

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E Garrett ◽  
Patrick W Joyner ◽  
William J Mallon ◽  
Donald T Kirkendall
Keyword(s):  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Ice Hockey ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Olympic Athletes ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
General Existence ◽  
Global Classification ◽  
Individual Sports

ABSTRACT The relative age effect (RAE) refers to the oversampling of youth born in the first quarter of the birth year when auditioning for selected age-restricted sports. This advantage conferred to the older athlete is the result of the older athlete being more physically and emotionally mature and, therefore, assumed to be a more advanced player. Chosen players will be exposed to better coaching, competition, teammates, and facilities in their respective sport. This RAE was first described in 1988 for ice hockey, and has since been described in numerous other sports, with a vast majority of the literature demonstrating an RAE in small cohorts, as well as in team sports and sports that incorporate a ball (i.e. soccer, basketball, hockey, etc). We extended the exploration of an RAE beyond specific sports by examining the birth quarter of over 44,000 Olympic athletes birth dates, born between 1964 and 1996. Our hypothesis is that not only did an RAE exist in Olympic athletes, but that it existed across selected categories of athletes (by gender), such as team vs individual sports, winter vs summer athletes, and sports using a ball vs those not using a ball. The fractions of births in the first vs the fourth quarter of the year were significantly different (p < 0.001) from each other for the summer and winter Olympians, ball and nonball sports, and team as well as individual sports. This significant difference was not gender specific. We found the general existence of an RAE in Olympic athletes regardless of global classification. Joyner PW, Mallon WJ, Kirkendall DT, Garrett WE Jr. Relative Age Effect: Beyond the Youth Phenomenon. The Duke Orthop J 2013;3(1):74-79.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Impact of the Relative Age Effect on Competition Performance in Swimming: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10561
Author(s):  
Jorge Lorenzo-Calvo ◽  
Alfonso de la Rubia ◽  
Daniel Mon-López ◽  
Monica Hontoria-Galán ◽  
Moises Marquina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Competitive Swimming ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Effective Design

This systematic review aimed to examine the prevalence of the relative age effect (RAE) in swimming and its impact on competition performance according to different types of interacting constraints. A systematic literature search, following the PRISMA guidelines for preparing systematic reviews, was performed through four electronic databases, and nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the selected studies was evaluated using STROBE, and an average score of 16.2 points was obtained. In these studies, the prevalence of the RAE in swimming was observed in more than half (58.65%) of the participants analysed, and the effect of the RAE was more accentuated in young categories (decreased as age increased and was inverted in older ones) and in male swimmers (double that in female swimmers).The impact of the RAE on competitive performance appeared to be related to the strength demands of the event, as the performance in simultaneous strokes, in shorter events, and of swimmers in the postadolescence period seems to be more affected by the RAE. These results indicate that the RAE in competitive swimming relies on individual and environmental (the swimmer’s age group and gender) but also task (the competitive events) determinants or limitations. This should serve as a guide for a more effective design of selection and development procedures for young athletes.

scholarly journals The Relative Age Effects in Educational Development: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 8966
Author(s):  
Alar Urruticoechea ◽  
Andrés Oliveri ◽  
Elena Vernazza ◽  
Marta Giménez-Dasí ◽  
Rosario Martínez-Arias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Class Groups ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
Motor Tests ◽  
Development Of Students

There is a large number of variables, studied in the literature, that affect the integral development of students in the educational stage, but few research analyze the effects that relative age can have on development. The aim of this study is to review and summarize the results obtained, on this subject, in recent research. The methodology used has followed the PRISMA declaration. The final sample is composed by 21 articles, which use data from 24 countries and 32 assessments. The main conclusions indicate that relatively younger children in same class groups: (a) obtain significantly lower mean scores in cognitive and motor tests, (b) have a higher repetition rate, and (c) have a less capacity of socialization. Finally, it should be noted that considering the results obtained by the research on relative age effect on child development, some authors propose to adapt educational practices to minimize these effects.

scholarly journals Relative age effect? No “flipping” way! Apparatus dependent inverse relative age effects in elite, women’s artistic gymnastics

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253656
Author(s):  
Eleanor Langham-Walsh ◽  
Victoria Gottwald ◽  
James Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Full Sample ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Poisson Regression Analysis ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Delayed Maturation

In contrast to research on team-sports, delayed maturation has been observed in higher-skilled gymnasts, leading to atypical distributions of the relative age effect. Recent studies have reported intra-sport differences in the relative age effect and given the task demands across gymnastics apparatus, we expected to find evidence for the influence of apparatus specialism. We examined the presence of a relative age effects within a sample of elite, international, women’s artistic gymnasts (N = 806, Ncountries = 87), and further sampled our data from vault, bars, beam, and floor major competition finalists. Poisson regression analysis indicated no relative age effect in the full sample (p = .55; R2 adj. = .01) but an effect that manifested when analysing apparatus independently. The Index of Discrimination (ID) analysis provided evidence of an inverse relative age effect identified for beam (p = .01; ID = 1.27; R2 adj. = .12), a finding that was corroborated by a marginal effect in our vault finalists (p = .08; ID = 1.21; R2 adj. = .06). These novel findings can be attributed to the integrated influence of self-fulfilling prophecy upon coach and gymnast expectations, as well as the technical mechanisms underpinning skill development involved in the underdog hypothesis.

scholarly journals Small Relative Age Effect Appears in Professional Female Italian Team Sports

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 385
Author(s):  
Paolo Riccardo Brustio ◽  
Gennaro Boccia ◽  
Paolo De Pasquale ◽  
Corrado Lupo ◽  
Alexandru Nicolae Ungureanu
Keyword(s):  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Goodness Of Fit Tests ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Female Sports ◽  
Italian Context

