Search

Previous research (Barnsley, Thompson, & Barnsley, 198S) demonstrated an extremely strong linear relationship between the month of birth (from January to December) and the likelihood of playing in the National Hockey League and two major developmental Junior hockey leagues. The present study analyzes the birthdates of 7313 hockey players participating in the Edmonton Minor Hockey Association in the 1983-1984 season. The main findings are that players possessing a relative age advantage, i.e., born in the months of January to June, are more likely to participate in minor hockey and are more likely to play for "top tier," or "rep" teams than are players who are born in the months of July to December and thereby are disadvantaged by their relative age. Proposals by which these relative age effects could be reduced are considered. Barnsley, Thompson, and Barnsley (1985) reported on the month of birth of hockey players from the National Hockey League (NHL) and two of Canada's main' 'Junior A'' professional development leagues, the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). That study demonstrated an extremely strong linear relationship between the month of birth (from January to December) and the proportion of players in the leagues studied. The extent of this phenomenon can best be understood when it is realized that approximately four times more players in the WHL and the OHL were born in the first quarter of the year (January, February, and March) than were born in the last quarter (October, November

O objetivo do estudo é verificar se a eficiência do comportamento tático e os quartis de nascimento influenciam a performance tática de jogadores de futebol da categoria sub-11. A amostra foi composta por 102 jogadores de futebol da categoria sub-11, participantes de campeonatos regionais. O instrumento utilizado para avaliar a performance tática foi o FUT-SAT. Utilizou-se o teste de Regressão Logística Multinomial para verificar associação entre as variáveis, a partir da divisão da eficiência do comportamento e da performance tática em tercis (p ≤ 0,05). Verificou-se associações positivas entre a eficiência do comportamento tático e os índices de performance tática para o princípio de unidade defensiva. Encontrou-se associações positivas entre data de nascimento e o índice de performance tática em jogadores nascidos no último quartil do ano. Conclui-se que a performance tática sofreu influência da data de nascimento e da eficiência do comportamento tático. The aim of this study was to check if the tactical behavior effi ciency and birthdate quartiles infl uenced the tactical performance of under-11 soccer players. The sample comprised of 102 under-11 soccer players, participants in regional level competitions. The instrument used for the tactical performance assessment was FUT-SAT. Multinomial Logistic Regression tests were used to verify the association between the variables, through the division of tactical behavior effi ciency and tactical performance into terciles (p ≤ 0.05). Positive associations were verifi ed between tactical behavior effi ciency and tactical performance index for the defensive unity principle. Also, between the birthdate and the tactical performance index in players who were born within the last quartile of the year. It was concluded that tactical performance was infl uenced by birthdate and the tactical behavior effi ciency.

The Relative Age Effect is explored in 742 Japanese baseball players on the roster of THE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL ORGANIZATION OF JAPAN in 2002. The cut off date, April 1st in Japan, segments the birth-month distribution of players. Players born after the cut-off date are over-represented, whereas players born before the cut-off date are under-represented. The distribution decreasing from left to right after cut-off date is linear and steep. In Japan, early-births [HAYA-UMARE], whose birth dates are in January, February and March, are less likely to become professional baseball players. Divided by personal traits, high-school graduates rather than university graduates, lower achievers rather than upper achievers, and right-handed throwers rather than left-handed throwers, have higher relative age effects.

The relative age effect (RAE), the advantage of being born early within a cohort, is known to penetrate across sports and countries. In this study gender differences in RAE on the elite sports were analyzed in swimming, track and field, judo, basketball, volleyball and soccer in Japan. In examining RAE, spearman rank-order correlation coefficient and simple linear regression analysis were performed. Soccer ranked first in favor of males in RAE difference between male and female, with volleyball last. The factors that make these two events different with regard to gender are considered from two points of view, player population and exposure to mass media.

