The Relative Age Effect (RAE) refers to a biased distribution of birth-dates within an age-grouped cohort. During the last three decades, RAE has been widely studied in sport science. Results vary depending on sports, age-group, sex, and level of performance (Delorme, Boiché & Raspaud, 2010; Williams, 2010). Most of the studies were conducted in game sports and specific samples (e. g. professional leagues). To draw consequences for strategies of talent identification and talent development, a closely examination of RAE among participants of most important international competitions is needed. This study investigates the existence of RAE in Olympic Games 2008 (OG) and Youth Olympic Games 2010 (YOG). Method: Birth-dates of 4983 participants of the OG in Beijing (2782 male) and 3508 participants of the YOG in Singapore (1826 male) were classified in quartiles. Chi-square analyses, differentiated by sex, sports and success, were used to determine if the frequency distribu-tions were statistically different from expected equal distribution. Results: For the sample of YOG, an RAE emerged both for male and female, whereas in OG, only for male an over-representation of relative younger athletes could be shown. RAE exists in YOG for male in more sports and with larger effect sizes than for female. In OG, in contrast to male, for none of the female subsamples a asymmetry in birth-date distributions could be demonstrated. Only for male and in sports determined dominantly by speed and endurance, RAE could be proven both in YOG and OG. There was no difference in distribution of birth-dates for successful and less successful athletes. When RAE occurs, effect sizes are small to medium (0,14 < w < 0,34). Discussion: Results and possible implications are discussed against the background of the state of the art. Present data corroborate former studies suggesting a nuanced consideration of RAE. Until now, most studies confine on the examination of the prevalence of RAE. To enlighten the causes of RAE and the relevance in long term athlete development, longitudinal tracking of asymmetries in birth-date distributions within an age-grouped cohort is needed. Furthermore, there is a demand of incorporating biological age.
© Copyright 2012 17th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Bruges, 4. -7. July 2012. Veröffentlicht von Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator