Is the relative age effect prevalent in elite Brazilian male futsal? An investigation based on age categories and playing positions

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the existence of relative age effect (RAE) in male Brazilian futsal athletes according to age categories and playing position. Data from male futsal athletes from the top five teams in Brazil were collected during May and June 2021. The distribution of birth dates of 387 male futsal athletes was analyzed, based on their age categories (U15, n = 97; U17, n = 88; U20, n = 116; senior, n = 86) and playing positions (defender, n = 76; winger; n = 162; pivot, n = 69; goalkeeper, n = 80). Chi-squared tests were used to analyze the birth dates distribution based on quarter and semesters of the year according to age categories and playing positions. The overall analysis of birth quarter indicated a higher occurrence of births in the first quarter of the year (p<.001; V = 0.188). The age categories analysis indicated a uniform distribution in U15 (p=.09; V = 0.15) and unequal distributions in U17 (p<.001; V = 0.29), U20 (p<.007; V = 0.19) and senior (p<.01; V = 0.21) categories. The playing position analysis indicated a uniform distribution for the pivots (p=.11; V = 0.17) and unequal distribution for goalkeepers (p<.04; V = 0.19), wingers (p<.002; V = 0.19) and defenders (p<.002; V = 0.27). We concluded that RAE was present in Brazilian elite men’s futsal, especially in the U17, U20, and senior categories, and goalkeepers, wingers, and defenders. Our results reinforce the need to consider the effects of relative age in the development of Brazilian elite futsal players.

No Relative Age Effect Among Brazilian Elite Female Futsal Athletes

“…These authors observed an overrepresentation of athletes born in the first quartile of the year (Q1 vs Q4) in the Under-9 female and the Under-7 and Under-9 male categories. Similar results were reported among Brazilian elite male athletes (Castro, et al, 2022b;Morales Júnior, Alves, Galatti, & Marques, 2017) from the Under-17, Under-20, and senior categories. Additionally, this effect seemed to differ based on the athletes' playing positions (Castro, et al, 2022a).…”

“…Since RAE may influence a young athlete's opportunity to obtain better training and performance conditions to reach elite levels in sports (Leite, et al, 2021;Lidor, et al, 2021), further studies with specific populations in different sports are still needed. Although RAE arouses interest among many researchers and publications have increased in recent years, investigations in specific sports contexts being underrepresented in this research are warranted, particularly including futsal (Bilgiç & Işın, 2022;Castro et al, 2022bCastro et al, , 2022cLeonardi, et al, 2022). In fact, Méndez-Dominguez, Nakamura, and Travassos (2022) highlighted the importance of developing research on futsal, not only concerning physical, technical, or tactical variables, but also on research topics with practical applications, such as talent development, performance analysis, and psychological topics.…”

Efeito Da Idade Relativa No Handebol Escolar Do Estado De Mato Grosso

“…Do ponto de vista prático, o presente estudo contribui com pessoas envolvidas com o handebol em nível escolar (e também demais níveis), como professores/treinadores, gestores e organizadores de competições, já que, uma vez que estes profissionais entendam o EIR, poderão repensar suas práticas e as políticas do esporte, fazendo com que os processo de seleção, escalação e competição de estudantes-atletas possam proporcionar oportunidades igualitárias de crescimento e desenvolvimento no esporte. Nesse sentido, estudos têm proposto divisões das categorias existentes e consideração da maturação biológica (CASTRO et al, 2022a).…”

“…O Efeito da Idade Relativa (EIR) refere-se à prática de agrupamento dos atletas em coortes anuais com base nas suas datas de nascimento (CASTRO et al, 2022a;GOLDSCHMIED, 2011), o que afeta a seleção destes por conta das diferenças previstas entre atletas nascidos nos primeiros meses do ano quando comparados a atletas nascidos nos últimos meses (CASTRO et al, 2022b;CASTRO et al, 2023). Ou seja, aqueles atletas nascidos no primeiro semestre do ano seriam maturacional, física e mentalmente mais desenvolvidos do que os nascidos no segundo semestre (BABIĆ et al, 2022).…”