Efeito da idade relativa sobre o desempenho esportivo em atletas do taekwondo e judô

Abstract

Relative Age Effect (RAE) refers to the effect of differences between individuals that are grouped by age in sports. The present study investigated the RAE athletes in Taekwondo and Judo athletes. The names and dates of birth of the athletes were collected on a website. Were collected data from 291 Olympic Taekwondo athletes in 1st. study, 70 Olympic Taekwondo medalists in 2nd study, 1,738 Olympic Judo athletes in 3th. study and 2,427 Olympic Judo athletes on the 4th. study. As several previous studies, the date of birth of each athlete was categorized into the quarters and by semester. The chi-square test was used in each half and/or quarters to determine the significance of the expected frequency deviation. The expected values were calculated based on the assumption of uniform distribution of births along each month of the year, because the sample was composed of athletes from different countries. The set of studies demonstrated that the effect of the relative age is not present in Taekwondo in all variables investigated (Study 1 and Study 2). However, in Judo (Study 3 and 4) the results showed the Relative Age Effect in (a) male athletes, (b) in male athletes that was born in countries that won more them 10 Olympic medals and (c) in male athletes who are in the heavier categories. In females, the results were found the Relative Age Effects in some Olympic Games: 1992, 2008 and 2012. So, the Relative Age Effect is a variable widely investigated in the sport and that its effects appear robust in the sport of high level of competitiveness. However, it is important to note that the process of development a high performance athlete is a complex process that involves the interaction of several variables. So, the month of birth cannot be seen as a determining factor for the athlete´s development.