True Sport Selection Process

Two new True Sport resources are designed to help sport organizations put values at the centre of coach and player selection processes. The Coach Selection Process resource provides practical tools to support the identification of coaches that are committed to values-based sport. The Player Selection Process resource supports a selection approach that is designed to…

Innovations to Address RAEs

Interventions such as age-ordered shirt numbering and corrective adjustments that account for birthday in timed events such as sprinting, may be effective at mitigating relative age effects (RAEs). Learn more about current research and new innovations to address RAEs in the SIRCuit.

RAE Impacts

The “relative age effect” (RAE) advantages relatively older individuals in an age group while disadvantaging the relatively youngest. This age inequality can have significant impacts on sport and educational performance, and long-term health and wellbeing. Learn more in the SIRCuit.

Coming of Age With Relative Age Research: Origins, Consequences, and Potential Solutions

On October 17, 2018, Relative Age Effects: An International Conference was hosted at York University where leading international scholars gathered to discuss the implications of athletes’ dates of birth on sport, health, and education. This article highlights the history of the phenomenon known as the “relative age effect” as well as its impact on sport,…

Talent Identification Issues

A short-term focus on winning can influence talent identification and team selection practices, and create a protectionist and isolationist culture within sports. However, these practices are a disservice to athletes, failing to assess long-term potential and restricting multisport experiences that could enhance development. Learn more about the ins and outs of early identification and selection…

Issues in Athlete Identification and Selection: Are We Compromising Talent?

Despite some important ethical and developmental concerns, early identification and selection is the modus operandi of high performance sport. Most sport systems internationally have limited resources for high performance athlete development and, as a result, have to make predictions about who has the greatest likelihood of future success. Notions of talent also play critical roles…

IN BRIEF: Bio-Banding and Developmental Age

You’ve probably heard of the Relative Age Effect – the concept that when children are placed into groups such as school classes or sports based on their chronological age, those born early in the cohort may have physical or intellectual advantages compared to those born late, leading to selection for enriched opportunities that tend to…

Exploring Developmental Factors for Overcoming Relative Age Effects in Ice Hockey

Relative age effects (RAEs) are developmental advantages experienced by those born in the early months of the year relative to an age-defined cut-off date (Barnsley et al., 1985). In sport and educational settings, RAEs tend to endure, resulting in an accumulated advantage that could affect youths’ overall development (Murray, 2003). This research program investigated the…

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