The relative age effect among Chinese junior men’s tennis players and its impact on sports performance

Aku, Yisheng; Yang, Cheng-bo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292443

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…In Chinese sports, RAE has been identi ed as a factor in uencing athletes' performance during the early adolescent phase across various sports, including table tennis (32), tennis (33), football (34). While there is currently no evidence con rming the presence of RAE in basketball in China, particularly during adolescence, analogous studies have been conducted in other countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative age effects and implications for sport performance in elite Chinese junior male basketball players

Jiaxin,

Liu,

Tong

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background The relative age effect (RAE) has been a hot topic in the field of sport research, and although the phenomenon has been found in most sports in China, there is currently no literature on the RAE phenomenon in Chinese basketball, which has implications for explaining some of the phenomena in that sport. A large body of research suggests that RAE contributes significantly to the phenomena of brain drain and inequality in sport participation. The purpose of this study was to analyses whether RAE exists in Chinese youth men's basketball and whether RAE has an impact on the performance of athletes and teams, thus supporting the subsequent proposal of measures to balance the age effect.Methods This study analyzed the date of birth and performance rankings of all male athletes (n = 3926) who participated in the Chinese Youth Basketball Championships (U14, U15, and U17) from 2021–2023. The study divided the month of birth into quarters and semesters. Differences between actual observed and theoretical birth date distributions were statistically analyzed using the chi-square test, and subsequent calculations were made using the dominance ratio test.Results It was found that RAE was present in all three groups of Chinese youth male basketball players (p < 001). The percentages of athletes born in the first half of the year were 61.2% (U14), 59.9% (U15), and 59.0% (U17), and the percentages of athletes born in the first quarter were 38.6% (U14), 35.8% (U15), and 34.8% (U17).Conclusions As a result of RAE, U15 athletes born closer to the beginning of the year are likely to achieve better results, whereas athletes born closer to the end of the year are less likely to achieve athletic excellence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative age effects and implications for sport performance in elite Chinese junior male basketball players

Jiaxin,

Liu,

Tong

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The prevalence of relative age effects in a nationwide analysis of racket sports: Happy birthday?

Bilgiç,

Güvenç

2024

PLoS ONE

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Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to all consequences of chronological age-based systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of RAEs among Turkish racket sports players. As a nationwide analysis, the present study extends beyond the typical investigations of elite-level popular sports by examining RAEs in racket sports players from the lowest grassroots level to the top and from children to veteran athletes. A total of 57476 racket sports players (i.e., badminton, squash, table tennis and tennis) were evaluated in the study. To investigate interquartile distributions, Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used. Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to compare quartiles. Poisson regression with canonical link was conducted to analyze the count data. A statistically significant difference in the prevalence of RAEs was noted in both genders and in total sample. The ID in Poisson regression shows that players born at the beginning of the year are 1.63 more likely to be represented than those born at the end of the year. Considering the sports separately, statistically significant distribution bias was found in badminton, table tennis and tennis but not in squash. Moreover, regarding the age categories, the peak RAEs were noted in the youngest age category of tennis as 30.6% of players were in Q1 while only 17.4% were in Q4. Such findings have been discussed with different moderators, hypotheses and models such as the developmental systems model, social agents, psychological issues, and the role of selection processes by coaches. In conclusion, process (i.e. athlete development process) is suggested to be focused instead of a point in the continuum for selection and scouting practices, which may ensure avoiding talent loss and sports drop-out and establishing quality sport participation environments for all.

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The relative age effect among Chinese junior men’s tennis players and its impact on sports performance

Cited by 2 publications

References 57 publications

Relative age effects and implications for sport performance in elite Chinese junior male basketball players

Relative age effects and implications for sport performance in elite Chinese junior male basketball players

The prevalence of relative age effects in a nationwide analysis of racket sports: Happy birthday?

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