The relative age effect on Brazilian Elite Futsal: Men and Women Scenarios

Abstract

-Aims:The relative age effect (RAE) has been a research subject in several fields of society. RAE is present in different sports, influencing the young athlete's opportunities of participation. The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of RAE in Brazilian elite men and women futsal. Methods: Birthdate of 376 athletes from Brazilian Men National Futsal League (LNF)/2013 and 227 from Brazilian Women National Futsal League/2014 were collected on leagues' homepages and divided into four quarters (Q1:January-March, Q2:April-June, Q3:July-September and Q4:October-December) and two semesters (S1:January-June, S2:July-December). In men case, results were compared with Penna and Moraes (2010) data on LNF/2009. Chi-square test was used to analyze differences between distributions of birthdates by quarters and semesters. The significance level was set at α<0.05, with Bonferroni correction when necessary. Results: there is RAE in men futsal, predominantly on athletes born in first semester. In women futsal, there is no evidence of RAE. Conclusions: On men futsal, there is a need for offering similar opportunities to young players, while on women, the small amount of athletes in Brazil must be regarded as an alert to the culture of futsal as a men social space, which deters the entry of new practitioners.

Brazilian women elite futsal players’ career development: diversified experiences and late sport specialization

“…As an example, the lower number of tournaments and opportunities of practice offered to girls during childhood, in comparison to boys. This aspect may contribute to explain the reduced number of girls who specialized in futsal before puberty, thus reducing the chances of early sport specialization 9,11 , that can be defined as the early search for a high level of performance on youth, without the living of initial diversified sports experiences, especially based on deliberate plays 37 .…”

“…Examples are the first Brazilian women futsal club, which was founded in the year 2000, and the beginning of the first state championship in the country in 2002 8 . The number of women futsal practitioners is small than men 9 but exists a growing process of the quantity of women players, as well as its sports relevance and impact, both in Brazilian and worldwide terms 10 .…”

“…Gender segregation in sport exerts an important influence on women sports career development from an early age 18,19 . Studies on women participation in futsal and football in Brazil 8,9,11,12,16,20 describe a number of issues and barriers faced by athletes. Among the main ones are: a) the lack of support from family during the beginning of sports career; b) the prejudice and discredit about the involvement of women in such sports; c) the scarce offer of practice opportunities to girls who wish to practice futsal as a sports activity.…”

“…Because these reasons, the gender segregation institutionalized by the separation on men and women competitions, and the consequent naturalization of such cultural differences 17,18,21,22 , women demand greater time and effort to incorporate social codes and behaviors considered appropriate to certain sport contexts 19 . This process of segregation create barriers to women participation in sport, reproducing a kind of men symbolic domination 22,23 , especially in sports that can be considered as men preserved practices, such as futsal 8,12,16 , influencing pedagogical processes as well as contexts of sports practices to girls and women 9,23,24 . Therefore, to investigate the career development of wellsucceeded women in sport can be a way to better understand how such social condition of gender issues and specific sport practice (training and competition) condition has influenced athletes' life and personal experiences 8,12,14 , as well as can work as a subsidy to reflect on policies and pedagogic intervention on sport activities for women 16,24 .…”

“…There is a paucity of research on the sports career development of women athletes in relation to the number of studies on men 26 , especially related to futsal and football in Brazil 27 . There is a need for growth in the number of studies on the sports career of women athletes 4,9,28 . With the increase of women participation in futsal, investigations that analyze and describe the processes and pathways within this sport become pertinent, especially due to their men preserved sociocultural characteristics 12,16 .…”