Effect of relative age on Spanish swimming
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
- Sofía Martín-Consuegra+−
- Andrea Hernández Martínez+−
- David Gutiérrez Díaz del Campo+−
- Yolanda Sánchez-Matas+−
Abstract
The relative age effect refers to chronological differences in subjects belonging to the same age group, which may cause those born in the first months of the year to appear more talented. The aim of this research is to analyse the effect of relative age in Spanish swimming. The 100 best results in pool of 50 meters of the last six seasons (2015-2021) were analysed for all ages of the categories with national championships, in both genders and in the four styles. The sample included 28.373 results obtained from the database of the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation, taking as reference the dates of birth of the swimmers. To analyse the effect of relative age in Spanish swimming, the Chi-squared statistical est was used. The possible differences between the average yields between the birth quarters of the swimmers was calculated by an analysis of variance. The results showed an unequal distribution of birth dates by trimesters and different average yields for almost all age groups, in both genders. In conclusion, it can be said that the over-representation of athletes in the first quarters of the year, and the difference in terms of sports success achieved, are two effects of the relative age to consider.
Keywords:
Downloads
Article Details
References
Abbott, S., Moulds, K., Salter, J., Romann, M., Edwards, L., & Cobley, S. (2020). Testing the application of corrective adjustment procedures for removal of relative age effects in female youth swimming. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(10), 1077-1084. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1741956
Baker, J., Schorer, J., & Cobley, S. (2010). Relative age effects. Sportwissenschaft, 40(1), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-009-0095-2
Bueno, B., Barreira, J., & Chiminazzo, J. (2018). Efecto de la Edad Relativa en el Fútbol Profesional Peruano. Revista Peruana de Ciencias de la Actividad física y el Deporte, 5(4), 671-675. https://doi.org/10.17979/sportis.2021.7.3.7594.
Cobley, S., Baker, J., Wattie, N., & McKenna, J. (2009). Annual age-grouping and athlete development. A meta-analytical review of relative age effects in sport. Sports Medicine, 39(3), 235-256. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200939030-00005
Cobley, S., Abbott, S., Dogramaci, S., Kable, A., Salter, J., Hintermann, M. & Romann, M. (2018). Transient relative age effects across annual age groups in national level Australian swimming. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(8), 839-845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.12.008
Cobley, S., Abbott, S., Eisenhuth, J., Salter, J., McGregor, D., & Romann, M. (2019). Removing relative age effects from youth swimming: The development and testing of corrective adjustment procedures. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 22(6), 735- 740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2018.12.013
Costa, A. M., Marques, M. C., Louro, H., Ferreira, S. S., & Marinho, D. A. (2013). The relative age effect among elite youth competitive swimmers. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(5), 437-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.742571.
Federación Internacional de Natación (2021). Swimming Points. Recuperado de https://www.fina.org/swimming/points
Férriz, A., Selles, S., García, M., & Cejuela, R. (2020). Efecto de la edad relativa para el desarrollo del talento en jóvenes triatletas Relative age effect for talents’ development in joung triathletes. Retos, 37, 27-32. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v37i37.67384
Figueiredo, L. S., Silva, D. G. D., Oliveira, B. H. G., Ferreira, A. G., Gantois, P., & Fonseca, F. D. S. (2021). Relative age effects in elite Brazilian track and field athletes are modulated by sex, age category, and event type. Motriz: Revista de Educação Física, 27.
Gómez-López, M., Granero, A., Ruiz, V., & Cordo, L. (2017). Efecto de la edad relativa en jugadores adolescentes de balonmano. Apunts. Educacion Fisica y Deportes, 33(130), 73-83. https://doi.org/10.5672/apunts.2014-0983.es.(2017/4).130.06
Gutiérrez, D. (2013). Revisión y propuestas de intervención sobre el Efecto de la Edad Relativa en los ámbitos educativo y deportivo. Retos. Nuevas tendencias en Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación, 23, 51-63.
Gutiérrez, D., Pastor-Vicedo, J. C., González-Villora, S., & Contreras, O. R. (2010).The Relative Age Effect in Youth Soccer Players from Spain. Journal of Sport Science & Medicine, 9(2), 190-198.