This investigation partially confirmed the existence of the relative age effect in wrestlers of Sumo, a traditional sport in Japan. In 1960, 1980, 2002 and 2010 Sumo wrestlers of upper classes from yokozuna to makushita were analyzed for relative age effect. Chi-square test (X^2) and spearman rank-order correlation (rs) were calculated as test statistics. The results were followed; 1960 : X^2_{(3)}=1.620p=.655, rs=-.126p=.697 1980 : X^2_{(3)}=16.133p=.001, rs=-.727p=.007 2002 : X^2_{(3)}=3.653p=.609, rs=-.042p=.897 2010 : X^2_{(3)}=5.780p=.123, rs=-.629p=.028 The relative age effect was significant in especially1980 and 2010. In 1980 the preexisting rival star wrestlers were inferred to be significant others for relative age effect of wrestlers.

This thesis is a collection of three papers with a common theme of asymmetric information arising from costly measurement. The first paper is an analysis of strategic investment in legal services to influence the magnitude of settlements in torts. The pro

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative age effect (RAE) in Brazilian male handball teams who competed in the world championships in the U-19, U-21, and adult categories. The sample was composed by 160 male handball players, 47 players being on U-19 category, 48 on U-21, and 65 on Adult category. The chronological age, body mass, height, and game position of each athlete were obtained on the International Federation of Handball website. The adopted significance level was of 5%. RAE was observed in all the three following categories U-19 (X2=21.511, P

The relative age effect (RAE) has been extensively debated and researched in both popular media and academic discourse. This study examined RAE in Swedish tennis players born in 1998–2001. The study was conducted in 2015–2016 and includes all ranked Swedish tennis players (n = 1835) registered in the Swedish Tennis Association database from the year 2014. The results show that when the birth dates of the corresponding Swedish population and all the ranked players are compared, they show a moderate RAE; however, the higher up they are in the ranking system, the greater the RAE becomes. Top 10 players display an average of 64.1% being born in the first half of the year. Some gender differences were also found, with a greater proportion of both higher and lower ranked females being born in the first half of the year. In our discussion of the findings we raise several issues that need to be addressed to provide more equal opportunities for all junior players regardless of birth date. Resolving ongoing problems associated with RAE in competitive sports such as tennis is important both in term of prolonged participation in the sport and increased performance. Suggestions made in this article include recognising RAE when designing the format of competitions/tournaments, not using official rankings until the juniors get older, addressing RAE in a “gender sensitive” way, and conducting further in-depth studies in which RAE is understood/examined as being associated with environmental factors. Although these findings show the RAE effect in Swedish tennis players, thus pointing at the need for further consideration in terms of ranking and selection procedures to ensure equal opportunities for player development, the study also concludes by reasserting an emphasis on a holistic approach to player development in which coaches focus on the developmentally appropriate needs and potential of each individual player regardless of their biological age.

A relative age effect refers to the presence of a bias towards relatively older children assembled collectively within a selection year. We consider this in association football (soccer) for Republic of Ireland under twenty-one international footballers over two intervals: from November 1981 to November 1994 and from September 2007 to May 2013. As the registration date for organised soccer in Ireland changed between both periods, these intervals provide scope for a natural experiment to test for a shifting relative age effect. The study confirms the existence of a relative age effect, with a selection bias toward players born in the earlier months of the registration year for both intervals.

Aim: This study sought to examine whether the place and date of birth of elite youth Irish footballers influences their selection onto the Football Association of Ireland's primary development pathway; 12 regional centres of excellences called the “Emerging Talent Programme” (ETP). The proposed hypothesis was that players born earlier in the year would be over-represented compared to those born later in their age band. A secondary hypothesis was that access to the ETP would be independent of place of birth. Methods: The dates and place of birth of all elite youth footballers (n = 1936) selected onto the ETP since its inception were examined. χ2 tests were used to establish if the dates of birth differed from the expected population distribution. Odds ratios were used to identify spatial variation in relation to place of birth and talent production. Results: The results showed that admission to the ETP is not independent of quarter of birth (P .05, χ2 = 256.817, w = .388). Place of birth analysis showed an unequal geographical distribution of players gaining selection onto the ETP. Selection onto the ETP was not independent of place of birth (P < .05, χ2 = 149.457, w = .278). Footballers developed in counties that had an ETP centre were almost 50% more likely to gain selection than those without a centre (OR 1.455, 95% CI 1.314 -1.612). Conclusion: The current programme demonstrates inequitable distribution of opportunities to access elite development pathways due to biases related to date and place of birth.

