Relative Age Effect in Male Basketball Athletes: Association with Individual and Collective Performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17398/1885-7019.22.55Keywords:
Athletes; Basketball; Maturation; Knowledge.Abstract
This study aimed to assess the relative age effect (RAE) in male basketball athletes in the U17 and U19 categories, focusing on individual and collective performance during the 2021 season of the Santa Catarina State Basketball Championship (Brazil). A total of 248 athletes participated in the study, of which 177 played in U17 teams and 71 in U19 teams. Data were obtained from the official website of the Santa Catarina Basketball Federation. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, one-way analysis of variance, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for inferential analysis. The results showed that, in the U17 category, despite the higher proportion of athletes born in the first quartile of the year, there was a significant difference only in the performance indicator "state call-ups"; that is, a greater number of athletes born in the first quartile were selected for state teams. In the U19 category, there was a homogeneous distribution in birth quartiles, with no significant differences in performance indicators between birth periods. Concluded that, in the 2021 season, there was no RAE in individual (number of games played, points scored, average points per game, and number of competitions played in the year) or collective (final team ranking) performance indicators among male basketball athletes.
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