RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 The relationship between the relative age effect and performance among athletes in World Handball Championships
A1 Gonzalo de la Rubia, Alfonso
A1 Thue Bjørndal, Christian
A1 Sánchez Molina, Joaquín
A1 Yagüe Cabezón, José María
A1 Calvo, Jorge Lorenzo
A1 Maroto Izquiero, Sergio
A2 Educacion Fisica y Deportiva
K1 Educación Física
K1 Relationship
K1 Athletes
K1 Handball
AB This study examines the relative age effect (RAE) and its impact on the performance of elitemale (n = 3,358) and female (n = 3,273) handball players in the U-19 (n = 2,188), U-21 (n =2,031), and senior (n = 2,412) categories of the 2013/2014, 2015/2016 and 2017/2018World Handball Championships organised by the International Handball Federation (IHF).The distribution of the players´ birth dates (by quartile: Q, and semester: S) by categories,handball playing positions, and membership of continental federations, were analysed foreach of the three two-year periods in which the World Handball Championships took place.Differences between the observed and expected birth dates were tested using a chi-squaregoodness of fit test, and subsequent calculations were tested using odds ratios. The Spear-man’s correlation coefficient was applied to test the correlation between the relative age ofthe athletes and (their) performance parameters. The results revealed a prevalence of theRAE on both male and female in the U-19 and U-21 categories (p<0.001), and a stabilisationof the RAE throughout the period analysed (2013/14-2017/2018). The RAE was not found inthe female senior category (2013, 2015 and 2017) or male senior category (2013) (p>0.05).All playing positions were impacted by the RAE (p<0.001), and especially strong effect sizeswere noted for male pivots (Vc = 0.66/0.68/0.60) and female center backs (Vc = 0.71/0.65/0.71). In our analysis of the handball continental federations, the RAE was found in allregions, except Oceania (p>0.05). The RAE also affected athlete performance: the oldestathletes played more minutes and achieved better performances. The RAE was associatedwith the final placement of the teams in each championship category, except in the maleyouth category. The findings clearly demonstrated that the RAE has a significant impact onthe selection of male and female athletes to international competitions and the performanceof both men and women in international handball. The potential implications of these find-ings for policy and practice are discussed.
PB Yih-Kuen Jan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UNITED STATES
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10612/19371
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10612/19371
NO Rubia Adl, Bjørndal CT, Sa´nchez-Molina J, Yagu¨e JM, Calvo JL, Maroto-Izquierdo S (2020) The relationship between the relative age effect and performance among athletes in World Handball Championships. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0230133.
DS BULERIA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de León
RD 26-jun-2024