Abstract
Different characteristics of sports disciplines potentially lead to skewness in birth month distribution (relative age effect, RAE). These characteristics can be considered from a constraint-based approach with interacting environmental, task, and individual constraints as a theoretical framework with which to examine variations in RAE. The main aim of the present study was to examine the theoretical predictions of the constraint-based framework by investigating the birth month distribution in cross-country skiers and freeskiers at elite junior and senior levels. The sample was comprised of top ranked Norwegian U15–U19/20 cross-country skiers and junior-level freeskiers. Birth months of top ranked international senior-level skiers in cross-country and freeskiing were also collected. Results indicated an over-representation of skiers born in the first half versus the second half of the year at all junior ages in cross-country skiing. There was no significant difference in the distribution of birth months in freeskiing or in senior cross-country skiers or freeskiers. Based upon the interacting constraint framework, the skewness towards more early-born athletes in junior cross-country skiing could be due to strict age-grouped and results-oriented developmental programs beginning at an early age (environmental constraints) as well as high-demand for physical capabilities (task constraints) that favour more physically mature athletes (individual constraints). For freeskiing, the interacting environmental (less structured and more individualistic-oriented development), task (high technical/motor skill demands), and individual (no advantage of advanced physical maturation) constraints potentially operate in the opposite direction compared to cross-country skiing.
Highlights
IntroductionSome differences are obvious, such as performance execution or the environmental characteristics where sports are executed
In cross-country skiing, significantly more skiers [152 vs. 81, χ2 = 21.6, p < 0.05, φ = 0.30] were born in the first half versus the second half of the year across all junior ages (Figure 1A)
The aim of the present study was to examine the theoretical predictions of the constraint-based framework by investigating the birth month distribution in Norwegian elite crosscountry skiers and freeskiers at junior and senior levels
Summary
Some differences are obvious, such as performance execution or the environmental characteristics where sports are executed. It is not easy to identify how these differences influence on the demand of particular athletes’ qualities or how the contextual characteristics impact athletes’ opportunities. In order to reduce developmental differences between athletes during childhood and youth, annual age-divided cohorts are used. Despite this organisation, research has shown skewed birthdate distributions within age cohorts (Cobley et al, 2009). The skewness is typically manifested as a substantial proportion of athletes being born early according to the annual age-grouping cut-off date, and such disproportional distributions are termed the ‘relative age effect’ (RAE). Since its first inception in the mid-1980s (Barnsley et al., 1985), this effect has been demonstrated in abundance across a variety of individual and team sports (Cobley et al, 2009; Delorme et al., 2010; Wattie et al, 2015)
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