Survival and Success of the Relatively Oldest in Swiss Youth Skiing Competition

Abstract

Relative age refers to age differences between children in the same selection year. The present study investigated the prevalence of relative age effects (RAEs) at the Grand Prix Migros (GPM), which is the most popular alpine skiing race for children aged 7 to 14 years in Europe. In total, 17,992 Swiss junior alpine skiers, separated into female skiers (n = 7,227) and male skiers (n = 10,765), were evaluated in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 races. Chi-square analyses revealed no RAEs (p > 0.05) for the entire group of finishers in the qualification race for females in the Under U-8 to U-13 categories (n = 7,010) and all males (n = 10,410). Significant inverse RAEs were detected in the qualification race among female skiers in the U-14 and U-15 age categories (p < 0.01; odds ratio OR = 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.64–0.98], and among disqualified male skiers (p < 0.01; OR = 0.54; [CI, 0.40–0.74]. However, significant RAEs were found for the entire group of both female and male skiers who qualified for the final race (p < 0.01; OR = 1.49; [CI, 1.28–1.73] of females, respectively OR = 2.18; [CI, 1.87–2.53] of males). RAEs were additionally apparent in all age categories of female and male finalists. The GPM is apparently influenced by RAEs, which may be an initial step towards RAEs in youth sports and may lead to an unequal participation in Swiss skiing.

Variations of the Relative Age Effect Within and Across Groups in Elite Alpine Skiing

“…Thus, an RAE persists all the way to the top-ranked alpine skiers in the World Cup for men in speed disciplines. This is consistent with previous findings at a national level for youth alpine skiers Romann & Fuchslocher, 2014b) and at an international level for elite skiers (Baker et al, 2014;Mu¨ller et al, 2012;Raschner et al, 2012).…”

“…From early on in their careers, and still at the top level, alpine skiers profit from being larger and heavier due to gravitational effects resulting in higher velocities (see, e.g., He´bert-Losier, Supej, & Holmberg, 2014;von Duvillard, Rundell, Bilodeau, & Bacharach, 2000), and the effects of being larger and heavier are well documented Romann & Fuchslocher, 2014b). Such effects would be even more prominent in younger skiers due to their relatively lower average weight, and also the relatively lower velocities making it less of a problem to retain control over the skis.…”

Relative Age Effects Across and Within Female Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Since these early studies, RAEs have been identified across a variety of team sport and cultural contexts including North American and European ice hockey [20][21][22] as well as soccer [23,24] and rugby worldwide [10,25,26]. RAEs are also documented in individual sports such as swimming [27,28], tennis [27,29,30] and Alpine skiing [31,32]. That said, RAEs are not ubiquitous as the effect has not been consistently observed in adult senior professional sport [33,34] and is absent in sports dependent on technique or skill rather than physical attributes per se (e.g., golf [35]; shooting sports [36]).…”

The Need to Consider Relative Age Effects in Women's Talent Development Process

“…However, in female sports, RAEs are more variable when compared to males. In some sports like alpine skiing, volleyball, and soccer, RAEs were found, although they were always smaller than those observed in the male athletes of the same selection level ( Nakata & Sakamoto, 2012 ;Romann & Fuchslocher, 2014). In other sports like ski jumping, fi gure skating, and taekwondo, no RAEs were found ( Albuquerque, et al ., 2012 ;.…”