The relative age effect in volleyball: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v77.117348Keywords:
Relative age effect, sport, age distribution, knowledge production.Abstract
Introduction: The Relative Age Effect (RAE) is a recurring phenomenon in the training process of athletes in various sports, both team and individual, where it is presumed that those born at the beginning of the competition period have an advantage in sports performance compared to those born at the end of that same period.
Objective: To map the scientific production on the relative age effect in volleyball.
Methodology: The search was conducted in the Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, Ebsco, Sportdiscus, SciELO, and Lilacs databases. The information was analyzed by categorizing the athletes' attributes and the results published in the studies, using NVivo software. Nine articles published on RAI in volleyball that met the eligibility criteria were mapped.
Results: The information revealed that most studies investigated male and female athletes together, in the adult category or in categories close to adulthood, as well as in national competitions.
Discussion: The main results published in articles on the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in volleyball revealed that, when observing the presence of athletes born in different birth quartiles, for males, a greater representation of athletes born in the 1st and 2nd quartiles was identified, while for females, no statistically significant differences were found, but when they were, they also showed an overrepresentation of athletes born in the 1st quartile.
Conclusion: From the results of this review, it was possible to conclude that the topic of RAI in volleyball has not had a significant number of publications in the last 10 years (nine studies).
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