Relative Age Influences Performance of World-Class Track and Field Athletes Even in the Adulthood

The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon observed in youth sports and is characterized by a significant over-representation of athletes born close to the date of selection. However, there is a lack of research on RAE in world-class track and field athletes and it is not clear if this effect persists into adulthood. … Continue reading Relative Age Influences Performance of World-Class Track and Field Athletes Even in the Adulthood

The beginning of senior career in team sport is affected by relative age effect.

Many previous studies in national team sports did not report evidence about relative age effect (RAE) in senior categories. This study aimed for the first time to determine if the RAE may specifically affect the early, but not the late, phase of senior career in elite team sports. A total of 3,319 birthdates (basketball: n=642; … Continue reading The beginning of senior career in team sport is affected by relative age effect.

The relative age effect is larger in Italian soccer top-level youth categories and smaller in Serie A

The relative age effect (RAE; i.e., an asymmetry in the birth distribution) is a bias observed in sport competitions that may favour relatively older athletes in talent identification. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of RAE in elite soccer players competing in the Italian championships, even considering the discriminations of … Continue reading The relative age effect is larger in Italian soccer top-level youth categories and smaller in Serie A