Relative age effect on student-athletes of Mato Grosso state (Brazil) participating in the National School Games depending on sex, age category, and sport type

Abstract

Purpose. the relative age effect (RAE) is a widely reported phenomenon in elite sports context. However, little is known about its occurrence in other levels of practice, such as school sports. thus, this study aimed to investigate the presence of RAE on Mato Grosso state (Brazil) student-athletes participating in National School Games depending on sex, age category, and sport type. Methods. Data from 440 student-athletes of Mato Grosso state (Brazil) who participated in 2 National School Games: 2019 Youth School Games (n = 250) and 2021 Brazilian School Games (n = 190) were organized depending on their quarters of birth. Chi-square tests were performed to compare their birthdates distribution in accordance with sex (male and female), age category (12-14 years old and 15-17 years old), and sport type (team and individual sports). Results. Athletes born in the first months of the year were more frequent than athletes born in the last months of the year in the overall sample, in males, in the younger age category, and in team sports (p < 0.008). On the other hand, no differences were found for females, athletes from the older age category, or athletes practising individual sports (p > 0.05). Conclusions. RAE is pervasive in the student-athletes of Mato Grosso state (Brazil), specifically for male athletes in early categories of team sports. Educating coaches regarding this effect and implementing specific counter-RAE interventions are warranted to minimize selection bias in this sports context.

No Relative Age Effect Among Brazilian Elite Female Futsal Athletes

“…Although this strategy aims at a fairer competitive environment, it ends up benefiting athletes who were born closer to the cut-off date (Leite, Arede, Shang, Calleja-González, & Lorenzo, 2021;Lidor, Maayan, & Arnon, 2021). This systematic overrepresentation of relatively older athletes in sports is known as the relative age effect (RAE) and has been reported especially among males in many competitive sports (Cobley, Baker, Wattie, & McKenna, 2009), both among youth (Castro, et al, 2023;Figueiredo, Seabra, Brito, Galvão, & Brito, 2021;Maciel, et al, 2022) and senior athletes (Castro, et al, 2022c;Figueiredo, et al, 2022;Lago-Fuentes, Rey, Padrón-Cabo, Prieto-Troncoso, & Garcia-Núñez, 2020).…”

Efeito Da Idade Relativa No Handebol Escolar Do Estado De Mato Grosso

“…O Efeito da Idade Relativa (EIR) refere-se à prática de agrupamento dos atletas em coortes anuais com base nas suas datas de nascimento (CASTRO et al, 2022a;GOLDSCHMIED, 2011), o que afeta a seleção destes por conta das diferenças previstas entre atletas nascidos nos primeiros meses do ano quando comparados a atletas nascidos nos últimos meses (CASTRO et al, 2022b;CASTRO et al, 2023). Ou seja, aqueles atletas nascidos no primeiro semestre do ano seriam maturacional, física e mentalmente mais desenvolvidos do que os nascidos no segundo semestre (BABIĆ et al, 2022).…”