The effect of age aptitude screening tests on sports performance of 9-13 girls

The relative age effect (RAE) is a global phenomenon that allows sport participation and talent selection to be based on birth date distribution. The relative age effect (RAE) explains the relationship between an individual's month of birth and their level of success in sport. In age-classified sports, there is a clustering of birth dates immediately after the age set for selection. In this assumption, it is thought that athletes born earlier may have developmental and physical advantages over their younger athlete peers born later. However, there is little empirical evidence for such an advantage. In this study, we investigated whether the physical performance of 9–13-year-old students differed depending on the quarter of the year in which they were born. Body weight, height, cardiorespiratory fitness (endurance), strength and power were measured in children aged 9 to 13 years (n = 406 girls). Since the dependent variable is affected by many variables and the effects of variables may differ from one group to another, the ANCOVA test method was used to determine differences in anthropometric measurements between quarters, since the variable or variables whose relationship with the dependent variable was observed were included in the analysis. Bonferroni's post hoc test was used to determine individual differences in the estimated means between annual quarters, and height as a criterion (z-score) was controlled for physical performance variables. Girls born in the first quarter of the year were significantly stronger than those born at other times when handgrip ability was expressed as z-score. By body weight, cardiorespiratory fitness (endurance) was higher in girls born in the first quarter and strength was higher in those born in the second quarter. Hand grip strength, vertical jump, 20-meter shuttle run, and coordination were significantly different between age groups (p 0.05). In conclusion, as sport participation is associated with both current and future total physical activity levels, failure to address the issue of relative age effect (RAE) at an early age will not only lead to a restricted and randomized selection for adult elite athletes, but also to a negative impact on public health. Children born in relatively later quarters of the year will have less chance of being selected/participating in teams or training programs. As a result of this research, the distribution of birth date (year/month) was found to be positively associated with performance in children.