The Relative Age Effects on Senior Weightlifting Athletes in Turkey

Osman  Tüfekçi; Kenan Erdağı; Bülent  Işık

doi:10.23751/pn.v23i4.12069

The Relative Age Effects on Senior Weightlifting Athletes in Turkey

Authors

Osman Tüfekçi Private Farabi Hospital, Konya, Turkey
Kenan Erdağı Physical Education and Sports Department, Faculty of Education, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey
Bülent Işık Medical School, Unıversity of Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Karaman, Turkey

Keywords:

Relative age effect, Birth date, Age-categories, Olympic style weightlifting

Abstract

Relative age effect has been used to refer to the age differences between individuals who have been grouped together in a sports competition. The aim of this study is to analyze the birth date distribution of the senior athletes in olympic style weightlifting, who participated in Turkish Weightlifting Championships between the years 2018 and 2020. This study also aims to find out the quarter of the year in which elite athletes with ranking in the first three in weightlifting championships were born. The data collection was obtained from the website of the Turkish Weightlifting Federation with a sample made of 478 senior athletes in the last five Turkish Weightlifting Championships (2018, 2019 and 2020). The players’ birthdates were classified into four seasons of 3 months starting from January to March inclusive (Q1) and ending with October to December inclusive (Q4). The weightlifters were divided into subset weight categories; lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight. The quarter of the year in which elite senior athletes ranking in the first three in championships were born was also obtained. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 series of Chi-Square tests. Statistical significance level was set at p< 0,05. In male group of the study, the relative age effects were determined in lightweight (χ²(3)= 28.08, p <.001) and middleweight category (χ²(3)= 23.60, p <.001). Significant relative age effects for female athletes were observed in middleweight category (χ²(3)= 13,15, p <.01). Both for male and female groups, the athletes ranking in the first three in the competitions were observed to be born in the first quarter of the year (χ²(3)= 10.57, p <.01); (χ²(3)= 11.68, p <.01) respectively). In male and female senior groups, significant relative age effects are present on athletes in olympic style weightlifting regardless of their body weight category.

References

Cobley S, Baker J, Wattie N, McKenna J. Annual age-grouping and athlete development: A meta-analytical review of relative age effects in sport. Sports Med. 2009; 39:235-56.

Barnsley R.H, Thompson A.H, Barnsley P.E. Hockey success and birthdate: The relative age effect. Journal of the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. 1985; 51, 23–28.

Boucher J.L, Mutimer B.T.P. The Relative Age Phenomenon in Sport: A Replication and Extension with Ice-Hockey Players. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 1994; 65(4): 377–381. doi:10.1080/02701367.1994.10607644

Musch J, Grondin S. Unequal Competition as an Impediment to Personal Development: A Review of the Relative Age Effect in Sport. Developmental Review. 2001; 21(2): 147– 167. doi:10.1006/drev.2000.0516

Daniel T.E, Janssen, C.T.L. More on the relative age effect. Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 1987; 53, 21-24.

Côté J, Macdonald D.J, Baker J, Abernethy B. When “where” is more important than “when”: Birthplace and birthdate effects on the achievement of sporting expertise. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2006; 24(10): 1065–1073. doi:10.1080/02640410500432490

Baxter-Jones A, Helms P. Effects of training at a young age: A review of the Training of Young Athletes (TOYA) study. Pediatric Exercise Science. 1996; 8, 310–327.

Van Rossum J.H.A. Relative Age Effect Revisited: Findings from the Dance Domain. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2006; 102(2): 302–308. doi:10.2466/pms.102.2.302-308

Agricola A, Zháněl J, Hubáček O. Relative age effect in junior tennis (male). Acta Univ. Palacki. Olomuc., Gymn. 2013; 43(1): 27-33, doi: 10.5507/ag.2013.003

Augste C, Lames M. The relative age effect and success in German elite U- 17 soccer teams. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2011; 29(9): 983-987

Delorme N, Raspaud M. The relative age effect in young French basketball players: a study on the whole population. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. 2009; 19(2): 235-242

Helsen W.F, Baker J, Michiels S, Schorer J, Van winckel Jan, Williams A.M. The relative age effect in European professional soccer: Did ten years of research make any difference?Journal of Sports Sciences. 2012; 30(15):1665–1671. doi:10.1080/02640414.2012.721929

Mujika I, Vaeyens R, Matthys S.P.J, Santisteban J, Goiriena J, Philippaerts, R. The relative age effect in a professional football club setting. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2009; 27(11): 1153-1158.

Helsen W.F, van Winckel J, Williams M. The relative age effect in youth soccer across Europe. Journal of Sports Sciences.2005; 23, 629-636.