Hancock, D. J., Adler, A. L., & Côté, J. (2013). A proposed theoretical model to explain relative age effects in sport. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(6), 630-637. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2013.775352
Hancock, D. J., Seal, K., Young, B. W., Weir, P. L., & Ste-Marie, D. M. (2013). Examining mechanisms that contribute to relative age effects in pre-pubescent female ice hockey players. Talent Development & Excellence, 5(2), 59-66.
Krahenbühl, T., & Leonardo, L. (2020), The relative age effect: coaches' choices as evidence of social influence on youth handball. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20(5), 2460-2467.
López de Subijana, C. & Lorenzo, J. (2018). Relative age effect and long-term success in the Spanish soccer and basketball national teams. Journal of Human Kinetics, 65(1), 197-204. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0027
Lovell, R., Towlson, C., Parkin, G., Portas, M., Vaeyens, R., & Cobley, S. (2015). Soccer player characteristics in English lower league development programmes: The relationships between relative age, maturation, anthropometry and physical fitness. PloS One, 10(9).
Malina, R. M., Rogol, A. D., Cumming, S. P., e Silva, M. J. C., & Figueiredo, A. J. (2015). Biological maturation of youth athletes: assessment and implications. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(13), 852-859. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094623
Martín, A., & Martínez, F. I. (2021). El efecto de la edad relativa en la formación y promoción de jugadores de fútbol U23. Revista Técnico-científica del Deporte Escolar, Educación Física y Psicomotricidad, 7(3), 344-362, https://doi.org/10.17979/sportis.2021.7.3.7594
Ntozis, C., Cherouveim, E., Gountas, K., Bakodimos, G., Apostolidis, N., & Tsolakis, C. (2021). Relative age effect in Greek female young volleyball players: data from the national talent identification program. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21(3), 1967-1975. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2021.s3250
Nykodým, J., Bozděch, M., Agricola, A., & Zháněl, J. (2020). The Relative Age Effect at the Ice Hockey World Championships (IHWC) in the years 2015–2017. Journal of Human Kinetics, 75, 150-159. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0044
Ortigosa-Márquez, J., Reigal, R., Serpa, S., & Hernández-Mendo, A. (2018). Efectos de la edad relativa en el proceso de selección nacional de triatletas. Revista internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, 18(70), 199-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.15366/rimcafd2018.70.001
Real Federación Española de Natación (2021). Rankings/Consulta de Marcas. Recuperado de https://rfen.es/es/competitions/swimming/rankings/licenses
Rodríguez-Lorenzo, L., & Martín-Acero, R. (2019). Relative Age Effect, Playing Time and Debut in a Professional Football Club. Apunts. Educación Física y Deportes, 138, 40-50. https://dx.doi.org/10.5672/apunts.2014-0983.es.(2019/4).138.03
Saavedra, M., Gutiérrez, O., Paulo, S., & Fernández, J. (2016). Efecto de la edad relativa en el atletismo español. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 16(1), 275-286.
Sarmento, H., Anguera, M. T., Pereira, A., & Araújo, D. (2018). Talent Identification and Development in Male Football: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 48(4), 907-931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0851-7.
Silva, A. J., Marinho, D., Mourão-Carvalhal, I., Durão, M., Reis, V., Carneiro, A., & Aidar, F. (2007). Análise da evolução da carreira desportiva de nadadores do género feminino utilizando a modelação matemática. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, 13(3), 175-180. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922007000300009
Smith, K. L., Weir, P. L., Till, K., Romann, M., & Cobley, S. (2018). Relative age effects across and within female sport contexts: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 48(6), 1451-1478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0890-8
Staub, I., Stallman, R. K., & Vogt, T. (2020). The relative age effect in German 11-to 18- year-old male and female swimmers. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 50(4), 453-462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-020-00677-4
Steidl-Müller, L., Hildebrandt, C., Raschner, C., & Müller, E. (2019). Challenges of talent development in alpine ski racing: a narrative review. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(6), 601-612. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1513355
Williams, A. M. & Reilly, T. (2000). Talent identification and development in soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18(9), 657-667. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410050120041