Relative Age Effect in Young Team Handball Players – An In-Depth Analysis

Background: Evidence has shown that environmental factors, such as the relative age effect (RAE; when an individual was born) can influence an athlete`s likelihood of achieving a high level of proficiency in sport. RAE implies that individuals relatively older than their peers in a given cohort/year, or whose birthdate is closer to the cutoff date for their age group classification, are more likely to reach higher athletic achievements. However, in two studies on elite Israeli ballgame players, RAE was not found (Lidor et al., 2010, 2014).

Aim and Methods: The purpose of the current study was to examine the existence of the RAE in young team handball players (males; N = 2,467) who were born in each year from 1994-2002. Among them, 191 were selected for the Israeli youth national teams. RAE was separately examined each year and RAE was analyzed in players selected to play for the youth national teams.

Results: The data analyses indicated that RAE did not exist in any of the years, except in the year 2000. The number of the team handball players who were older than their peers in a given cohort/year was similar to the number of players who were younger than their peers in a given cohort/year. These findings support previous findings on RAE in professional and semi-professional ballgame players in Israel. In addition, these findings support the proposed culture-specific explanation, namely that different sports within a given country should be carefully considered when analyzing RAE in young and adult athletes.