​SIRC Blog

An alternative to traditional age-based divisions is bio-banding; the process of grouping athletes on the basis of growth and maturation, rather than chronological age (Cumming et. al, 2017, p. 34). Bio-banding is showing positive impact by reducing injury rates and improving an individual’s ability to improve both technical and tactical skills by adjusting for their training and competitive experiences. It is one of several approaches to providing developmentally-appropriate training and competition that aim to avoid the pitfalls of simple grouping based on chronological age.