The relative age effect (RAE) has been found among youth elite athletes within a range of sports. However, the RAE has been studied to a lesser degree among youth non-elite athletes, and even less among school pupils attending sport specialisation programmes (SSPs). The aim of the present study was to investigate RAE, height, and weight, and compare Swedish lower secondary school and Norwegian upper secondary school pupils. Study 1 includes 156 lower secondary school athletes (95 boys and 61 girls) following an SSP in Sweden, while study 2 includes 111 upper secondary school athletes (81 boys and 30 girls) from two Norwegian schools. The RAE was found in both male groups, but only in Swedish girls. Furthermore, the relationship between birth month, height, and weight was found to be non-significant. These results indicate a vital RAE effect among youth non-elite athletes attending SSPs in both lower and upper secondary schools.

Many disciplines of scholarship are interested in the Relative Age Effect (RAE), whereby age-banding confers advantages on older members of the cohort over younger ones. Most research does not test this relationship in a manner consistent with theory (which requires a decline in frequency across the cohort year), instead resorting to non-parametric, non-directional approaches. In this article, the authors address this disconnect, provide an overview of the benefits associated with Poisson regression modelling, and two managerially useful measures for quantifying RAE bias, namely the Indices of Discrimination and Wastage. In a tutorial-like exposition, applications and extensions of this approach are illustrated using data on professional soccer players competing in the top two tiers of the “Big Five” European football leagues in the search to identify paragon clubs, leagues, and countries from which others may learn to mitigate this form of age-discrimination in the talent identification process. As with OLS regression, Poisson regression may include more than one independent variable. In this way we test competing explanations of RAE; control for unwanted sources of covariation; model interaction effects (that different clubs and countries may not all be subject to RAE to the same degree); and test for non-monotonic versions of RAE suggested in the literature.

The Relative Age Effect (RAE) documents the inherent disadvantages of being younger rather than older in an age-banded cohort, typically a school- or competition-year, to the detriment of career-progression, earnings and wellbeing into adulthood. We develop the Tails of the Travelling Gaussian (TTG) to model the mechanisms behind RAE. TTG has notable advantages over existing approaches, which have been largely descriptive, potentially confounded, and non-comparable across contexts. In Study 1, using data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study, we investigate the different levels of RAE bias across school-level academic subjects and “personality” traits. Study 2 concerns biased admissions to elite English Premier League soccer academies, and shows the model can still be used with minimal data. We also develop two practical metrics: the discrimination index (ID), to quantify the disadvantages facing cohort-younger children; and the wastage metric (W), to quantify the loss through untapped potential. TTG is sufficiently well-specified to simulate the consequences of ID and W for policy change.

This study investigated the use of a movement assessment protocol for under-14 rugby league players by evaluating the relationships between chronological age, maturation, and anthropometry, and fitness and qualitative movement assessments (QMA) of 84 rugby league players within a talent development environment. A one-way ANOVA showed Quartile 1 players were more mature, taller (173.0±7.4 vs 165.0±8.0 cm) and heavier (72.5 vs 58.7 kg) than Quartile 4 players, with no difference evident for fitness or QMA measures. Earlier maturing players had significantly greater upper body power (5.39±0.46 vs 4.42±0.68 m), 20m speed (3.48±0.14 vs 3.65±0.19s) and power pass QMA (13.88±2.18 vs 12.00±1.98) than later maturing players. Body mass was positively related to power pass fitness (r=0.50) and QMA (r=0.22) scores, with negative relationships found for vertical jump performance (r=−0.24), sprint QMA (r=−.29) and turn off either foot QMA (r=−0.26). There is a need to educate coaches about the use of both fitness testing and qualitative movement assessments to identify talented U14 rugby league players, which potentially reduces relative age and maturational biases.