The relative age effect (RAE) concerns those (dis)advantages and outcomes resulting from an interaction between the dates of selection and birthdates. Although this phenomenon is well known in a male context, limited data are available in female sports. Thus, the aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence and magnitude of the RAE in a female Italian context at the professional level in basketball, soccer, and volleyball. A total of 1535 birthdates of elite senior players were analyzed overall and separately between early and late career stages. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were applied to investigate the RAE in each sport. An asymmetry in birthdates was observed in all sports (Crammer’s V ranged = 0.10–0.12). Players born close to the beginning of the year were 1.62 and 1.61 times more likely to reach first and second Italian divisions of soccer and volleyball, respectively, than those born in the last part of the year. A small over-representation of female athletes born close to the beginning of the year is evident at the senior professional level in all Italian investigated team sports. In soccer, this trend was more evident in the first stage of a senior career.

scholarly journals INFLUENCE OF THE RELATIVE AGE EFFECT ON HEIGHT, MOTOR PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL ATHLETES

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-214
Author(s):  
Luiz José Frota Solon Junior ◽  
Luiz Vieira da Silva Neto
Keyword(s):  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
The Other ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Significant Difference

ABSTRACT Introduction The Relative Age Effect (RAE) refers to the chronological age difference that occurs between athletes of the same age category, which can benefit individuals born in the first two quartiles of the year. This phenomenon is commonly studied in team sports, yet the results are still inconsistent, especially in volleyball. Objective This study analyzed the distribution of the number of births per quartile of Olympic volleyball athletes and whether this would influence anthropometric/motor variables and technical elements. Methods The sample consisted of 116 male athletes who scored during the Rio 2016 Olympics. For data analysis, we identified each athlete’s quartile as well as data on height, attack and defensive (or block) range, and respective scores during the games. The Chi-square test was then used to verify interquartile distribution. To assess the normality of the other variables, we conducted the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Once accepted, one-way ANOVA was performed with the Bonferroni post-hoc test to verify significance between quartiles. A significance level of p≤0.05 was adopted. Results There was no significant difference in the distribution of athletes between quartiles (p = 0.74). When comparing the other variables in terms of the athletes’ trimester of birth, we did not observe any significant difference between height (p = 0.79), attack (p=0.59) and defensive range (p=0.07), and in the scores for serving, attacking and blocking between quartiles either. Conclusion The Relative Age Effect was not observed in Olympic volleyball athletes, therefore this phenomenon is not related to the athletes’ performance. This shows that other possible variables may influence the development of these athletes, discarding the relative age phenomenon. Level of Evidence III; Retrospective and Comparative Study.

scholarly journals Are the Player Selection Process and Performance Influenced by Relative Age Effect in Elite Women’s Handball?

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-237
Author(s):  
Alfonso de la Rubia ◽  
Jorge Lorenzo-Calvo ◽  
Jesús Rivilla-García ◽  
Moisés Marquina
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Statistical Test ◽  
Final Position ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect ◽  
Collective Performance ◽  
And Performance

Abstract The relative age effect (RAE) is a phenomenon present in team sports, but it does not influence each gender to the same extent. This study aimed to examine the RAE and its relation to performance in international women's handball competitions (2017/18 World Championships). The sample was composed of 1,096 female players distributed into three categories: youth or under 18 (n = 369); junior or under 20 (n = 328) and senior (n = 399). The teams were divided into four groups based on their final position (medalist, quarter-finalist, eight-finalist and bottom-eight teams). The birthdate distribution (trimesters and semesters) was analysed according to the competition category and the playing position. Differences between the expected and observed birthdate distribution were checked using the chi-square statistical test followed by the calculation of the odds ratio. The results revealed, by trimester, the presence of the RAE in the youth (x2(7) = 87.22; p < 0.001) and junior (x2 (7) = 33.12; p < 0.001) categories, with no impact on senior (p > 0.05). The effect size was relatively strong in the youth category (Vc = 0.48). By semester, the prevalence of the RAE was also found in the senior category (p < 0.05). According to the playing position, the RAE was especially detected in ‘goalkeeper’ (p < 0.01) and ‘centre-back’ (p < 0.05) positions, both in U-18 and U-20 categories. Surprisingly, this effect also appeared in the ‘back’ players in the senior category (p < 0.05). A prevalence of the RAE was identified in teams with a higher final position, but interestingly had a greater impact in the quarter-finalist teams (p < 0.001) than in the medalist teams (p < 0.01). The findings demonstrated that the RAE tends to decrease as the chronological age of players increases, demonstrating a strong presence according to collective performance in international women’s handball.

Career patterns in German football youth national teams – A longitudinal study

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Schroepf ◽  
Martin Lames
Keyword(s):  
Transition Rate ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Effect ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Career Patterns ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Professional Career ◽  
National Team ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Relative Age Effect

The aim of this study was to identify career patterns in German youth national teams and investigate differences between the patterns in relative age effect and transition rate to professional senior football. Also, player transitions between age group levels were traced to identify squad politics of German Football Association. We examined all 636 youth national team players born between 1987 and 1994, who represented Germany between U16 and U21, as well as all senior national team players born in those age groups. We identified eight typical career types. It was found that youth national team careers lasting one or two years make up 60.5%, which shows a high fluctuation between age groups. Moreover, early and short youth national team careers mostly do not end in a professional career, while late and long youth national team careers more likely lead to a successful career in senior football. Regarding relative age effect, it could be shown that its effect size is highest the younger the age of the player is. Predominantly short careers and a high fluctuation between age groups evidence a short-term strategy in talent development by German Football Association selecting the momentary best players instead of searching for prospects.

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