Nakata H, Sakamoto K. Sex Differences in Relative Age Effects among Japanese Athletes. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2012; 115(1): 179-186. doi:10.2466/10.05.17.pms.115.4.179-186)

Malina RM, Eisenmann JC, Cumming SP, Ribeiro B, Aroso J. Maturity-associated variation in the growth and functional capacities of youth football (soccer) players 13–15 years. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2004; 91(5-6):555–562. PubMed doi:10.1007/s00421-003- 0995-z

Sherar LB, Baxter-Jones ADG, Faulkner RA, Russell KW. Do physical maturity and birth date predict talent in male youth ice hockey players? J Sports Sci. 2007; 25(8):879- 886. PubMed, doi:10.1080/02640410600908001

Skorski S, Skorski S, Faude O, Hammes D, Meyer T. The Relative Age Effect in Elite German Youth Soccer: Implications for a Successful Career. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2016; 11(3): 370-376.

Barnsley R.H, Thompson A.H, Legault P. Family Planning: Football Style. The Relative Age Effect in Football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 1992; 27(1): 77- 87. doi:10.1177/101269029202700105

Vaeyens R, Philippaerts R.M, Malina R.M. The relative age effect in soccer: A match- related perspective. Journal of Sports Science. 2005; 23(7): 747-756.

Cobley S.P, Schorer, J, Baker, J. Relative Age Effects in Professional German Soccer: A historical Analysis. Journal of Sport Science. 2008; 26(14): 1513-1538.

Thompson A, Barnsley R, Stebelsky G. "Born to Play Ball" The Relative Age Effect and Major League Baseball. Sociology of Sport Journal. 1991; 8(2): 146-151.

Barnsley R.H, Thompson A.H. Birthdate and Sucess in Minor Hockey: The Key to the

NHL. Canad. J. Behav. Sci./ Rev. Canad. Sci. Comp. 1988; 20(2): 167-176.

Baxter-Jones A. Growth and development of young athletes: Should competition levels be age related? Sports Medicine. 1995; 20, 59–64.

Vincent J, Glamser, F.D. Gender differences in the relative age effect among US Olympic Development Program youth soccer players. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2006; 24, 405–413.

Lames M, Augste C, Dreckmann C, Go¨rsdorf K, Schimanski M. Der ‘‘Relative Age Effect’’ (RAE): neue Hausaufgaben fu¨ r den Sport. Leistungs sport.2008; 38 (6), 4-9.

Erdağı K. (2019). Olympic Weightlifting Training and Muscle Groups in Weight Training Ankara: Gazi Publishers; (In Turkish).

Delorme N. Do weight categories prevent athletes from relative age effect? J Sports Sci. 2014; 32(1):16–21. PubMed doi:10.1080/02640 414.2013.809470

Fukuda D.H. Analysis of the Relative Age Effect in Elite Youth Judo Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2015; 10(8): 1048–1051. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2014-0463

Ulbricht A, Fernandez-Fernandez J, Mendez-Villanueva A, Ferrauti A. The relative age effect and physical fitness characteristics in German male tennis players. Journal of sports science & medicine. 2015; 14(3): 634.

Barrenetxea-Garcia J, Torres-Unda J, Esain I, Rodriguez-Larrad A, Gil S. M. Relative age effect and performance in elite male and female water polo players. Science&Sports. 2019; doi:10.1016/j.scispo.2018.12.003

Kollars J.M, Beyer K.S, Taber C.B. Relative Age Effects in Elite Olympic Weightlifters. Conference: NSCA 2019 National Conference At: Washington DC.

Edgar S, O’Donoghue P. Season of birth distribution of elite tennis players. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2005; 23(10). 1013–1020. doi:10.1080/02640410400021468

Medic N, Starkes J.L, Young, B.W. Examining relative age effects on performance achievement and participation rates in Masters athletes. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2007; 25(12): 1377–1384. doi:10.1080/02640410601110128

Albuquerque M.R, Lage G.M, Costa V.T. da Ferreira R.M, Penna E.M, Moraes L.C.C.de A, Malloy-Diniz L.F. Relative Age Effect in Olympic Taekwondo Athletes. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2012; 114(2): 461–468. doi:10.2466/05.25.pms.114.2.461-468

Medic N, Starkes J.L, Weir P.L, Young B.W, Grove R.J. Relative Age Effect in Masters Sports. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2009; 80(3): 669–675. doi:10.1080/02701367.2009.10599607

Albuquerque MR, da Costa VT, Faria LO, et al. Weight categories do not prevent athletes from relative age effect: an analysis of Olympic Games wrestlers. Arch Budo. 2014;10:127–132.

Albuquerque MR, Tavares V, Lage GM, de Paula JJ, da Costa IT, Malloy- Diniz LF. Relative age effect in Olympic judo athletes: a weight category analysis. Sci Sports. 2013; 28(3): e59–e61. doi:10.1016/j.scispo.2012.09.004

Bompa, T. O, Carrera M. (2015). Conditioning Young Athletes. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Romaneiro C, Folgado H, Batalha N, Duarte R. (2009). Relative age effect of Olympic athletes in Beijing, 2008. Department of Sport and health, University of Evora, POR. 2009; 1-7.