The aims of this study were firstly to examine whether there was an observed relative age effect in the cardiorespiratory fitness scores of 9-10 and 11-12 year old children, and secondly whether any observed effect was maintained after controlling for somatic maturity. Cardiorespiratory fitness data from 11,404 children aged 9-10 years and 3,911 children aged 11-12 years were obtained from a large cross-sectional field-based fitness testing program. A one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant relative age effect (p < .01) existed in the 20mSRT scores across all the age groups. Furthermore, ANCOVA analyses identified a statistically significant relative age effect was maintained after controlling for somatic maturation (p < .05). From a public health perspective these results confirm the existence of relative age effects for the first time and consequently may hold implications for relatively younger children in the accurate assessment of their cardiorespiratory fitness scores.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study relative age effects (RAEs) in a selected sample of university students. The majority of education systems across the globe adopt age-related cut-off points for eligibility. This strategy has received criticism for (dis)advantaging those older children born closer to the “cut-off” date for entry into an academic year and for promoting the existence of RAEs. To date, there are only two studies which have examined the relative age phenomenon in a university setting specifically.Design/methodology/approach– Data of student records from the years 2006-2009 were analysed. Specifically this included date of birth, The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) entry points, gender, grade point averages and final year degree classification.Findings– Analysis of data collected from 460 university students revealed a significant RAE reversal. Specifically, relatively younger students achieved significantly higher first-class honours degrees than relatively older students (p< 0.01).Research limitations/implications– Limitations include the following: the sample was modest and restricted to only 460 students located within one of the universities five faculties. Recent RAE studies in education have recruited thousands of students; therefore, these findings may not be totally representative of the broader UK university population.Originality/value– This is only the second UK-based study to examine RAEs from a university perspective. The findings highlight an interesting and new insight into the RAE phenomenon and one that warrants further scientific attention.

In this manuscript we argue for a broader use of the term ‘relative age effect’ due to the influence of varying development policies on the development of sport expertise. Two studies are presented on basis of data from Schorer, et al. [1]. The first showed clear ‘constant year effects’ in the German handball talent development system. A shift in year groupings for the female athletes resulted in a clear shift of birth year patterns. In the second study we investigated whether the constant year effect in the national talent development system carried over to professional handball. No patterns were observable. Together both studies show that a differentiation of varying effects that often happen simultaneously is necessary to understand the secondary mechanisms behind the development of sport expertise.

This paper discusses at the microlevel the educational inequality resulting from the cutoff birthdate regulation in the current primary school admission system. According to our research, among the students who enroll in school, students born in July and August display a relative disadvantage and adaptive difficulties in the construction of self-identity and study ability when compared with those born in September and October. Students born between November and June in the following year have mid-level performance. Moreover, this effect is accumulative. With regard to acquiring educational resources, students born in July and August show the lowest possibility of getting into the key senior middle schools, 16.7–22.8 % lower than the rest of the student population, while the possibility of being admitted to vocational school is the highest, 54.2–60.8 % higher than the others. This disadvantage is more prominent among male students. Our study also shows that the above effect is very strong and cannot be effectively suppressed by the socioeconomic factors. The “July/August pitfall” appears to be insurmountable.

