Research Impact: The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon observed in youth sports whereby there is a significant over-representation of Publication: Relative age influences performance of world-class track and field athletes even in the adulthoodathletes born close to the date of selection. Examining the birthdates of 39,590 athletes ranked in the International Association of Athletics Federations top 100 between 2007-2018 revealed that Under 18 and Under 20 athletes born in the first week of the year are about 2 to 3.5 times more likely to be included in the top-100 ranking than the athletes born in the last week of the year, with RAEs persisting through to Senior categories in some disciplines. Governing bodies should reflect upon their policies for athlete support and selection to minimize the RAE.
Brustio, P., Kearney, P. E., Lupo, C., Ungureanu, A., Mulasso, A., Rainoldi, A., & Boccia, G. (2019). Relative age influences performance of world-class track and field athletes even in the adulthood. Frontiers in Psychology: Movement Science & Sport Psychology, 10, 1395. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01395