Are the Player Selection Process and Performance Influenced by Relative Age Effect in Elite Women’s Handball?

Abstract

The relative age effect (RAE) is a phenomenon present in team sports, but it does not influence each gender to the same extent. This study aimed to examine the RAE and its relation to performance in international women's handball competitions (2017/18 World Championships). The sample was composed of 1,096 female players distributed into three categories: youth or under 18 (n = 369); junior or under 20 (n = 328) and senior (n = 399). The teams were divided into four groups based on their final position (medalist, quarter-finalist, eight-finalist and bottom-eight teams). The birthdate distribution (trimesters and semesters) was analysed according to the competition category and the playing position. Differences between the expected and observed birthdate distribution were checked using the chi-square statistical test followed by the calculation of the odds ratio. The results revealed, by trimester, the presence of the RAE in the youth (x2(7) = 87.22; p < 0.001) and junior (x2 (7) = 33.12; p < 0.001) categories, with no impact on senior (p > 0.05). The effect size was relatively strong in the youth category (Vc = 0.48). By semester, the prevalence of the RAE was also found in the senior category (p < 0.05). According to the playing position, the RAE was especially detected in ‘goalkeeper’ (p < 0.01) and ‘centre-back’ (p < 0.05) positions, both in U-18 and U-20 categories. Surprisingly, this effect also appeared in the ‘back’ players in the senior category (p < 0.05). A prevalence of the RAE was identified in teams with a higher final position, but interestingly had a greater impact in the quarter-finalist teams (p < 0.001) than in the medalist teams (p < 0.01). The findings demonstrated that the RAE tends to decrease as the chronological age of players increases, demonstrating a strong presence according to collective performance in international women’s handball.

The interaction of relative age with maturation and body size in female handball talent selection based on only sport-specific criteria

“…Sport-specific technical tasks have been suggested to be affected by biological maturation to a limited extent, thus potentially may reduce selection bias [22], although there was a study where maturity had a positive, but small, contribution to the variation in soccer-specific technical skills [35]. [36]. It has been suggested previously [13] that the selection chances of relatively younger players may increase with advanced maturity, however this was not clearly supported from our findings.…”

“…Our findings collectively suggest that the technique-based selection tasks cannot eliminate the impact of relative age and consequently of biological development on the selection among female handball players. The large selection odds of bone age in the logistic regression model (almost four times increase with increase in bone age; Table 4) clearly highlight the impact of biological development on the selection, which most probably is not limited only to the well-known benefits in body size and physical qualities, but likely affects several other key elements in handball, like coordination, movement control, or game intelligence [36]. It has been suggested previously [13] that the selection chances of relatively younger players may increase with advanced maturity, however this was not clearly supported from our findings.…”

Prevalence of the Relative Age Effect in Elite Brazilian Volleyball: An Analysis Based on Gender, the Playing Position, and Performance Indicators

“…The phenomenon of relative age effect (RAE) reflects the asymmetrical distribution of athletes based on their birth dates, relative to an arbitrary cutoff ( Lidor et al, 2021 ). Evidence indicates that RAE influences selection and talent identification in different team sports ( Rubajczyk and Rokita, 2020 ; Schorer et al, 2013 ) such as soccer ( Yagüe et al, 2020 ; Figueiredo et al, 2022 ; Szwarc et al, 2019 ), basketball ( Kalén et al, 2021 ), rugby ( Kelly et al, 2021 ), futsal ( Castro et al, 2022 ), handball ( de la Rubia et al, 2021 ; Peña-González et al, 2021 ), and volleyball ( Campos et al, 2020 ; Işın. and Melekoğlu 2020 ; Rubajczyk and Rokita, 2020 ; Safranyos et al, 2019; Solon Junior and Silva Neto, 2020 ), with older athletes having better chances of being selected by coaches and talent scouts compared to their younger peers within an age category ( Furley and Memmert, 2016 ).…”

The Relative Age Effect in Ice Hockey: Analysis of Its Presence, Its Fading and of a Reversal Effect among Junior and Professional Leagues

“…As shown in past research, the RAE in elite junior and professional ice hockey leagues is strong. This is not surprising considering that the RAE is particularly strong in sports that value physicality, such as soccer, rugby, handball and ice hockey (Baker et al, 2010b;de la Rubia et al, 2021). Most specifically in ice hockey, many authors have shown that the culture of this sport leaves more room for players who have an imposing physical stature.…”