The relative age effect (RAE) is associated with (dis)advantages in competitive sports. While the RAE in elite male soccer reveals a skewed birthdate distribution in relation to a certain cut-off date, research of RAE in elite female soccer is affected by small number of samples and conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to investigate the RAE in elite adult German soccer regarding gender and competition level. The sample comprised 680 female and 1,083 male players of the two top German leagues during the 2019/20 season and German national teams (A-Team to Under 19). Differences between the observed and expected birthdate distributions were analyzed using chi-square statistics and effect sizes followed by calculating odds ratios. Results showed a statistically significant RAE with small effect size across all players included for both genders (female players: P < 0.001, W = 0.16, male players: P < 0.001, W = 0.23). The identified RAE was based on an over-representation of players born at the beginning of the year. According to gender and competition level, RAEs were more pronounced in German male soccer. While significant RAEs were found among males in the first two leagues (first league: P < 0.001, W = 0.19, second league: P < 0.001, W = 0.26), the RAE of females was more pronounced in the second league (first league: P = 0.080, W = 0.16, second league: P = 0.002, W = 0.20). The analysis of RAE regarding the national teams revealed a statistically significant RAE with large effect size for only the youngest investigated age group of male players (Under 19: P = 0.022, W = 0.52). Our data show an RAE in female and male German adult soccer, which could be accompanied by a loss of valuable elite players during the youth phase of the career. Consequently, the pool of talented players at the adult level would be limited.

European top-level soccer clubs are continually looking for talented players. Few clubs, however, are willing to let youth players play at the highest senior level. Perhaps as a consequence, the search for talented players has resulted in an imbalance in the characteristics of these players, towards an overrepresentation of players born early in the selection year, an effect called the relative age effect (RAE). The RAE has been documented to be present among senior top-level players. Even so, few studies have investigated the effect among youth players at the senior level. The aim of this study is to examine RAE among U17-U20 players in the Norwegian premier league Tippeligaen in the 2009-2012 seasons. Participants were 315 male players born in 1990-1996. The results showed that 68% of the players were born in the two first quartiles of the year. The effect was even increasing in the four-year period. As we could expect based on the literature, the oldest players are given more playing time. However, the connection between playing time and RAE was inconsistent. Norwegian top-level soccer seems to be affected by the RAE when selecting their players. These players are not however guaranteed playing time because of the RAE. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Copyright remains with the author(s).

Talent research has recommended that multidimensional assessments of performance are needed to improve the identification and development of talented young athletes. However, factors such as the relative age effect may cloud our ability to assess factors related to performance. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of any relationship between soccer players' chronological and relative age, and objective and subjective performance assessments. Data for highly talented male soccer players selected into the German Soccer Associations' talent promotion program (N= 16,138) for U12 to U15 age groups (Mage= 12.62 ± 1.04 years) were examined. Besides anthropometric assessments, players completed a battery of five motor tests that objectively assessed speed abilities and technical skills (specifically sprint, agility, dribbling, ball control, and juggling). In addition, coaches subjectively rated players on their kicking, tactical, and psychosocial skills, as well as providing holistic evaluations of each player's current and future performance levels. Correlation analyses were used to investigate the extent of any relationships between the chronological and relative age of players and their results for each of the assessments. A strong linear decrease in the frequency of later-born players confirmed the overrepresentation of early-born players in all age groups (0.92 ≤ |r|≤ 0.95, eachp< 0.001). From U12 to U15, significant (eachp< 0.001) correlations were found between the chronological age of players and their height (|r| = 0.70), weight (|r| = 0.69), speed abilities (|r|= 0.38), and technical skills (|r|= 0.43). When evaluating each age group separately, small effects were found when correlating relative age with the anthropometric assessments (0.18 ≤ |r|≤ 0.26), and only trivial effects with speed abilities and technical skills (0.01 ≤ |r|≤ 0.06). Similarly, low correlations were found for the subjective evaluations of kicking, tactical, and psychosocial skills with chronological age across age groups (0.03 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.07), and with relative age in each age group (0.01 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.11). The results show a skewed distribution toward early-born players and—in reference to their relative age—advanced performance in late-born athletes. However, trends toward a better holistic rating of early-born players for current and future performance levels were found. Coaches should be aware of these effects during talent selection, but also when interpreting results from subjective and objective assessments of performance.